Grays Harbor was down its leading scorer and down on the scoreboard most of the game in a 63-58 loss to Tacoma at Grays Harbor Gym on Wednesday.
Grays Harbor’s Sandin Kidder played 11 minutes in the first half while trying to battle through a left ankle injury sustained against Pierce on Saturday.
Chokers head coach Chad Allan said Kidder wanted to test out her ankle but didn’t feel comfortable letting her continue.
“We let her try. We were going to keep her out, but we let her try,” he said. “With the rhythm of the game I didn’t want her to continue on. After you sit a little bit you’re not getting back in. We wanted to be safe with her more than anything else.”
Grays Harbor guard Tedra Tovia said her team struggled not having Kidder’s 19.7 point average in the lineup that night.
“It messed us up a lot,” she said. “She’s our star player and we had to find a way to move around and get open looks.”
The Chokers (12-11, 6-5 NWAC West) offense struggled at the outset and hit three field goals in the first half.
Tacoma (9-15, 6-5 NWAC West) started the first quarter out slow and rectified its sluggish start with a 9-2 run to end the first period.
Grays Harbor was on the verge of tying things up right before halftime when the Titans were holding on to a 29-27 lead with about a minute to go.
Tacoma hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to end the half, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Avery Campbell to give the Titans a 35-27 lead heading into the locker room.
Grays Harbor saw the deficit expand to 54-38 by the end of third quarter, but the Chokers offense came alive in the final 10 minutes of play.
Grays Harbor’s Teconna Dyer hits a fast-break layup in the fourth quarter agains Tacoma on Wednesday. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
Grays Harbor outscored the Titans 20-9 down the stretch and came within a shot of tying things up with less than a minute to go. After Carina Mendoza missed her free-throw attempt, the ball found its way back to her for a 3-point shot from the corner. Mendoza had a solid night from deep, hitting 4-for-10 from downtown, but couldn’t tie the game with her final shot.
Grays Harbor was forced to foul on the Titans’ last two possessions, with the final foul of the game coming with 12 seconds left on the clock.
The Titans incounded the ball with a little over 30 seconds left on the clock, but Allan thought his team had a little more time to come up with a steal.
“When I looked up, we still had 40 seconds left and I was waiting because I thought we would have 10 more seconds to come back. Then I saw (the game time) was down to one shot clock, so we had to foul,” he said. “I’ll have to look at it, but the shot clock was a little deeper into the time than I thought it was.”
Despite the loss, the Chokers coaching staff was pleased with how their bench players responded to getting increased minutes in a conference game.
Grays Harbor’s second leading scorer, Charleea Armstrong, was also out of the lineup, leading to an increased workload for Mendoza, Tovia and Jalynn Webster.
Webster was responsible for guarding the Titans’ post players, and led the team in rebounds (7) and points (17).
Mendoza and Tovia also reached double digits for the first time this season, with 16 and 13 points, respectively.
The loss ties the Chokers with the Titans in the standings of the NWAC West, but Grays Harbor can grab the league’s second seed if the Chokers when their next two games.
Allan said his bench players showed a lot of promise in the loss.
“Without your No. 1 scorer, it’s great to have games where they can get some confidence,” he said “We need that depth when it comes to playoffs.”
Grays Harbor 7 20 11 20 – 58
Tacoma 18 17 19 9 – 63
Top Players: Tacoma – Campbell (17 pts., 4 ast., 4 stl.), Jazlyn Owens (21 pts., 5 reb.); Grays Harbor – Webster (17 pts., 7 reb.), Mendoza (16 pts.), Tova (13 pts.)
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Grays Harbor’s Zyare Ruffin, left, celebrates with teammate Michael Sampson after Ruffin hit a layup while drawing a foul on the play. Ruffin led the Chokers with 19 points in their 65-51 win over Tacoma on Wednesday. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
Grays Harbor 65, Tacoma 51
Grays Harbor has found the win column in consecutive games for the first time since the start of conference play with a convincing 65-51 home win over Tacoma on Wednesday night.
Grays Harbor (10-16, 2-10 NWAC West) got a big game from Zyare Ruffin, who took over in the low post with a team-leading 19 points and eight rebounds.
Grays Harbor went into halftime with a 40-26 lead and saw it diminish to just six points in the second half when a series of turnovers brought the score to 48-42.
Grays Harbor head coach Matt Vargas told his players after the game that seeing his team maintain the lead was the highlight of the Chokers’ performance.
“There were four minutes of insanity where we started to lose our minds, but we were able to stop and refocus,” he said. “That’s a sign of growth and maturation. I’m really proud of the guys.”
Grays Harbor’s Michael Sampson scores on a close-range shot against Tacoma in the second half on Wednesday. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
Tacoma (6-20, 2-9 NWAC West) was led by Cameron Collins, who struggled to find open looks, taking 16 shots to reach 17 points.
With just two games left on the schedule, Grays Harbor’s Jordan Gardner said he’s looking forward to finishing out the schedule on a high note.
“I like the momentum we have,” he said. “We should have had it earlier, but we got it now. We’re just going to run with it and go undefeated for the rest of the season.”
Grays Harbor’s quest to go unbeaten in its last four games will continue against Green River in Auburn at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Grays Harbor 40 25 – 61
Tacoma 26 25 – 51
Top Players: Grays Harbor – Ruffin (19 pts., 8 reb.), Dallin Spencer (14 pts., 5 reb.); Tacoma – Collins (17 pt., 7 reb.), Travis Parker-Lopez (15 pts.)
