To this point of the season, Aberdeen senior guard Maddie Gore has been the driving force behind the Bobcats’ early success.
On Friday, the Centralia Tigers had more than just Gore to deal with.
Aberdeen had one of its best all-around offensive nights in recent memory in defeating Centralia 68-28 in a 2A Evergreen Conference matchup at in Aberdeen.
Aberdeen’s offense was hot from the start and it wasn’t just Gore doing the scoring.
Late in the first quarter, Aberdeen (5-0 overall, 2-0 2A Evergreen) quickly stretched a four-point lead to double digits when junior guard Laynie Yakovich swished back-to-back 3-pointers for a 19-9 lead.
From that point forward, the rout was on.
Senior Zoe Troeh gave Aberdeen a 22-11 lead at the end of the first quarter with a 3-pointer and the Bobcats would take a 33-11 lead on a pair of free throws from junior Jaylynn Phimmasone with 5:00 left in the second frame.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen Jaylynn Phimmasone hits a free throw during the Bobcats’ 67-38 win on Friday in Aberdeen. Aberdeen hit 17-of-19 free throws as a team in the victory.
Aberdeen closed out the half with a pair of free throws from sophomore guard Mija Hood to take a commanding 41-16 lead into the break.
Phimmasone hit a three to open the second half, giving Aberdeen a 44-16 lead.
The Bobcats defense — which trapped, pressured and disrupted Centralia the entire game — held the Tigers to nine points in the third quarter in taking a comfortable 54-25 advantage into the fourth.
Aberdeen cruised the rest of the way, with Phimmasone scoring the Bobcats’ final five points — on another three and two made free throws — to close out the 67-38 victory and keep the Bobcats undefeated on the season.
Gore, who had 40 points in the Bobcats victory over Black Hills on Wednesday, led Aberdeen with 19 points, eight rebounds, five steals and four assists.
Phimmasone added 15 points and five rebounds with Annie Troeh and Zoe Troeh adding 10 and nine points, respectively.
“We’ve had Maddie for four years, and now we have the other pieces that can contribute. We can be a really successful team this year if we keep getting better each game,” Aberdeen head coach Rachel Wenzel said. “We’ve have struggled on offense with our shooting, so we were working really hard on attacking the rim at practice yesterday. … I feel confident putting any of my girls in and that they’re going to do what they need to do in their roles to alleviate any pressure of Maddie. … That’s what championship teams need to do.”
Centralia opened the game with a box-and-1 defense in an effort to keep Gore from getting open looks at the basket, but the standout senior scorer found her open teammates, who hit buckets which forced Centralia to change up its defensive strategy.
“When Laynie and the Troehs started shooting, (Centralia) realized they couldn’t do that, so they had to get off it,” Wenzel said of the Tigers attempts to make anyone but Gore beat them. “That’s what we need.”
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen Annie Troeh scored 10 points during the Bobcats’ 67-38 win over Centralia on Friday in Aberdeen.
Most glaringly in Aberdeen’s performance was the Bobcats free-throw shooting. The Cats converted a staggering 17-of-19 free throws — opening the game with nine-straight makes — for an 89% conversion rate.
The conventional wisdom circulating Sam Benn Gym after the game was that Wenzel must have had her team shooting extra free throws at practice, but suprisingly, that turned out not to be the case.
“We were just talking a lot about how I wanted us to stop relying on the outside shot. I wanted us to attack the basket and we’ll get to the line,”Wenzel said. “We didn’t practice free throws. We didn’t do anything special. But when they have confidence, I think we can go really far. That was amazing.”
Aberdeen will face unbeaten Tumwater in a battle of first-place teams at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Tumwater.
Centralia 11 5 9 13 — 38
Aberdeen 22 19 13 13 — 67
Scoring: C — Wilkerson 12, Schofield 6, Sprague 5, Cline 5, Ritchey 4, Chavez 4, Babka 2. A — Gore 19, Phimmasone 15, A. Troeh 10, Z. Troeh 9, Yakovich 6, Hood 4, Marll 4.
