Fans of the Grays Harbor Chokers were treated to some entertaining basketball on Wednesday night with both the mens and women’s teams playing league-opening games that weren’t decided until the final buzzer.

The women pulled out a dramatic 59-58 victory against Centralia after some late free throws and strong defense at the rim secured the victory.

The men were not as lucky, losing 77-74 to Centralia. But the Chokers but made the game close in the final minutes after being down by as many as 15 in the second half.

WOMEN

Chokers 59, Blazers 58

The women faced the familiar challenge of being undersized and played zone most of the game with the plan of collapsing towards the paint when the ball went inside.

However, the Chokers (1-0, 13-1) found themselves in difficult match ups defensively with players like guard Alexia Thrower guarding some of Centralia’s six-footers on the interior.

Though it wasn’t easy dealing with the mismatch inside, women’s head coach Chad Allan said it is something he game-plans for every night.

“We try to hold our ground and have Thrower be athletic in front of them,” he said. “We got in foul trouble and that limited our ability to do man to man but they took advantage of certain things when we weren’t hitting shots. When we’re hitting shots, it doesn’t matter but when we’re not hitting shots we have to stop them.”

Shots were not falling in the early going. Luckily for the Chokers, Centralia was never able to pull too far away.

Centralia and Grays Harbor both struggled from the field as neither team had much success shooting. While Centralia couldn’t find the shooting touch from the outside, a clogged-up key made it hard on any Choker trying to drive and finish at the rim.

Once the off-ball movement got on track so did the scoring. Grays Harbor’sAngela Sikora started heating up in the fourth quarter, when she hit three of her four 3-point baskets

Sikora’s scoring was assisted by Thrower who was finally able to score in the paint en route to a 24-point performance. That sucked in Centralia’s defense and left shooters open on the perimeter.

The game was actually decided at free throw line.

After a clutch defensive stop, Katie Brisbois was fouled with the Chokers down by one and hit both free throws to give her team a one-point lead with just over 10 seconds left in the game.

Centralia got a couple of good looks at the basket but the Chokers contested both last-second shots and was able to celebrate once the final shot rolled off the rim.

MEN

Blazers 77, Chokers 74

The men had similar experience with their shooting and didn’t get going until there were about five minutes left. The hole they dug in the early part of the second half was too deep to complete the comeback.

Centralia came into the second half nursing a six-point lead but the Blazers dominated the first 15 minutes of the second half and held a lead as large as 15.

But with both teams playing high-pressure defense, some turnovers and some lucky bounces began to go the Chokers’ way as they took the lead down to single digits.

The men also got help from the deep ball in the comeback attempt as Cornelius Holifield went 6-of-12 from beyond the arc to keep his team in it.

Ravages by sickness and injuries, several key members of the GHC rotation were missing but Jalen Gibson-Starks came up big in the point guard role and finished a tough layup at the end to bring the Chokers within a point with less than 10 seconds left.

An errant pass ended Grays Harbor’s final possession.

Choker coach Kevin Williamson said he liked the way his team played in the loss despite his team’s lack of shooting touch early on.

The Chokers (0-1, 2-12) are hoping to have more of their guys return to the lineup before their next game but Williamson said he hopes he can get the same high-energy effort when he gets closer to having his full compliment of players.

“I just liked the energy that those nine had,” he said. “If they can play that hard, that fast for 40 minutes and just turn the ball over a little less, then we’re going to be either in the lead down the stretch or in a tie game.”

The Chokers host Pierce in a doubleheader Saturday.

Women

Centralia 14 14 20 10 — 58

Grays Harbor 14 13 17 15 — 59

Centralia (58) — Howard 8, Connally, Smith 15, Lancaster 10, Elwood 6, Claybrooks 5, Kemble 5, Kleemeyer 3. FG — 22-49 (.449). FT — 9-20.

Grays Harbor (59) — Brisbois 7, Feaster, Wilson 2, Sunchild 2, Thrower 24, Hernandez 2, Sikora 12, Kidder 10. FG — 22-71 (.310). FT — 10-14.

Men

Centralia (77) — Curry 8, Clarke 3, Prangley 22, Peppinger 3, Filley, Meadows 3, Donkor 1, Eiman 4, Gilson 32. FG — 32-68 (.471). FT — 11-21.

Grays Harbor (74) — Gibson-Starks 15, Ling 8, Jackson 3, Holifield 30, Thomas 6, Bean 6, Marrotte, Fischer 6. FG — 25-69 (.362). FT — 15-28.

Halftime: Centralia 40, Grays Harbor 34.