KELSO — For the second time this month, the Elma Eagles cut down the nets.
Elma defeated King’s Way Christian 48-37 in the 1A District IV championship game on Saturday at Kelso High School.
The Eagles cut down the nets when they won the 1A Evergreen League title on Feb. 1.
Elma’s Quin Mikel said being able to end the district tournament run by winning the title validates the work they have put in this season.
“This feels super good. All our hard work is paying off, finally,” she said.
Elma’s Quin Mikel posts up against Abby Cummins in a game against King’s Way Christian in the second quarter on Saturday. Mikel scored 12 points in Elma’s 48-37 win over the Knights. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
Elma (22-2) was locked in a close match up with the Knights (16-7) in the first quarter as there were four lead changes in the opening eight minutes of action.
Elma was protecting a slim 12-11 lead heading into the second quarter and used a stout defense to help pull further ahead. KWC’s offesne was held to 2-for-11 shooting in the second quarter while the Eagles found success bringing the ball into the paint.
Both Mikel and Jalyn Sackrider were key in Elma expanding its lead, scoring nine of the Eagles’16 points in the second frame.
Elma built its lead to 28-15 by halftime, but the Knights didn’t go quietly in the second half.
King’s Way went on an 11-0 run in the third frame and cut the lead to seven halfway through the fourth quarter.The Knights’ Mackenzie Ellerston began attacking the basket more often in the game’s final minutes and scored six of her team-leading 13 points in the final frame.
The Eagles did enough to hold off the Knights’ comeback attempt despite receiving some hard fouls.
“I thought they handled themselves really well in the last minutes,” Elma head coach Lisa Johnson said. “We were really composed given the fact that we were getting some super-hard fouls. We got to the line and put ourselves in a position to win.”
Kayli Johnson was on the receiving end of a foul that caused her to fall and hit her knee with 30 seconds remaining.
Johnson limped off the court with the help of her teammates, but the injury wasn’t serious enough to keep her from climbing a ladder to cut down part of the netting in the post-game celebration.
Coach Johnson said she was proud of the composure her team showed when the Eagles were trying to close out the victory.
“The last three minutes got a little crazy, but we played really well and had a great second quarter,” she said. “The girls stepped up and did what they needed to do get the W.”
Elma head coach Lisa Johnson cuts down the net after the Eagles defeated King’s Way Christian 48-37 to win the IV District title. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
The Eagles will be placed in the top half of the regional bracket, where their next game in the 1A Regional Playoffs will determine their seeding in the state tournament.
Elma will get some time to recover from a hectic and weather-altered district tournament schedule with the next game taking place Feb. 22-23.
Coach Johnson is looking forward to a little recovery time before the next contest.
“We’re going to find out (our next opponent) soon and that’ll give us a couple of days off so we can recover and get back to it next week.”
King’s Way Christian 11 4 11 11 – 37
Elma 12 16 9 11 – 48
Top Players: Elma – Sackrider (14 pts., 12 reb., 3 blk.), Mikel (12 pts., 11 reb.5 stl.), Molly Johnston (7 pts., 8 reb.); KWC – Ellerston (13 pts.), Hannah Moats (10 pts.).
1A District IV Consolation
Montesano 59, Tenino 51
Montesano kept its season alive by shutting down one of Tenino’s top scorers in the second half, allowing the Bulldogs to beat the Beavers 59-51 in the 1A District IV Tournament.
The Bulldogs (14-9) were down 35-31 at halftime after Tenino (15-8) got a stellar performance from Kaylee Schow, who scored 21 points in the first 16 minutes of play.
With Schow’s production slowing in the second half, Monte mounted a comeback with the help of Zoe Hutchings’ post play. Hutchings scored 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Monte.
While Hutchings was scoring on the inside, Glory Grubb did damage from the perimeter, hitting four 3-pointers.
Montesano will now face La Center in a game where the winner goes to the 1A Regional Playoffs.
Monte beat La Center 55-37 in the first round of districts and Montesano head coach Julie Graves said her team will need to come out with energy in the first half to duplicate that result.
“I like the way we’re playing right now, but we have to play with the same intensity we did in the second half,” she said. “In district basketball you have to step up a level.”
Montesano 13 18 13 15 — 59
Tenino 20 15 8 8 — 51
Top Players: Montesano — Hutchings (27 pts., 8 reb.), Glory Grubb (16 pts., 3 stl.), Katie Granstrom (6 pts., 9 reb.); Tenino — Kaylee Schow (23 pts.), Ashley Schow (18 pts.)
2B District IV Consolation
South Bend 43, Raymond 33
South Bend earned a trip to state with a 43-33 victory over Pacific County-rival Raymond in a 2B District IV Tournament on Saturday at Rochester High School.
Having played three games in four days, South Bend head coach Gary Wilson admitted both teams appeared “wore down,” but the Indians (15-9) got balanced scoring and another solid team-defensive effort to earn the victory and end Raymond’s season.
Leading 28-26 heading into the fourth quarter, South Bend exerted its will over the final eight minutes, outscoring Raymond (14-10) by eight points in the final period.
“It was a typical hard-fought game and the girls had to earn it down the stretch,” he said. “I am very proud of these kids for how hard they fought and how much this game meant to them.”
South Bend was led by Alise Rohr, who scored 13 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had four steals in the contest.
“Alise played a monster roll in attacking the basket and drawing fouls,” Wilson said. “She really presented matchup problems for Raymond.”
Senior Jessica Sanchez scored 12 points to go along with eight rebounds and three assists.
Fellow Indians’ senior Karley Reidinger filled up the stat sheet, scoring 11 points, snatching eight rebounds, dishing out four assists and recording five steals in the elimination-game victory.
South Bend 5 9 14 15 — 43
Raymond 6 5 15 7 — 33
Top Players: South Bend — Rohr (13 pts., 8 reb., 4 stl.), Sanchez (12 pts., 8 reb., 3 asst.), Reidinger (11 pts., 6 reb., 4 asst., 5 stl.), Hannah Byington (7 pts., 8 reb.,).
— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group
