RAYMOND — Ocosta got a strong effort on the boards and had three players in double digits in a dominant 73-41 road win over Raymond on Tuesday night.

Ocosta (10-2, 10-1 Pacific 2B) was led by point guard Kjirstin Hopfer, who put up 23 points and nabbed four steals in the victory.

Ocosta’s Kristi Raffelson also had a big game with 16 points while Kaylee Barnum added 13.

The Wildcats also had a pronounced advantage on the glass, out-rebounding the Seagulls, 37-26.

Ocosta head coach Jason Barnum said rebounding was one of the keys to success at both ends of the floor.

“That’s our forte. We want to clean the glass and make sure you don’t get extra possessions,” he said. “If you give enough extra possessions to anyone they’re going to score eventually.”

With Raymond (5-5, 6-6) struggling to control the interior, Ocosta jumped out to 24-10 lead by the end of the first quarter despite not hitting as many of its shots as they hoped for.

Raymond’s Hannah Miller drives by Ocosta’s Kylee Poirier in the fourth quarter on Tuesday in Raymond. Miller led the Seagulls with 13 points. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)

The Wildcats widened the gap in the second quarter and took a 38-21 lead into halftime, but Ocosta’s Emily Snider said the team didn’t really find its rhythm until the second half.

“We started to shoot a little more on the outside and our confidence level went up when we started to pull ahead later in the game,” she said.

Ocosta only hit three 3-pointers in the contest but found success shooting from mid-range as the Wildcats scored 21 points in the third quarter.

In addition to some improved jump shooting, Ocosta also got into passing lanes and came away with 11 steals in the contest.

Raymond head coach Jason Koski said his team’s inability to stop Ocosta from scoring was what he found most frustrating.

“I was more disappointed with giving up 74 points,” he said. “Our defense was very bad and undisciplined and we didn’t rebound the basketball at all.”

On the offensive end, Raymond’s Hannah Miller led the way with 13 points while the high-scoring Kyra Gardner was held to 11.

Hoping to duplicate the result of Ocosta’s last victory over Raymond, the Wildcats went with a box-and-one defense where a defender followed Gardner whenever she moved off-ball.

Ocosta’s Kaylee Barnum takes mid-range jumper against Raymond on Tuesday night. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)

Koski thought Gardner handled Ocosta’s defense better than she did the first time and is hoping the rest of his team can get more comfortable asserting themselves offensively.

“They have to realize that when Kyra doesn’t have the ball they have to be able to play. It’s not a one-on-five game, it’s a five-on-five game. There are four other players that have to be assertive enough with the basketball in the offensive end.”

Ocosta captured the win but is hoping they won’t lose one of its post players long term. While battling for a rebound with 4:35 in the fourth quarter, Raffelson went down with an apparent left knee injury.

She wasn’t able to put weight on her injured knee after the game, but Barnum thinks his team will have its post player back sooner rather than later.

“If she had a tear we would have already taken her to the hospital. Her dad’s an EMT and her mom is a nurse, so we’ll have mom and dad take a look at it and go from there,” he said.

The loss moves Raymond down to fifth place in the league standings. The Seagulls will look to hold on to its spot when they take on sixth-place Chief Leschi (4-6, 5-6) in a road game at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Ocosta remained in second place with the win and will face Northwest Christian Academy at 5:45 p.m. in Lacey.

Despite the Navigators’ record this season, Barnum is hoping his team comes in focused.

“They’re struggling this year, but we’re going to go down there with a gameplan and hopefully we play up and not play down and handle business,” he said.

Ocosta 24 14 21 15 – 73

Raymond 10 11 15 5 – 41

Top Players: Ocosta — Hopfer (23 pts., 4 stl.) Raffelson (16 pts., 11 reb.), Kaylee Barnum (13 pts., 9 asst.); Raymond — Miller (13 pts.), Gardner (11 pts.).

Taholah 74, Lake Quinault 14

Taholah turned defense into offense on Tuesday with a blowout home win over Lake Quinault 74-14.

Taholah came out with a high-pressure defense that fueled the transition game and overwhelmed Lake Quinault as the Elks only scored four points in the first quarter.

Denise Curleybear was a steal shy of a double-double, scoring 14 points and coming away with nine swipes.

Chitwhins head coach Fred Pope said Tuesday’s performance was of the best efforts he’s seen from his team this season.

“I thought this was the first real good game that our girls played,” he said. “We played with a swarming defense, we found the open person for easy points, and we kept the pressure on Lake Quinault limiting them on shots. It was an overall good game for us and we can still make adjustments to be a better team.”

The Elks were led by Christin Saavedra who scored five points.

