If you didn’t know any better, you would have thought it was a playoff game.
Anytime a team from Aberdeen High School faces off against a team from Hoquiam, the atmosphere is sure to be electric.
Thursday night’s girls basketball game between the two longtime rivals was no different, as students and fans filled Hoquiam High School’s gym to see the Grizzlies earn a 48-38 victory over the Bobcats.
Hoquiam (3-1 overall) used its full-court press to create multiple scoring opportunities off of turnovers throughout the game. The Grizzlies started the game with a 7-0 run and extended the lead to 14-2 on senior center Rylee Vonhoff’s bank shot from inside the key, forcing an Aberdeen timeout halfway through the first quarter.
Aberdeen (0-4) continued to have trouble getting the ball cleanly up-court in the face of an aggressive Hoquiam defense. By the end of the first quarter, Hoquiam held a 24-9 advantage.
“We’re not a shooting team,” Hoquiam head coach Denny Hinchen said. “We try to get a man-press and then move the ball. We don’t have a go-to girl. We have about three girls that score about 10 (points-per-game). So we try to ball movement and then hit the open, easy shot.”
Hoquiam sophomore Sharaya Brydon attempts a layup against Aberdeen’s Ryder Heikkila during the Grizzlies’ 48-38 win on Thursday at Hoquiam High School. (Ryan Sparks | Grays Harbor News Group)
“We got five fouls in the first minute-and-a-half (of the game),” first-year Aberdeen head coach Rachel Wenzel said. “We didn’t start out strong, obviously. … I think we had some first-quarter jitters from the crowd.”
But the Bobcats, a team with a new head coach in the midst of a program rebuild, clawed back into the game with a 14-3 run over the first four minutes of the second quarter, sparked by the Bobcats’ ability to break Hoquiam’s defensive pressure and attack the basket.
Senior guard Ryder Heikkila scored five of her eight points in the quarter and the Bobcats converted 6-of-11 free throws in the frame, trimming the Hoquiam lead to 29-21 at halftime.
But the momentum Aberdeen had before entering the half abandoned the Bobcats in the third quarter, as Hoquiam’s Maddie German opened the second half scoring a bucket in the paint while being fouled. She converted the bonus free throw to get the Grizzlies’ lead back up to double digits at 32-21.
Hoquiam stretched its lead to 36-21 with just over a minute to go in the quarter as Aberdeen went cold from the floor and began turning the ball over more frequently in the face of Hoquiam’s full-court pressure.
A short turnaround jump shot from forward Aliyah Tageant followed by Kennedy Pruett’s bucket in the post trimmed Hoquiam’s lead to 36-25 heading to the fourth quarter.
The Bobcats would get within eight points when Heikkila hit a 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter, but Hoquiam kept them at arm’s length, nursing a 10-point lead for much of the frame before eventually winning 48-38.
Hoquiam guard Maya Jump, left, dribbles past Aberdeen’s Skyler Taylor during Thursday’s game in Hoquiam. (Ryan Sparks | Grays Harbor News Group)
Vonhoff and German accounted for half of the Grizzlies scoring output on Thursday.
Vonhoff led all scorers on the night with 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting. Nine of her points came in the second half.
German had 10 points — six in the Grizzlies’ first-quarter blitz — on 5-of-13 shooting.
“Rylee is our go-to girls as far as g0ing inside,” Hinchen said. “She really works hard down there. And Maddie, she’s got a different energy. She is on a different level than most girls.”
Tageant led Aberdeen with 10 points on 3-for-8 shooting and 4-for-6 from the free-throw line.
Wenzel stated that though the Bobcats are still searching for their first win on the season, she saw a much improved Aberdeen team on Thursday night.
“They’ve done everything I’ve asked and our big goals this year is we’re never going to give up and keep growing each game and I couldn’t be prouder of how the team played,” she said. “This is a new team than the one I’ve seen the last three games. They were rebounding, which we’ve done a terrible job at. … As long as we grow each game, I think we’re on the right track.”
Aberdeen’s 38 points was 17 points better than its best offensive output this season (21 versus Forks on Nov. 30).
“It was a rivaly game,” Hinchen said. “Both teams worked hard on defense tonight. … Really, they kicked our butts on offensive rebounds on our end too. They were getting their share and free throws kept them in the game in the first half.”
The Bobcats host Montesano (3-1) at 7 p.m. on Monday.
Hoquiam will face Castle Rock (2-2) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Castle Rock High School.
Aberdeen 9 12 4 13 — 38
Hoquiam 24 5 7 12 — 48
Top Players: Hoquiam — Vonhoff (14 pts.), German (10 pts.), Sharaya Brydon (6 pts.); Aberdeen — Tageant (10 pts.), Heikkila (8 pts.), Annetthe Orona (6 pts.), Kaely Chum (6 pts.).
