UPDATE: Added game information for Willapa Valley and Ocosta girls basketball teams.
A Myrtle Street Rivalry girls basketball games headlined an exciting Friday evening of prep basketball on the Twin Harbors.
GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL
Aberdeen 53, Hoquiam 32
Aberdeen used its pressure defense to take an early lead it would never relinquish to earn a 53-32 victory over Hoquiam in a Myrtle Street Rivalry game on Friday at Hoquiam Square Garden.
The Bobcats (2-0 overall) used a full-court pressing and trapping defense to befuddle the Grizzlies (0-2) and create turnovers they converted into points. Aberdeen took a 10-0 lead after a turnover led to a drive and score by Aberdeen senior guard Annie Troeh with just under two minutes elapsed in the first quarter.
With 1:56 to go in the period, a steal and subsequent layup by junior guard Sofia Lopez extended Aberdeen’s lead to 14-0.
“We thought our pressure was going to be our bread and butter and we did a good job because we have some quick guards that can utilize that,” Aberdeen head coach Curtis Eccles said. “That was definitely the story of the first half.”
“Aberdeen came out and created the challenges that are difficult for anybody to handle,” Hoquiam head coach Chad Allan said of the Bobcats’ early pressure. “It’s really hard to emulate that speed and strength that they have because they are really aggressive. It’s awesome to watch and see, it’s not fun to play against. Coach Eccles has them just flat-out playing basketball.”
Hoquiam broke the scoreless streak when senior forward Dylan Little scored in the paint with 1:08 on the clock.
The Grizzlies would score the last six points of the period, cutting the Bobcats lead to 14-6 on a pair of Little free throws with 21.5 seconds to go in the first frame.
The second quarter began much as the first, with Aberdeen using its defensive pressure to score the first 11 points of the quarter, taking a commanding 25-6 lead on a three from freshman guard Bentley Brown with 4:09 to go in the first half.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen freshman guard Bentley Btrown, left, dribbles against Hoquiam’s Dylan Little during the Bobcats’ 53-32 victory on Friday in Hoquiam.
Hoquiam junior guard Katlyn Brodhead scored on a nifty running, one-handed floater to break the Cats’ run and trim the deficit to 25-8 with 2:23 on the clock.
Aberdeen closed out the quarter with a jumper from freshman guard Sophie Knutson and a three from Lopez to take a comfortable 32-11 lead at halftime.
Led by five points in the third quarter from Brodhead, Hoquiam trimmed the Bobcats’ lead to 40-21 entering the final period.
The Grizzlies got to as close as 11 points in the fourth quarter after Little converted 1-of-2 free throws to make it a 42-31 game with 4:29 left to go.
But sensing their lead precariously close to slipping away after Hoquiam gained momentum, Annie Troeh came up clutch, hitting a running floater at the 3:48 mark.
“Usually when we play Hoquiam, it’s a close game, especially with all the nerves because it is a rivalry,” Annie Troeh said. “I was hoping it wouldn’t be as close as it was last year because it usually is.”
Aberdeen’s full-court press immediately forced a turnover that Brown converted into two more points, pushing the Bobcats lead back up to 46-31 with a little more than 3:30 to play.
The Cats took control the rest of the way, closing the game out with a 7-1 run attributed to twin sisters Annie and Zoe Troeh, with Annie hitting a three and scoring on an offensive rebound and Zoe burying two free throws.
“It was super exciting, especially with a lot of younger girls on the team, being able to come out here and still win,” Annie Troeh said of the victory. “Though were not exactly used to playing with each other yet, we’re getting the chemistry down.”
Hoquiam shot 18% from the floor on 8-of-44 shooting and hit 14-of-25 free throws (56%), but committed 36 turnovers in the game.
Brodhead scored 13 points to lead the Grizzlies.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Hoquiam junior guard Katlyn Brodhead, right, hits a jump shot against Aberdeen senior Jaylynn Phimmasone (21) during a 53-32 loss on Friday in Hoquiam.
“We’re not at the level where we’ve played a lot as basketball players,” Allan said. “We’re getting there, but we’ve got a lot of work left to do, which we knew, and this is awesome for us to realize the things that we need and coaching-wise, what we need to work on.”
Aberdeen went 21-of-59 from the floor (36%) and committed 17 turnovers in the game.
Annie Troeh scored 22 points with sister Zoe Troeh hitting double digits with 10 points.
“We had a lot less turnovers, we were making our shots, we were driving and making good plays,” Annie Troeh said. “It was going way better than last game.”
The game was an emotional one for Eccles, who returned to the gym where he guided the Hoquiam boys program to three league titles, two district championships and two state-playoff appearances from 2006-2020.
“It was very strange to be honest with you,” Eccles said when asked how it felt to coach from the opposing team’s bench at Hoquiam Square Garden. “One familiarity was the locker room. I spent many games in there over the 14 seasons as the boys coach. Being on the other side and seeing a lot of my (former) students that I was coaching against, it was good. It was bittersweet.”
Aberdeen hosts Elma at 7 p.m. on Monday.
Hoquiam has a non-league matchup against North Beach at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Aberdeen 14 18 7 13 – 53
Hoquiam 6 5 10 14 – 32
Scoring: Aberdeen – A. Troeh 22, Z. Troeh 10, Brown 7, Lopez 5, Knutson 4, Phimmasone 4, Lamont 1.
Hoquiam – Brodhead 13, Little 9, Stewart 6, Graham 2, Gordon 2.