Lake Quinault (0-4, 0-2 Pacific 1B) will be in pursuit of its first victory when they take on Naselle at home on Thursday at 6 p.m.

Taholah (6-3, 2-0) is hoping to push its win streak to three games with a matchup against Oakville on Friday a 6 p.m. in Oakville.

Taholah 22 17 21 14 – 74

Lake Quinault 4 8 0 2 – 14

Top Players: Taholah – Teresa Billie (12 pts.), Curleybear ( 14 pts., 9 stl.), Angel Ancheta (10 pts.).

Montesano 63, Forks 27

With a big night from Glory Grubb, Montesano rolled past Forks 63-27 to earn a road victory on Tuesday night.

Grubb’s scoring led the way as the senior put up 18 points and dished out four assists to lift the Bulldogs.

Zoe Hutchings was also a force on the interior and scored 13 points while grabbing eight rebounds.

Monte’s defense was also stout as the Bulldogs (8-6, 2-1 Evergreen 1A) managed to keep the Spartans (5-6, 0-2) from scoring more 10 points in a quarter until the fourth quarter.

“We worked hard on both ends of the floor,” Montesano head coach Julie Graves said. “We emphasized ball movement on offense and talking on defense and did a nice job improving in those areas.”

Montesano will take on White River in a non-conference affair in a home game on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Montesano 17 18 14 14 — 63

Forks 5 8 4 10 — 27

Top Players: Montesano — Grubb (18 pts., 4 asst), Hutchings (13 pts., 8 reb.), Katie Granstrom (8 pts., 7 reb., 6 stl., 5 asst.).

North River 15, Oakville 11

The Mustangs won their first game of the season with a 15-11 win over Oakville on Tuesday at North River High School.

Naomi Olson scored five points to lead North River (1-1).

Ruby Gumaelius added four points for the Mustangs.

Oakville (0-4) was led by Joanna Kukhar (5 points) and Cheyenne Linholm (4 pts.).

The Acorns host Taholah at 7 p.m. on Friday.

North River has a road game at Mary M. Knight, also at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Oakville 2 5 4 0 — 11

North River 4 5 2 4 — 15

Top Players: North River — Olson (5 pts.), Gumaelius (4 pts.); Oakville — Kukhar (5 pts.), Linholm (4 pts.).

— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group

Mary M. Knight 52, Wishkah Valley 25

Mary M. Knight senior Kaylee Sowle’s second-half scoring outburst led the Owls to a 52-25 victory over Wishkah Valley on Tuesday at Wishkah Valley High School.

Sowle, who was held to nine points in the first half, erupted for 19 second-half points to finish with a game-high 28 on the night.

Wishkah (2-2, 0-1 Coastal 1B) held serve with the Owls (9-1, 3-0) early in the game, but 22 turnovers cost the Loggerettes.

“That’s way too many,” Wishkah head coach Dave Busz said of his team’s turnover woes. “We led 11-10 in the second quarter, but that disappeared because of the turnovers.”

Wishkah was led on the scoreboard by Brooke Haskey, who recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Mackenzie Robertson added five points and 12 rebounds for Wishkah, which plays at Oakville at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Mary M. Knight hosts North River at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Mary M. Knight 8 13 19 12 — 52

Wishkah Valley 7 8 5 5 — 25

Top Players: MMK — Sowle (28 pts.), Jadyn Davidson (11 pts.); Wishkah — Haskey (10 pts., 12 reb.), Char Gutierrez (6 pts.), Robertson (5 pts., 12 reb.).

— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group

Willapa Valley 58, Northwest Christian 30

Led by Katie Adkins, a trio of Willapa Valley players scored in double figures as the Vikings cruised to a 58-30 victory over Northwest Christian on Tuesday in Lacey.

Adkins scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a performance that was praised by her head coach, John Peterson.

“Katie was outstanding,” he said. “This was clearly her best game of the season.”

Adkins had help in the form of consistent scorer Brooke Friese (14 points) and junior guard Olivia Betrozoff (10 points), whom Peterson said “played a terrific game” running the floor.

Willapa Valley (11-2, 9-2 Pacific 2B) struggled to get going in the first quarter against the Navigators (1-12, 1-9) but found its rhythm as the game wore on.

“We forgot to get off the bus in the first quarter,” Peterson quipped. “Coming off vacation, a long bus ride, we simply were not ready to play basketball. … It was the worst quarter of basketball we played all year. … When we woke up, we played great. … I was very pleased with our play in the second half.”

