Montesano and Elma are set for a district-semifinal showdown after both picked up wins in the 1A District 4 Tournament on Thursday.
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Montesano 52, La Center 34
It wasn’t a Rembrandt, but Montesano will gladly take the win.
Despite not having their typical offensive performance, the Bulldogs defense stepped up as Monte earned a 52-34 victory over La Center in a 1A District 4 Tournament first-round game on Thursday at Montesano High School.
In a matchup of two of the youngest teams in the tournament, the top-seeded Bulldogs (13-9 overall) won ugly, using their aggressive press defense to overcome 19 turnovers and a 31% shooting performance (23-74) against the No. 8 Wildcats (10-12).
After a 12-12 first quarter that saw Monte have its fair share of mistakes, the Bulldogs defense clamped down on La Center to hold the Wildcats to three points in the second frame.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano’s Ava Schrader (22) looks to pass while being defended by La Center’s Mekenzie Schockelt (23) during the Bulldogs’ 52-34 victory in a 1A District 4 quarterfinal game on Thursday in Montesano.
With Monte up 22-15 at the half, the Bulldogs turned up the defensive intensity in the third quarter.
Monte held a 25-19 lead at the 5:48 mark of the period before embarking on a 14-0 run, highlighted by seven straight points from sophomore forward Lex Stanfield and capped by a bucket in the paint from sophomore standout Jillie Dalan off an assist from Stanfield.
By the time the dust settled, Monte held a commanding 39-22 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Wildcats never crept any closer than 14 points in the fourth as Monte cruised to the victory despite not having its A-game on offense.
“Obviously, it wasn’t pretty from our side,” Monte head coach Mark Mansfield said. “We got a little out of sync, especially offensively, and that played into our defense (in the first half). But I thought we came out in the third quarter and re-established (our defense). We got some turnovers and easy buckets to kind of stretch the lead.”
Dalan led Monte with 22 points on 10-of-20 shooting (50%) to go along with 11 rebounds – eight on the offensive glass – and five steals.
Stanfield finished with 15 points, hitting 7-of-16 shots from the floor (44%), while recording five steals.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano point guard Tieander Olson (2) dribbles against La Center’s Riley Schultz (5) during the Bulldogs’ 52-34 victory in a 1A District 4 quarterfinal game on Thursday in Montesano.
Monte freshman point guard Tieander Olson had five points, nine rebounds, six steals and a team-high eight assists in the game.
The Bulldogs committed 19 turnovers, but outrebounded La Center 39-29 and forced 38 turnovers while recording 21 steals as a team.
“Once we got a steal, we were able to capitalize and it was kind of that momentum that snowballed rolling downhill,” Mansfield said. “Even when they got through our press, we sped them up enough that they threw it away a couple of times getting it down the floor. … Our defense set the tone and got us a nice advantage and we were able to hold on from there.”
With the win, Monte advances to the district semis against No. 5 Elma, a team the Bulldogs swept in two league meetings this season.
The East County rivals will square off at 6 p.m. on Saturday in Montesano with a spot in the district finals and state-playoff berth on the line.
La Center 12 3 7 12 – 34
Montesano 12 10 17 13 – 52
Scoring: La Center – Schockelt 11, Wise 10, Maddock 6, Tomberlin 5, Sherry 2. Montesano – Dalan 22, Stanfield 15, Olson 5, Forster 4, Schrader 3, Wintrip 2, Parkin 1.
Elma 31, King’s Way Christian 25
Elma advanced to the district semis with a 31-25 victory over King’s Way Christian in a 1A District 4 Tournament game on Thursday in Vancouver.
The 5th-seeded Eagles (8-10) didn’t score much, but they didn’t have to as Elma’s defense held the No. 4 Knights (10-9) to less than 10 points in every quarter of the game and seven points total in the second half.
“I’m so proud of our girls and the effort they gave for 32 minutes,” Elma head coach Brandi Henry said. “They stayed disciplined down the stretch and executed our game plan.”
Elma was led by junior guard Mia Monroe who scored all eight of her points in the Eagles’ 10-5 third quarter.
Sophomore post Olivia Moore added seven points for Elma.
With the victory, Elma advances to the district semifinals where it will face East County rival Montesano at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
The winner will advance to the district final and earn a spot in the state tournament.
Elma 5 13 10 3 – 31
KWC 9 9 5 2 – 25
Scoring: Elma – Monroe 8, Moore 7, Spencer 6, Bol 6, E. Sibbett 4. KWC – Bagley 11, Erwin 7, Tindol 5.
Raymond-South Bend 68, Onalaksa 36
Raymond-South Bend stayed alive with a 68-36 victory over Onalaska in a 2B District 4 elimination game on Thursday at Castle Rock High School.
After the Ravens (12-7) took a slim 14-13 lead at the end of the first quarter, the defense took over, allowing five points in the second quarter and 18 total in the second half.
”Great energy on the defensive side tonight,” RSB head coach Jason Koski said. “Our kids were really locked in on our scout of Onalaska in such a short notice.”
The Ravens got a boost from sophomore guard Emma Glazier (13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) and sophomore post Ava Pine (11 pts., 8 reb., blk.), who scored nine of her 11 points in RSB’s 16-5 second quarter.
“Emma Glazier and Ava Pine came in the second quarter and totally changed the momentum of the game for us,” Coach Koski said. “Emma attacking the basket and hitting some free throws and Ava grabbing some key rebounds and making some put-backs.”
In the second half, the Ravens hit 13 field goals and went 8-of-10 from the charity stripe (80%) to extend their lead.
In addition to Glazier and Pine, RSB’s Kassie Koski (16 pts., 11 reb.), Kyndal Koski (15 pts., 8 reb., 5 ast., 2 stl.) and Megan Kongbouakhay (10 pts., ast., stl.) also scored in double figures for the Ravens.
With the elimination-game victory, Raymond-South Bend advances to face Toledo in win-or-go-home matchup scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Castle Rock High School.
Onalaska 13 5 9 9 – 36
RSB 14 16 18 20 – 68
Scoring: Onalaska – Jacoby 22, Zandell 5, Kinsman 3, Hamilton 2, Zurinskas 2, Talley 2. RSB – Kas. Koski 16, Kyn. Koski 15, Glazier 13, Pine 11, Kongbouakhay 10, Stigall 3.
Other games
1A District 4 Tournament
No. 3 Eatonville 62, No. 6 Castle Rock 34
2B District 4 Tournament
Forks 53, Ocosta 19 (Ocosta eliminated)
Ilwaco 51, Morton-White Pass 48 (MWP eliminated)
Toledo 55, Chief Leschi 11 (Chief Leschi eliminated)
