The Elma Eagles made the plays down the stretch to stave off any Hoquiam comeback hopes in a 46-30 win on Wednesday at Elma High School.
Elma (4-7 overall, 1-0 1A Evergreen) opened 1A Evergreen League play by jumping out to a 12-2 lead on a three by Eagles senior point guard Emmie Spencer with 2:32 left in the first quarter.
Hoquiam (2-7, 0-1) committed nine turnovers in the first quarter, leading to a 14-3 deficit after the first eight minutes of play.
In the second quarter, Elma’s lead stretched to as much as 12 points after sophomore post Olivia Moore scored off of offensive rebounds on two consecutive possessions to put the Eagles up 25-15 with just under two minutes to go until halftime.
A Lexi LaBounty score off an assist from senior forward Dylan Little put Hoquiam down 25-17 going into the break.
Hoquiam would trim Elma’s lead to six points twice in the third quarter, the last when LaBounty converted two free throws to cut the Eagles lead to 30-24 heading to the final period.
The Grizzlies shaved the deficit to five points early in the fourth quarter after a bucket inside by sophomore forward Hayden Brook-Andrew put the Grizzlies behind 31-26.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Hoquiam’s Hayden Brook-Andrew (20) scores against Elma’s Amaya Lewis during the Grizzlies’ 46-30 loss on Wednesday in Elma.
But the Grizzlies couldn’t find enough offense to complete the comeback as Elma made plays throughout the quarter.
Elma shooting guard Mia Monroe buried a three to put the Eagles up 34-26 at the 6:50 mark and repeated the feat a minute later to give Elma a 37-26 lead.
Twin sisters Eliza and Malia Sibbett did the rest for Elma, with Malia knocking down two jump shots sandwiched around an Eliza 3-pointer to put Elma up 44-27 with under a minute left.
“I think our energy was great in the first quarter, then we had to try to find it again throughout the rest of the game,” Elma head coach Brandy Henry said. “I thought they did a good job responding. At halftime, we said that (Hoquiam) was devising a game plan right now and we still have 16 minutes of basketball left, expect them to come out with a run. We had to stay composed and keep our heads up and I thought they did a good job responding to that.”
Eliza Sibbett led all scorers with 16 points as the Eagles shot 17 of 63 from the field (27%), a shooting percentage Henry implied she’d like to see improve.
“I felt like there was a lid on the basket for a little while,” she said. “But they kept shooting and continued to persevere and I think that’s what got us the W tonight.”
Hoquiam was led by LaBounty with 10 points and Brook-Andrew with eight as the Grizzlies were undone by turnovers and rebounds.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Elma’s Malia Sibbett (21) splits Hoquiam defenders Sydney Gordon (42) and Avery Howard for a bucket during the Eagles’ 46-30 victory on Wednesday at Elma High School.
Hoquiam committed 28 turnovers in the game and gave up 23 offensive rebounds to the Eagles.
“First and foremost, I give all credit to Elma as Brandi had them ready to play and their players flat out kept battling,” Hoquiam head coach Chad Allan said. “We made a nice run to get back within six early in the fourth, but could not stay out of our own way once again.”
The Grizzlies shot 28% on 11-of-19 shooting from the floor and converted 8 of 19 free throws (42%).
Elma has a non-league game scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Napavine.
Hoquiam is set to face Ilwaco in a non-league contest at 7 p.m. on Saturday in Ilwaco.
Hoquiam 3 14 7 6 – 30
Elma 14 13 3 16 – 46
Scoring: Hoquiam – LaBounty 10, Brook-Andrew 8, Little 6, Gordon 5, Brodhead 1. Elma – E. Sibbett 14, Bol 7, Monroe 6, M. Sibbett 6, Spencer 5, Moore 5, Rambo 2.
