Taholah will play for a district title while Willapa Valley, Hoquiam and Raymond-South Bend lost their semifinal games as we review Tuesday’s district-playoff games on the Harbor.

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GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL

Pe Ell 53, Willapa Valley 29

Willapa Valley couldn’t keep up with Pe Ell in the Vikings’ 53-29 loss in a 1B District 4 semifinal matchup on Tuesday in Adna.

The Vikings (12-10) trailed 11-8 after the first quarter and held a 16-15 lead after an Addison Merkel 3-pointer early in the second quarter.

But the Trojans (20-0) closed the first half on an 8-0 run and opened the third quarter with a 10-2 blitz to lead by 14 points.

Valley managed just 13 points over the final 16 minutes of play to fall to Pe Ell for the third time this season.

“We handled their full-court press and triangle-and-1 defense well at the beginning,” Valley head coach Dawn Keeton said. “But as we got tired and they sped up the game, we didn’t handle that well. Instead of going at our pace, we went at their pace and that will never go in our favor.”

Valley held Trojans standout guard Karli Phelps to 13 points and no 3-pointers and all-league junior center Peyton Zock to three points, but balanced scoring across the rest of the Pe Ell lineup was too much for Valley to overcome.

“A lot of their points were second and third opportunities,” Keeton said. “We did not block out very well.”

Junior point guard Kylee Fluke led Valley with 11 points while junior guard Lauren Matlock took three charges and “was huge for us, hustling up and down the court,” according to Keeton.

With the loss, Valley will face Naselle in a winner-to-state-loser-out game at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at Raymond High School.

Willapa Valley 8 8 8 5 – 29

Pe Ell 11 12 15 15 – 53

Scoring: WV – Fluke 11, Hurley 7, Merkel 6, Matlock 5. Pe Ell – Phelps 13, M. King 11, Kissner 8, B. King 6, Shannon 4, Engel 3, Zock 3, Magruder 3, A. King 2.

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Seton Catholic 48, Hoquiam 21

Hoquiam couldn’t find enough offense en route to a 48-21 loss to Seton Catholic in a 1A District 4 Tournament semifinal game on Tuesday in Vancouver.

The Grizzlies (14-8) held their own defensively against the Cougars (17-6), holding Seton Catholic to less that 50 points for just the second time in its past 6 games.

But Hoquiam struggled from the field, shooting 18.5% from the floor on 5-of-27 shooting – with just one field goal in the first half – while hitting 10-of-25 free throws (40%).

“We played well in many areas and held our own defensively for many minutes,” Hoquiam head coach Chad Allan said. “We are just not seasoned enough yet offensively to play this caliber of seasoned size and speed. Proud of the effort all game from so many.”

Freshman post Aaliyah Kennedy (5 points, 6 rebounds) and junior post Sydney Gordon (4 pts., 6 reb.) led the Grizzlies, which were outrebouned 40-31 and had 24 turnovers as a team.

With the loss, the Grizzlies will face Kalama in a loser-out-winner-to-state elimination game on Saturday in Centralia (time to be determined).

Hoquiam 5 5 6 5 – 21

Seton Catholic 8 11 12 18 – 48

Scoring: Hoquiam – Kennedy 5, Gordon 4, Burtenshaw 3, K. Brodhead 3, Stankavich 2. Seton Catholic – Jenniges 11, Lee 10, Seymer 8, Whitehouse 8, Sheldon 5, Moore 3, Figueroa 2, Williams 1.

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Taholah 67, Wahkiakum 41

Taholah advanced to the 1B District 4 championship game with a 67-41 win over Wahkiakum on Tuesday at Adna High School.

The Chitwhins (17-5) got out to an early 13-6 lead with six different players recording a field goal in the first quarter and led 28-17 at the half, thanks in large part to seven points from sophomore Shirleymae Stafford in the second quarter.

Taholah extended its lead to 46-32 after three quarters of play and dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring the Mules (10-8) 21-9 led by freshman guard Maliah Pluff, who scored 12 of her team-high 23 points over the final eight minutes of play.

