HOQUIAM — Elma stayed hot with a convincing 61-20 over Hoquiam at Hoquiam Square Garde on Saturday night.

Elma’s Jalyn Sackrider led a well-balanced scoring effort with 20 points to go along with 12 rebounds.

The Eagles (12-0, 1-0 Evergreen 1A) got off to a fast start with 21 points in the first quarter, but it was the defensive effort that impressed Elma head coach Lisa Johnson.

“I thought our defense was awesome, especially coming off of Christmas break where we haven’ had a game in a while,” she said. “It was nice to see them come out and run, play fast and play at our level.”

Elma’s Quin Mikel, right, and Jayln Sackrider, right, come together to double team Hoquiam’s Tauni Hilliard in the fourth quarter on Saturday. Mikel collected four steals in the game. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)

Elma’s defense made a Hoquiam comeback improbable as the Eagles forced 23 turnovers in the contest.

Jillian Bieker, who grabbed five defensive rebounds, said applying pressure was a priority heading in.

“We helped cover lot and we just played with an extra effort today to get to loose balls,” she said.

Kayli Johnson helped set the tone on defense for Elma with a team-leading five steals.

Turnovers combined with shooting just 25 percent from the field sunk the Grizzlies chances as the Eagles carried a 33-13 lead at halftime.

Hoquiam head coach Denny Hinchen said his team is still adjusting to his new offensive strategy in his first year at the helm of the program.

“There’s different things the girls are trying to learn right now. I’m starting to realize it as a coach too, but we’re in a transition process and that’s starting to show, especially on the offensive end.”

The matchup looked much the same in the second half with Hoquiam only scoring seven points while Elma scored 17 points in the third quarter alone.

Hoquiam’s Rylee Vonhof led her team with eight points.

Hoquiam’s Rylee Vonhof looks to get her shot past Elma’s Jayln Sackrider (3) in the first quarter on Saturday. Vohof led the Grizzlies with eight points (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)

The wide margin gave Elma an opportunity to play with different lineups on the court and get some of its bench players significant playing time.

Johnson said getting her bench players in the game will help the team in the long run.

“It’s good because they’re getting a lot of experience and a lot of playing time. It just makes us better and stronger as a team,” she said.

Elma will be looking to push its win streak to 13 when it takes on Tenino at home at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

The Grizzlies (7-5, 0-2) also has Tenino scheduled as their next opponent. Hoquiam will head up to Tenino on Friday for a 7 p.m. matchup.

Hinchen said he wants his players to put this game behind them.

“I told them to forget about it. You have to move on,” he said.”We have a long season as far as league and you can’t sit there and dwell on something like that, especially against the top team in 1A.”

Elma 21 12 17 11 – 61

Hoquiam 4 9 2 5 – 20

Top Players: Hoquiam – Vonhof ( 8 pts.); Elma Sackrider (20 pts, 12 reb.) Kali Rambo (12 pts.4 stl), Kassedy Olson (13 pts.)

Willapa Valley 49, Raymond 37

Willapa Valley came out ahead 49-37 in a tough defensive battle with Raymond on Saturday night thanks to a pair of Vikings in double figures.

Hannah Cook and Brooke Friese put up 13 points apiece to propel the Vikings to victory while Britney Patrick had the tough task of guarding of Raymond’s Kyra Gardner.

Gardner ended up with 21 points but scored the majority of her points when not being guarded by Patrick.

Willapa Valley’s Britney Patrick puts up a shot against Raymond’s Hannah Miller (34) during the Vikings’ 49-37 victory on Saturday in Raymond. (Photo by Larry Bale)

Willapa Valley head coach John Peterson said it was a good all around win but he is still waiting for his offense to find a rhythm.

“We rebounded well and we only had nine turnovers. We didn’t shoot the ball well, but we got a lot of shots which means we’re attacking the basket,” he said. “If we ever start hitting our shots, it’ll be scary.”

Peterson was also impressed with the performance of Hallee Layman, who added six points and six rebounds off the bench in the fourth quarter.

Willapa Valley (10-2, 8-2 Pacific 2B) will face Northwest Christian on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Lacey in search of its fifth straight win.

