Elma and Willapa Valley saw their seasons come to an end with losses in their respective district tournaments on Saturday.
GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL
Eatonville 50, Elma 44
Elma fell short in its bid for a state-playoff berth, suffering a 50-44 season ending loss to Eatonville in the 1A District 4 Tournament’s third-place game on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.
The Eagles (9-12 overall) played from behind in the first half but stayed in the game, trailing 23-21 to the Cruisers (15-5) at halftime.
Elma continued to play catch-up in the second half, falling behind by seven after hitting just 3-of-11 shots in the third quarter (27%).
PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Elma’s Oliva Moore (33) and Keke Bol (12) defend against Eatonville’s Lillian Bickford (14) during the Eagles’ 50-44 loss in a 1A District 4 Tournament game on Saturday at Hoquiam High School. Elma senior Emmie Spencer (10) looks on.
The Eagles got two within two possessions in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t get over the hump in suffering the 50-44 loss.
Elma was led by seniors Eliza Sibbett, Aaleigha Weld and Emmie Spencer, who scored 16, 10 and seven points, respectively, in their final prep basketball games.
The Eagles shot 30% from the field on 9-of-31 shooting and converted 3-of-9 free throws in the game (33%).
Eatonville was led by 6-foot-4 junior center Lillian Bickford with 17 points and shot 32% from the field on 18-of-56 shooting.
The Cruisers also got to to foul line, hitting 13-of-28 free throws (46%).
The loss ends the season for Elma and the prep basketball careers of seniors Spencer, Weld, Eliza Sibbett, Malia Sibbett and Karly Rambo.
Elma 9 12 8 15 – 44
Eatonville 13 10 13 14 – 50
Scoring: Elma – E. Sibbett 16, Weld 10, Spencer 7, Moore 5, Bol 3, Monroe 3. Eatonville – Bickford 17, Anderson 13, Hall 11, Stammen 5, Smith 3, Meyer 1.
Pe Ell 27, Willapa Valley 21
Willapa Valley came out on the wrong end of a low-scoring affair, falling to Pe Ell 27-21 in a 1B District 4 elimination game on Saturday in Montesano.
The Vikings (14-13) and Trojans (16-5) managed to score just 10 points total in the first quarter and Pe Ell held a 10-8 lead at halftime.
That trend continued in the second half as Pe Ell outscored Valley 10-4 in the third quarter, for the only double-digit quarter for either team in the game.
”It was definitely a defensive stalemate. We were able to slow down their high-scoring offense, but unfortunately, we couldn’t put any of the defensive effort into points,” Valley head coach Dawn Keeton said.
The Vikings went 7 for 39 from the field (18%) and committed 26 turnovers as a team.
Valley was led by sophomore guard Lauren Matlock with nine points.
Vikings senior Hadlee Russell had four points and tied for the team lead with nine rebounds in her final prep basketball game.
Valley eighth-grade guard Tylar Keeton added nine rebounds and two blocks.
Pe Ell was led by freshman guard Karli Phelps with 11 points and hit 10-of-53 shots as a team (19%).
”We needed to take more shots for sure. We’re a young team and we learned a lot this season. I’m proud of all the girls and the effort that they had,” Coach Keeton said. “It was a great season overall, being my first year and taking on the head coach role. I’ve learned a lot and I know the girls have learned a lot. Like I told them, it’s got to start in the off-season to get ready for next season.”
The loss marked the final prep basketball game for seniors Russell, Emily Wilson and Lina Clerc.
Pe Ell earned a state-tournament berth with the victory and will enter the playoff as the No. 16 seed. The Trojans will take on No. 9 Sunnyside Christian in a loser-out game at 6 p.m. Friday at Grandview High School.
Willapa Valley 2 6 4 9 – 21
Pe Ell 8 2 10 7 – 27
Scoring: Willapa Valley – Matlock 9, Russell 4, Fluke 3, Merkel 3, Channell 2. Pe Ell – Phelps 11.
Other games
1B District 4 Championship
Mossyrock 46, Taholah 32
1B State Tournament
No. 14 Taholah vs. No. 11 Lummi Nation (Noon, Saturday at Mount Vernon High School)
