Even without its top two scorers in the lineup, Montesano’s girls basketball team found its depth was enough to claim a share of the Evergreen 1A League title on Friday night.

Host Hoquiam had a shot at denying Monte that league title share on Senior Night, but couldn’t stop the Bulldogs in a 51-39 decision at Hoquiam Square Garden.

The Bulldogs (7-1, 14-6) tied Elma for the league title, although the Eagles gained the top seed through point differential.

Montesano’s Lexi Lovell led all scorers with 17 points. Hoquiam’s Maddie German led the hosts with 13 points.

Wing Karlie Krohn was the lone senior on the Hoquiam roster and she was honored, along with the cheerleading seniors, in a pre-game ceremony.

“Entering this season, I believe the only ones who believed we would be league champs were the kids,” Montesano head coach Julie Graves said. “The girls really stepped up throughout the season. We had some ups and down, but I’m really proud of this group of kids. Now, after a game where we’re missing those two, we have the confidence to go out there and perform going into the district tournament.”

“This was our opportunity to get them, but Monte hit some shots late that put the game away,” HHS head coach Mark Maxfield said. “We would get down, but then climb back and they’d make another run again. We didn’t play as well on defense as we’d hoped. We played hard, but defensively, we struggled.”

Sophomore post Zoe Hutchings and freshman forward Zoee Lisherness, who average more than 27 points and 20 rebounds a game combined, were out with the flu for the Bulldogs. Their absence left a huge hole in the Monte offense in the paint and on the scoreboard.

However, with a home date against Stevenson in a district loser-out game upcoming on Thursday, Montesano discovered depth and confidence in its lineup on this final night of the regular season.

“We talked yesterday about how everyone had to step up, because we were losing close to 30 points and 20 rebounds a game,” Graves said. “Everyone had to do their part to block out and get rebounds. We were shaky at times, but for the most part, we stepped up. Offensively, we did a great job of attacking the rim.”

It took Monte a while to warm up to the new lineup. Hoquiam (3-5, 9-11) came out fired up on Senior Night, forcing Monte fouls and hitting mid-range jumpers that would have been contested by Hutchings and Lisherness.

Hoquiam led 8-5, thanks to work from Krohn and Maya Jump, before two late inside jumpers by McKenna Miller and Haylee Perkinson gave the visitors a 9-8 lead after one quarter.

German and Lovell got into a personal shooting contest in the second quarter. German did her work inside and out, while Lovell drained mid-to long-range shots.

While the duo traded baskets, the game turned when Lovell drained a 3-point shot for a 19-17 lead midway through the second. The trey highlighted an 11-1 first-half ending run for a 24-18 lead.

Hoquiam couldn’t crack the deficit in the second half, with Montesano gaining clutch baskets from Lovell and Perkinson to keep the lead.

Perkinson finished with 10 points, while Katie Granstrom (at 5-5), led Monte with 11 rebounds. Jump finished with 12 points.

While Montesano stays home, Hoquiam is scheduled to take on King’s Way Christian on the road in the district loser-out round on Thursday.

Montesano 9 15 13 14 — 51

Hoquiam 8 10 13 8 — 39

Montesano (51) — Granstrom 9, Ekerson 3, Grubb, Stanfield 6, Lovell 17, Perkinson 10, Miller 6, Mittleider. FG — 19-44 (.432). FT — 10-20.

Hoquiam (39) — Ja. Cox 4, Carlyle, Jump 12, Bogdanovich, Jo. Cox 2, Krohn 4, Strom, Vonhof 4, German 13. FG — 18-56 (.321). FT — 3-11.

JV — Montesano 44, Hoquiam 40.