Elma 63, North Beach 16
Elma took control early and never looked back in a 63-16 victory over North Beach on Friday in Ocean Shores.
The Eagles (1-1) held a 25-point lead after one quarter thanks in large part to the hot shooting of junior guard Mia Monroe, who hit three 3-pointers and scored 11 points in the period.
Senior Eliza Sibbett had six points on three field goals with freshman Keke Bol adding five points for Elma in the 30-5 first quarter.
The Eagles defense held North Beach (0-1) scoreless in the second quarter to take a 41-5 lead at the half.
Monroe led all scorers with 16 points.
Ten Eagles scored in the game, with Bol and Sibbett scoring eight points apiece.
Elma plays at Aberdeen at 7 p.m. on Monday.
North Beach hosts Wishkah Valley at 7 p.m. Monday.
Elma 30 11 12 10 – 63
North Beach 5 0 4 7 – 16
Scoring: Elma – Monroe 16, Bol 8, E. Sibbett 8, M. Sibbett 7, Lewis 6, R. Weld 5, Rambo 4, Spencer 4, A. Weld 3, Moore 2. North Beach – Capoeman 5, Eastman 4, Dodson 3, Goldman 2, Cox 2.
Napavine 67, Raymond-South Bend 16
Raymond-South Bend had a tough time against Napavine with a 67-16 loss on Friday at Napavine High School.
The Ravens (1-1) fell behind 30-8 after one quarter and were never really in it after that, being held without a field goal in the second half.
“We knew Napavine was going to be a tough team and they certainly proved that,” RSB head coach Jason Koski said. “I would think they have a very good chance at playing for the gold ball at the state tournament in March.”
Berklee Morley and Emma Glazier scored four points apiece to lead the Ravens, which committed 16 turnovers as a team.
Raymond-South Bend 8 7 0 1 – 16
Napavine 30 19 15 3 – 67
Scoring: RSB – Morley 4, Glazier 4, Kas. Koski 3, Stigall 3, Baugher 2. Napavine – Kaut 24, Evander 15, O’Neill 11, McCoy 10, Hamilton 7.
Naselle 40, Ocosta 38
Ocosta’s comeback fell short in a 40-38 loss to Naselle on Friday in Naselle.
Ocosta (2-1) fell behind by 11 points after one quarter and trailed by 10 at the half before mounting a second-half comeback led by the play of eighth grader Bristol Towle (26 points) and senior post Alexia Bradley (10 points, 14 rebounds).
The Wildcats outscored the Comets 23-15 over the final 16 minutes of the game.
Ocosta freshman Elly Mirante had 12 rebounds in starting in place of all-league forward Anna Davis, who was out with illness.
The Wildcats shot 29% from the field on 16-of-55 shooting from the floor and committed 29 turnovers as a team.
Ocosta grabbed 45 rebounds as a team, with Gabby Ness joining Bradley and Mirante with double-digit rebounds (12).
Ocosta 7 8 13 10 – 38
Naselle 18 7 10 5 – 40
Scoring: Ocosta – Towle 26, Bradley 10, Rasmus 3, Mirante 2, Morris 2.
Willapa Valley 36, Oakville 7
Willapa Valley dominated from start to finish in a 36-7 win over Oakville on Friday at Willapa Valley High School.
The Vikings (1-1) held Oakville (0-3) to 3-of-48 shooting (6%) and played a more energetic brand of basketball according to head coach Dawn Keeton.
“We picked up our tempo quite a bit and pushed the ball a lot better. We kind of focused on that,” she said. “We changed our starters around and we got really good production from (Rilyn Channell and Addison Merkel) off the bench.”
Merkel scored 12 points and had seven rebounds to lead the Vikings.
Channell had nine points, five rebounds and three steals while senior Hadlee Russell and eighth grader Tylar Keeton each grabbed 10 rebounds.
Willapa Valley hit 13-of-62 shots from the field (21%) and 8-of-10 free throws (80%) in the game.
The Vikings play at Columbia Adventist Academy in a league game scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
Oakville 2 4 0 1 – 7
Willapa Valley 6 9 10 9 – 36
Scoring: Oakville – Baker 3, Siufanua 2, Forsythe 2. Willapa Valley – Merkel 12, Channell 9, Hurley 5, Keeton 5, Matlock 4, Wilson 1.
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
Morton-White Pass 83, Willapa Valley 56
Willapa Valley had three players score in double figures, and it still wasn’t enough in an 83-56 loss to Morton-White Pass on Friday in Morton.
The Vikings (0-2) got 22 points from Blaine King, 17 from Brody Ritzman and 10 from Nathan Fluke but couldn’t slow MWP’s Judah Kelly and Tony Belgiornio, who scored 41 and 30 points, respectively.
“We threw all kinds of defenses at them and they still shot well in their gym,” Willapa Valley head coach Derek Rask said. “They made some really incredible, tough shots. It was quite the performance from those two.”
Ritzman added 10 rebounds to his stat line for a double-double, which drew praise from Rask.
“He was super efficient and solid on both ends of the floor,” he said. “He played really hard and his rebounding effort the last two games was indicative of his hard work.”
Willapa Valley faces Columbia Adventist in a 1B Columbia Valley League game scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday in Battle Ground.
Willapa Valley 15 18 16 17 – 56
MWP 19 25 20 19 – 56
Scoring: WV – King 22, Ritzman 17, Fluke 10. MWP – Kelly 41, Belgiorno 30.
Other scores
RA Long 70, Aberdeen 48
