LACEY — A balanced attack netted the first league win for the Grays Harbor College women.
Addyson Stowers sank two free throws with 20 seconds remaining to give the Chokers a 65-63 win over South Puget Sound Community College in an NWAACC Western Division women’s basketball game Monday night at Olympia.
Four players scored in double figures for the Chokers (1-7, 4-13). Karimae Carlson, a 6-foot-1 sophomore from Alaska, tallied a team-high 18 points.
Another Alaskan, Halycon Swisher, provided a big boost off the bench with 11 points. Mercedes Brown scored 13 points, while Stowers added 12. Ruth Nash barely missed doubles with nine points.
“It was a total team effort,” Choker coach Derrick Pringle said. “Everybody stepped up and gave all they had.”
The Chokers led by as many as 12 points in the first half and were up by seven (33-26) at intermission. The Clippers (0-8, 3-14) opened the second half with four consecutive baskets and the lead changed hands several times thereafter.
With the game tied at 63, Stowers was fouled while rebounding a missed Clipper free throw. She converted both foul shots.
Both teams committed turnovers in the final sequence before the Clippers fell short on a long heave at the buzzer.
The Chokers literally cut their turnovers in half from Saturday’s lopsided loss to division-leading Clark. They committed only 16 on Monday.
Nash had seven rebounds and five assists. Limited to barely 25 minutes due to foul trouble, Stowers contributed six rebounds and five assists.
The Chokers remain on the road Wednesday at Pierce.
Grays Harbor (65) — Brown 13, Tanner, Carlson 18, Rydman 2, Nash 9, Patterson, Hay, Starr, Swisher 11, Ariel Stowers, Addyson Stowers 12. FG — 26-66 (.394). FT — 6-9.
South Puget Sound (63) — Norwood 11, Colon 23, Jones 16, Owens 2, Houchen, Johnson 7, Thomas, Willey 4. FG — 22-70 (.314). FT — 13-22.
Halftime: Grays Harbor 33, S. Puget Sound 26.