“Tonight was a great game, I feel like they played extremely well,” Taholah head coach Dramikha Jackson said. “There were obviously some things we would like to adjust, we had some silly turnovers tonight, but that’s OK. I never want them to get stuck in that head space. We are excited to be in the district championship.”

Stafford had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds to go along with a team-high five assists.

Freshman post Noelani McCrory scored eight points and had a game-high 16 rebounds for the Chitwhins.

With the win, Taholah punches its ticket to the 1B State Championship Tournament and will face undefeated Pe Ell in the district championship at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Montesano High School.

Wahkiakum 6 11 15 9 – 41

Taholah 13 15 18 21 – 67

Scoring: Wahkiakum – McKinley 15, Horman 12, Mendez 7, Lafever 4, Doiron 2, Hurley 1. Taholah – Pluff 23, Stafford 17, Smith 9, N. McCrory 8, K. McCrory 7.

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PHOTO BY MIKE ROBERTS Elma junior Olivia Moore (33) competes for a rebound against Kalama’s Hannah Johnson during the Eagles’ 52-42 loss in a 1A District 4 elimination game on Tuesday at Elma High School.

Kalama 52, Elma 42

Elma’s season ended with a 52-42 loss to Kalama in a 1A District 4 elimination game on Tuesday at Elma High School.

The Eagles (6-15) trailed 28-10 at the half after scoring just two points on a shot by junior guard Olivia Moore in the second quarter.

Sparked by seven points from Moore and two 3-pointers from senior guard Nency Guzman, Elma got back in the game with a 22-8 third quarter, trailing 36-32 entering the final period of play.

PHOTO BY MIKE ROBERTS Elma senior Nency Guzman (3) pressures Kalama’s Payton Slunaker during the Eagles’ 52-42 loss in a 1A District 4 elimination game on Tuesday in Elma.

But the Chinooks (13-9) answered in the fourth quarter, with Aubrey Doerty scoring eight of her game-high 22 points over the final eight minutes of play to hand Elma the loss.

Moore had 17 points while sophomore forward Keke Bol finished with 10 points for the Eagles.

Senior Amaya Lewis scored nine points in her final game for Elma.

PHOTO BY MIKE ROBERTS Elma senior Amaya Lewis (24) pulls up for a jump shot against Kalama’s Aubrey Doerty during the Eagles’ 52-42 loss in a 1A District 4 elimination game on Tuesday at Elma High School.

Elma shot 36% from the field on 16-of-44 shooting and went 4 for 4 from the free-throw line.

Kalama hit 21-of-41 shots from the floor (51%) and converted 8-of-15 free throws (53%).

Elma 8 2 22 10 – 42

Kalama 13 15 8 16 – 52

Scoring: Elma – Moore 17, Bol 10, Lewis 9, Guzman 6. Kalama – Doerty 22, Johnson 10, Rinard 9, Cadigan 8, Hollifield 3.

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Rainier 67, Raymond-South Bend 25

Raymond-South Bend trailed early and never caught up en route to a 67-25 loss to Rainier in a 2B District 4 semifinal game on Tuesday at Kelso High School.

The Ravens (14-6) fell behind 18-9 to the Mountaineers (19-3) and scored just 16 points over the final three quarters to suffer the loss. RSB hit nine field goals in the game to 29 for Rainier and committed 19 turnovers.

“Tough game for our kids tonight, we met up with a determined group of senior’s who played like they were on a mission and we didn’t match their energy or competitiveness,” RSB head coach Jason Koski said. “We did get a chance to get some good district tournament experience for our younger kids.”

Senior guard Berklee Morley scored eight points to lead the Ravens.

RSB will face Mossyrock in an elimination game at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at Kelso High School.

Rainier 18 20 21 8 – 67

Raymond-South Bend 9 6 5 5 – 25

Scoring: Rainier – Beckman 19, Askey 18, Swenson 12, Blackburn 10, Beckman 6, Bravo 2. RSB – Morley 8, Kongbouakhay 6, Koski 6, Lewis 3, Baugher 2.