Raymond (6-5, 5-4) will also be back in action on Tuesday with a home game against Ocosta at 7 p.m.

Willapa Valley 16 9 13 11 – 49

Raymond 11 13 4 9 – 37

Top Players: WV — Cook (13 pts.), Friese (13 pts.), Patrick (9 pts, 3 asst, 6 stl.), Swartz (9 pts.); Raymond — Gardner (21 pts).

Ocosta 54, Pe Ell 46

Ocosta responded after losing its first league game of the season to earn a 54-46 win over Pe Ell on Saturday in Westport.

The Wildcats (9-2, 9-1 Central 2B) got 17 points from center Kristi Raffelson and 15 from point guard Kjirstin Hopfer in the victory.

Up 24-19 at the half, Hopfer and Raffelson came up big in the second half, the former scoring seven points in the third quarter while the latter tallied nine points in the fourth, securing the Wildcats’ ninth league victory of the season to keep pace with first-place Ilwaco (11-0, 10-0).

Kaylee Barnum paced the Wildcats in the first half, scoring nine of her 11 points in the first half on three 3-pointers.

Pe Ell (2-9, 2-7) was paced by Charlie Carper’s team-best 16 points. Carolanne Baldwin scored 14 points for the Trojans, 10 of those coming in the final quarter.

Ocosta takes on Raymond at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Raymond High School.

Pe Ell plays at Chief Leschi High School at 5:45 p.m., also on Tuesday.

Pe Ell 10 9 9 18 — 46

Ocosta 14 10 14 16 — 54

Top Players: Ocosta — Raffelson (17 pts.), Hopfer (15 pts.), K. Barnum (11 pts.); Pe Ell — Carper (16 pts.), Baldwin (14 pts.), Katie Davis (6 pts.).

— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group

Chimacum 42, Aberdeen 24

Aberdeen held its own in the first half but couldn’t keep up after the break in a 42-24 loss to Chimacum on Saturday in Aberdeen.

Tied at 15-15 at halftime, Aberdeen (1-9, 0-1 Evergreen 2A) was outscored 27-9 in the second half.

“We had the best half of the season. We were moving the ball well and getting it to our bigs,” Aberdeen head coach Rachel Wenzel said of the Bobcats’ first-half performance. “But we came out of the half flat and had several turnovers in a row.”

Aliyah Tageant scored nine points on 4-of-14 shooting for Aberdeen.

Kennedy Pruett scored five points and had eight rebounds in an effort Wenzel noted was “one of her best games.”

Chimacum (5-5) was led by Mia McNair, who scored a game-high 21 points.

Aberdeen resumes league play with a 7 p.m. matchup against Black Hills on Tuesday in Aberdeen.

Chimacum 6 9 12 15 — 42

Aberdeen 8 7 4 5 — 24

Top Players: Aberdeen — Tageant (9 pts.), Pruett (5 pts., 8 reb.); Chimacum — McNair (21 pts.).

— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group

South Bend 58, Northwest Christian 14

Karley Reidinger scored 16 points to lead South Bend past Northwest Christian, 58-14, on Saturday at South Bend High School.

South Bend (5-6, 5-4 Pacific 2B) put the game to bed early, outscoring NWC (1-11, 1-8) 21-3 in the first quarter.

Reidinger had seven rebounds — tied with Alathia Markwell for the team lead — to go along with her high-scoring night.

Alise Rohr added 13 points for an Indians team that shot 24-of-68 from the field.

“It was nice to see the focus and effort are girls started the game with. We played hard both on defense and offense,” South Bend head coach Gary Wilson said. “I was pleased how we moved the ball against their zone. Rohr played a strong game inside and Reidinger hit shots from the perimeter. It was a great game for all our kids to get good floor time.”

South Bend faces Chief Leschi at 5:45 p.m. on Monday at Chief Leschi High School.

South Bend 21 15 11 11 — 58

NWC 3 2 4 5 — 14

Top Players: SB — Reidinger (16 pts., 7 reb.), Rohr (13 pts.), Jessica Sanchez (8 pts., 5 asst.), Markwell (2 pts., 7 reb., 5 stl.), Hannah Byington (5 pts., 7 stl, 5 asst.).

— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group