Hannah Cook added eight points, nine steals and five assists for Willapa Valley, which hosts North Beach at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Willapa Valley 17 16 23 12 — 68

Northwest Christian 13 4 9 4— 30

Top Players: Willapa Valley — Adkins (18 pts., 7 reb.), Friese (14 pts.), Betrozoff (10 pts.), Cook (8 pts., 9 stl, 5 asst.), Hallee Layman (8 pts.).

— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group

South Bend 58, North Beach 18

Hannah Byington and Karley Reidinger each scored over 20 points as the South Bend Indians throttled North Beach 58-18 on Tuesday at North Beach High School.

Byington led all scorers with 24 points — including four 3-pointers — to go along with five rebounds and four steals.

“Hannah was in the zone and stayed there most of the night,” South Bend head coach Gary Wilson said.

Reidinger contributed 20 points for an Indians team that hit 22-of-50 shots from the field and 8-of-9 free throws on the evening.

“This was our fourth game in six nights, all but one on the road,” Wilson said. “So it was nice to see how much fire they still had.”

With the win, South Bend (7-6, 7-4 Pacific 2B) moves a half-game up on Raymond, which lost 73-41 to Ocosta on Tuesday, for fourth place in the 2B Pacific League.

The Indians host the league’s top team, Ilwaco, at 7 p.m. on Friday.

North Beach (3-8, 3-6) currently sits in seventh place in league and faces Pe Ell at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Ocean Shores.

South Bend 21 18 10 9 — 58

North Beach 7 0 5 6 — 18

Top Players: South Bend — Byington (24 pts., 5 reb., 4 stl.), Reidinger (20 pts., 5 reb.), Jessica Sanchez (7 pts., 4 reb., 6 asst.).

— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group

BOYS PREP BASKETBALL

Montesano 67, Forks 63

Montesano’s Trace Ridgway put back his own missed free throw with just seconds left to give the Bulldogs a 67-63 victory on Tuesday at Forks High School.

With Monte leading 64-63 with 4.8 seconds left in the game, Ridgway was fouled and sent to the line. The 6-foot-3 sophomore made the first freebie before missing the second. On the miss, Ridgway, who was all alone against four Forks rebounders, grabbed the board and laid it back in the basket to give Monte the four-point victory and deflate an eager Forks crowd that had seen its team surge back from a 20 point deficit at the half.

“We went in the half with a 20-point lead, but they came out in the second half and put some pressure on us,” Monte head coach Doug Galloway said.

Monte (8-6, 2-1 Evergreen 1A) took a 44-24 lead into the half after a blistering second quarter where the Bulldogs outscored the Spartans, 26-9.

But behind Court Prose and Braton Armas — each of whom scored 24 points — Forks (9-4, 1-1) was able to rally back in the second half.

Monte was paced by junior guard Sam Winter, who scored a game-high 25 points to go along with six rebounds, five steals and four assists.

Shaydon Farmer helped Winter carry some of the offensive load for the Bulldogs, scoring 21 points while grabbing nine boards.

Monte shot nearly 50 percent from the floor, hitting 24-of-50 shots.

Forks finished the night 25-of-69 from the field.

Next up for the Bulldogs is Adna, which Monte hosts at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Montesano 18 26 8 15 — 67

Forks 15 9 17 22 — 63

Top Players: Montesano — Winter (25 pts., 6 reb., 5 stl, 4 asst.), Farmer (21 pts., 9 reb.); Forks — Prose (24 pts.), Armas (24 pts.).

— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group

North River 64, Oakville 58 (OT)

North River’s Luis Nieves scored 34 points to lead the Mustangs to a 64-58 overtime win against Oakville on Tuesday in Cosmopolis.

“They made a push at the end and we just couldn’t shake ‘em,” North River head coach Sean Pierson said of the Acorn’s fourth-quarter rally to tie the game. “Oakville did a fantastic job. … It was a tug-of-war the entire game.”

Tied at 56-56, North River (1-1 overall, Coastal 1B) outscored Oakville 8-2 in overtime to earn the victory.

“We made shots in the overtime and they didn’t. That’s really what it came down to,” Pierson said.

North River was led by Nathan Boyd’s 17 points while his younger brother, Ashton, chipped in with 13 points.

Oakville (2.7, 0-3) was also paced by a brother duo as Kelvin Nieves scored 18 points to go along with brother Luis’ big scoring night.

Oakville plays Taholah at 5:45 p.m. on Friday at Oakville High School.

North River travels to Elma to play Mary M. Knight at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Oakville 15 10 13 18 2 — 58

North River 14 16 14 12 8 — 64

Top Players: North River — L. Nieves (34 pts.), K. Nieves (18 pts.); Oakville — N. Boyd (17 pts.), A. Boyd (13 pts.).

— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group