Overtime was once again cruel to the 1B No. 5 Mossyrock girls basketball team, which lost a top-five matchup to No. 3 Neah Bay in the extra period, 62-59, at the Mount Vernon Christian Holiday Tournament.
“It sucks to lose in overtime,” Mossyrock coach Autumn Moorcroft said. “It was a very competitive game, and this tournament has been a great learning experience for us as a team. I’m excited about the growth this team has made in the last three days.”
The Vikings trailed by as many as 13 in the third quarter, with Neah Bay outscoring them 35-21 across the middle two periods. In the fourth, Mossyrock roared back, dropping 18 points to get within a point as the clock wound down.
“We had a big fourth quarter, just taking it one possession at a time,” Moorcroft said.
With one last gasp, Mossyrock got the ball to senior Payton Torrey, who was fouled shooting a 3-pointer as the buzzer rang. Going to the free-throw line, Torrey hit one of the three free throws to tie it, and the game went on.
Neither team managed much in the added five minutes, but Neah Bay hit four free throws to pull ahead for good.
Mossyrock opened the game the stronger side, jumping out to a 16-10 lead after a quarter of play, but Neah Bay got hot from the outside, pulling back ahead in the second and keeping things going in the third.
Payton Torrey led the Vikings with 21 points and added a team-high 12 boards and seven assists.
Hailey Brooks added 18 points and seven rebounds, Caelyn Marshall scored 13, and Mckenna Torrey had seven points to go along with four steals.
Mossyrock wraps up its run in Mount Vernon having won two of its three matchups. The Vikings beat the host Hurricanes — who shared the top seed in the state coming into the tournament — and Lummi, which received votes in the latest AP poll.
Coming out of the weekend, Mossyrock will enter the new year with a return to 1B Columbia Valley League play, taking on Pe Ell at home Tuesday.
