GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL

Montesano 68, Adna 49

In arguably its most impressive performance of the season, the Montesano girls basketball team played a complete game in defeating Adna 68-49 on Saturday in Montesano.

Monte (5-6 overall) used a late 6-1 run at the end of the first half to open up a 26-15 lead and used a red-hot third quarter to blow the game wide open.

The Bulldogs scored 26 points, including five three pointers, in a third-quarter blitz that quickly saw its lead balloon to 19 points by the end of the frame. Six different Monte players scored in the frame, led by junior guard Cassadie Golding, who hit all three 3-point shots she attempted in the period. McKynnlie Dalan also had a big quarter, scoring eight points in the frame, including two 3-pointers of her own.

Monte’s defense, which held a talented Adna team to just 15 points in the first half, swarmed and trapped the Pirates (8-2), forcing turnovers and challenging every Adna shot attempt.

“We’ve shown glimpses (of playing like this) the last couple weeks,” Montesano head coach Mark Mansfield said. “Last night against King’s Way Christian and tonight against Adna, we’re getting longer stretches where we’re doing a lot of good things. … I thought our defense fuled our offense, especially there in the second half.”

Montesano’s McKynnlie Dalan drives the baseline and is fouled by Adna’s Payton Aselton on Saturday in Montesano. (Ryan Sparks | Grays Harbor News Group)

Monte kept its proverbial foot on the pedal in the fourth quarter, extending its lead to 24 points after senior center Zoe Hutchings, who was in foul trouble most of the game, grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to put Monte up 62-38 with 4:35 left in the game.

Montesano head coach Mark Mansfield called off the Bulldogs after that, resting the remainder of his starters over the last four-plus minutes of the game.

Paige Lisherness led Monte with 19 points, 13 of those coming in the first half. The sophomore winger hit eight field goals, many of those coming on cuts and drives to the basket.

Dalan had 14 points while Golding and Jordan Karr scored nine apiece for the Bulldogs.

Hutchings finished with eight points and had to sit for much of the game due to foul trouble, eventually fouling out late in the fourth quarter.

The win over an Adna team that had not lost until dropping a game to Toutle Lake on Thursday was a good sign for Mansfield, particularly with league play right around the corner.

“We talked over (Christmas) break with the four games that we had that we are still trying to develop our chemistry, whatever that is,” Mansfield said. “Not only with a new system, but we’re pretty young and I think that the more we play the more we’re getting that. I thought tonight was a step in the right direction as far as on-the-floor chemisty. … It’s a process and we’re hoping to keep improving. We start league next week and we want to improve come Tuesday night (in the league-opener against Hoquiam).”

Payton Aselton scored 20 points to lead the Pirates while Kaitlyn Todd added 10 points for Adna.

Adna 8 7 18 16 — 49

Montesano 14 12 26 16 — 68

BOYS PREP BASKETBALL

Willapa Valley 70, Ilwaco 64

Willapa Valley carried its late-game momentum into extra time as the Vikings earned a 70-64 overtime victory over Ilwaco in a critical Pacific League matchup on Saturday in Menlo.

Down by five entering the fourth quarter, Willapa Valley (6-4, 6-2 Pacific 2B) made the key plays late to catch the Fishermen (7-2, 6-2) with less than a minute left in the game. Down 58-53, Willapa Valley’s Chad Flemetis hit a 3-pointer to cut Ilwaco’s lead to two with 30 seconds left to play.

On the ensuing possession, Vikings guard Carter Pearson came up with a steal against Ilwaco’s Calvin Baze. Pearson advanced the ball upcourt, then found teammate Allen ‘Nails’ Deniston for a layup to tie the game with six seconds remaining.

A final desperation shot attempt for Ilwaco was off target, sending the game to overtime.

Willapa Valley scored the first four points of overtime and never looked back for a 70-64 victory that keeps them in the hunt for a Pacific League title.

“We used a lot of energy against Life Christian Academy (on Friday). Everything was coming up short and we weren’t hitting our shots,” Vikings head coach Jay Pearson said. “We never gave up and competed to the end.”

Flemetis led Willapa Valley with 26 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.

Logan Walker added 21 points and seven rebounds while Pearson (10 points) and Deniston (10 pts.) also scored in double figures for Willapa Valley.

Ilwaco was led by Parker Kaech, who scored 22 points, but didn’t attempt a shot in the fourth quarter and overtime due to Willapa Valley’s 2-3 zone defense, which also held 6-foot-9 center Joe Nisbett to just eight points on the evening.

Iwaco 16 12 14 16 6 — 64

Willapa Valley 15 9 13 21 12 — 70

Northwest Christian 60, Raymond 59

Raymond nearly pulled off a huge upset, but Northwest Christian’s Noah Phillips had other ideas.

Phillips hit two free throws in the waning moments of the game to dash Raymond’s upset bid as the Seagulls fell 60-59 on Saturday in Raymond.

“This was a heart-breaker for us,” said Raymond head coach Derek Rask, who attributed his team’s execution of the game plan and defensive intensity as keys to its success. “I’m really proud of our kids. They always fight until the final buzzer.”

Tre’ Seydel scored 19 points and added 12 rebounds with five assists for Raymond (2-7, 2-5 Pacific 2B). in Ws

McCartney Maden and Adrian Quintana scored 17 and 11 points, respectively, for the Seagulls.

League leading NWC (9-1, 7-1) was led by Phillips, who scored 19 points in the contest.

NWC 19 18 10 13 — 60

Raymond 20 14 16 9 — 59

Ocosta 62, South Bend 45

Cole Hatton scored 26 points to lead Ocosta to a convincing 62-45 victory over South Bend on Saturday in Westport.

Ocosta (5-4, 5-3 Pacific 2B) led 24-6 after the first quarter and shot 24-for-54 from the field as a team.

South Bend (1-9, 0-8 Pacific 2B) was led by Mayson Estle and Nathon Ashley with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

The Indians shot 19-for-56 as a team and trailed 39-23 at halftime.

South Bend 6 17 15 7 — 45

Ocosta 24 15 11 12 — 62

North Beach 62, Pe Ell 43

North Beach outscored Pe Ell 16-2 in the second quarter en route to a 62-43 victory on Saturday in Ocean Shores.

The Hyaks (2-8, 2-6 Pacific 2B) were led by Tre’Vaughn Greene, who scored 20 points.

Kyle Fry added 12 points and Josh Bighead had six assists for North Beach.

Peyton Scholler scored 10 points, grabbed six rebounds and has six steals for the Hyaks.