Raymond girls’ experience pays off in 42-39 win over rival Willapa Valley

RAYMOND — A very early start to the Pacific 2B League girls basketball season saw an experienced Raymond squad take on a younger rival in Willapa Valley on Thursday night.

The Gulls’ experience showed on a boisterous night, finishing the first quarter and first half on scoring runs to help outdistance themselves from the Vikings in a thrilling 42-39 victory.

Willapa Valley’s Hannah Cook led all scorers with 16 points, while Mikayla Collins led Raymond (1-0) with 12 points.

“Good first win,” Raymond head coach Jason Koski said. “There was a difference in having that one game under your belt as opposed to opening the season. We’re working on things and everyone is working hard.”

“As young as we are, to experience an atmosphere like this is great,” said Valley first-year head coach Colby Rogers, who slid over from the assistant’s chair to the main job in March. “We’ll see them in January in our place and it should be another great atmosphere there, too.”

Returning to the bench for the first time in six seasons, Koski has the Gulls running and pressuring opponents again. Raymond’s four seniors — Collins, Aubree Gardner, Winter Newman and Cydney Flemetis — set the tone of the contest and it was frantic. The foursome scored all but two points for the Gulls.

Valley (1-1) had a tough time with the pace of the game. The young Vikings squad kept up with the Gulls, but couldn’t convert chances from the field. At halftime, Valley watched Gardner sink three free throws to end the first half for a 7-1 Raymond run and a 24-14 lead. The Vikings were 5-for-30 from the field, while the Gulls were 10-for-29 in the first half.

Raymond took the lead for good in the first quarter, finally getting the pressure and the pace of the game where it wanted it for a quarter-closing 8-0 run and a 10-3 lead.

“When you are young and the game speeds up, it is tougher to shoot,” Rogers added. “That (7-1) run at the end of the first half gave them a lot of momentum and stopped ours heading into halftime. Everything but the win, I’m very proud of the kids. Everyone contributed and we’ll see Raymond in January.”

The second half saw Valley adjust to Raymond’s pace and force some mistakes from the hosts. At times in the first half, the Gulls had trouble executing inbound plays against the Vikings and Raymond added several turnovers to Valley’s tally after halftime.

The visitors also found their shooting range, slowing down their offensive sets for open looks to trim the deficit down. Three-point baskets from Cook, Brooke Friese and Bailee Bertrozoff were timely for the Vikings. Cook drained a trey with 3:20 remaining to cut the deficit to 36-32 and Friese knocked down a 3-pointer with 1:08 left at 40-37, the closest the Vikings could get.

“Our shooting kept us in the game in the first half, but our turnovers and giving up rebounds allowed them to get back into the game,” Koski added.

After a Raymond timeout with 14 seconds left, Collins was fouled and she hit two free throws to seal the game. Betrozoff hit a field goal with 1.9 seconds left and Raymond ran out the clock for the win.

On Saturday, Raymond visits Montesano. On Tuesday, Valley travels to North Beach.

Willapa Valley 3 11 13 12 — 39

Raymond 10 14 10 8 — 42

Willapa Valley (39) — Cook 16, Pollard, Friese 10, Betrozoff 10, Kam. Adkins, Kat. Adkins, Huber, Hodel 2, Gray, Hoffman, Patrick 1. FG — 15-58. FT — 5-10.

Raymond (42) — Williams, Mora, Collins 12, Harland, Gardner 9, Souvannavanh, Warnstadt 2, Newman 10, Flemetis 9. FG — 17-41.

(Brendan Carl | The Daily World) The Raymond student section erupts after a made 3-pointer on Thursday.

(Brendan Carl | The Daily World) Raymond’s Mikayla Collins puts up a shot against Valley on Thursday.

(Brendan Carl | The Daily World) Raymond’s Mikayla Collins, left, and Destiny Souvannavanh fight for a loose ball with Valley’s Traci Hoffman on Thursday.