Aberdeen’s district tournament run ended before it began as we review Wednesday’s district girls basketball playoff action on the Harbor.
GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL
Washougal 66, Aberdeen 46
Aberdeen picked the wrong time to play flat as the Bobcats saw their season end with a 66-46 loss to Washougal in the 2A District 4 Tournament’s pigtail game on Wednesday at Washougal High School.
Aberdeen (13-8 overall) trailed 22-8 after one quarter and never really recovered in the 20-point loss.
“We didn’t play defense very well at all,” Aberdeen head coach Curtis Eccles said. “We knew going in that they were a 3-point shooting team, … So we knew going man-to-man (defense) was our best chance to prevent them from getting open looks. But for some reason, we didn’t come to play defense tonight and they got some open looks and took advantage of that.”
The Panthers (12-11), which defeated Woodland the previous night to advance to the pigtail game, hit 11 threes as a team against the Cats.
Washougal senior co-captain Ireland Albaugh scored a game-high 26 points, including five 3-pointers.
Aberdeen also had an uncharacteristic 21 turnovers in the game and was below its season average with 12 steals.
Senior forward Jaylyn Phimmasone had 12 points and nine rebounds while freshman guard Bentley Brown also scored 12 points to lead Aberdeen.
Senior Annie Troeh scored six points and had six steals while twin sister Zoe added seven points in their final games as Bobcats.
The loss was a bittersweet end for a memorable Bobcats season that included wins over Tumwater and Montesano for the first time in a decade, a winning record and a playoff berth in Eccles’ first season as Aberdeen’s head coach.
“I had so much fun and I told them after the game how proud I am of them for all the different things they accomplished this year,” Eccles said. “I’m so proud of the way they came together and created that chemistry they needed to be successful. Just being here tonight and having a chance to be a part of a district game is a great accomplishment and I hope that will carry over for the underclassmen next year.”
Eccles also took time to thank his coaching staff.
“I’d like to thank Dan Brown and Brandon Knutson for their help this year as assistant coaches for all their hard work that they helped me do over the summer and this year,” said Eccles, who also acknowledged his three outgoing seniors, Phimmasone and the Troeh sisters. “It was just a phenomenal season and there’s a lot of great accomplishments this year that made this season a lot of fun.”
Aberdeen 8 13 12 13 – 46
Washougal 22 15 15 14 – 66
Scoring: Phimmasone 12, Brown 12, Z. Troeh 7, A. Troeh 6, Mainio 3, Knutson 2, D. Shoemaker 2, Lamont 2. Washougal – Ire. Albaugh 26.
Seton Catholic 58, Hoquiam 13
Hoquiam hit just three shots from the field in a 58-13 loss to Seton Catholic in the first round of the 1A District 4 Tournament on Wednesday in Vancouver.
The 7th-seeded Grizzlies (4-17) went 3-for-36 shooting (8%) and scored five points in the first half.
The No. 2 Cougars (17-4) went 26 of 47 (55%) and had the game in had by halftime up 36-5.
“We just could not come up with offense as we had opportunities and openings, but struggled to get anything to drop,” Hoquiam head coach Chad Allan said. “They did not have that problem and shot well.”
Sophomore guard Lexi LaBounty led Hoquiam with five points.
Hoquiam had 24 turnovers to 15 for the Cougars and were outrebounded 32-21.
With the loss, Hoquiam drops to the elimination round where it will face the loser of the Castle Rock-Eatonville first-round game on Saturday (time, location to be determined).
Hoquiam 3 2 4 4 – 13
Seton Catholic 21 15 11 11 – 58
Scoring: Hoquiam – LaBounty 5, Brodhead 4, Howard 2, Little 1, Gordon 1. Seton Catholic – Sheldon 17, Seymer 13, Jenniges 9, Mancuso 8, Hemmerstrom 5, Williams 2, Moore 2, Ordona 2.
Willapa Valley 53, Columbia Adventist 31
Willapa Valley lived to fight another day with a 53-31 victory over Columbia Adventist Academy in the second round of the 1B District 4 Tournament on Wednesday in Menlo.
The 5th-seeded Vikings (12-11) played a complete game in jumping out to a 27-8 halftime lead over the No. 9 Kodiaks (5-14) in the win-or-go-home matchup.
Seven different Vikings scored in the game, led by eighth-grade guard Tylar Keeton’s 16-point, 12-rebound double-double, her second of the season.
Senior forward Hadlee Russell also scored in double figures with 14 points and six steals while junior forward Addison Merkel had four points and eight rebounds for Valley.
“They came out and moved the ball really well, worked together as a team and we were able to control the tempo of the game all night,” Valley head coach Dawn Keeton said. “Tylar played really well on both ends, creating opportunties for others and Hadlee stepped up in her leadership role, playing in her last game at Tenoski Gym, she put in a solid performance.”
The Vikings went 22 of 71 from the field (31%) and had 23 steals as a team while committing 21 turnovers.
With the win, Valley enters the double-elimination portion of the tournament and will face No. 4 Mary M. Knight in a quarterfinal game at 6 p.m. Friday at Mary M. Knight High School.
Valley defeated the Owls 56-22 back on Dec. 16.
Columbia Adventist 3 5 14 9 – 31
Willapa Valley 10 17 16 10 – 53
Scoring: CAA – Shawler 14. Willapa Valley – Keeton 16, Russell 14, Channel 8, Matlock 6, Fluke 4, Merkel 4, Wilson 1.
Other games
1B District 4 Tournament
Naselle 61, Oakville 34 (Oakville eliminated)
