Rochester 63, Hoquiam 41
The Hoquiam Grizzlies girls basketball team got the shots they were looking for but couldn’t get enough of them to fall in a 61-39 home loss to Rochester on Thursday.
The Grizzlies (4-2 overall) tried to establish their transition game but struggled to do so in the face of the Warriors’ full-court press.
Rochester (3-3) collected 11 steals in the game and contested shots in the paint, making it difficult for Hoquiam to finish layups.
Hoquiam found itself down 18-9 at the conclusion of the first quarter but got within striking distance with a 9-2 run early in the second quarter to bring the score to 25-20, forcing Rochester to call timeout as its lead diminished.
Hoquiam’s Jade Cox gets her shot over Rochester’s Paige Winter in the second quarter of a game on Thursday at Hoquiam Square Garden. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
Rochester responded with a 12-0 run to end the half, putting the game out of reach as the Warriors led by double digits the rest of the contest and had a 36-18 halftime lead.
“That 12-0 run was the difference in the game,” said Hoquiam head coach Denny Hinchen. “We got it to a five-point game and when they went on their run we couldn’t hit enough shots to close the gap.”
Despite the lopsided score, Hoquiam played Rochester evenly the rest of the game and was only outscored by one point in the second half.
Sharaya Brydon was a bright spot for the Grizzlies on a night of limited offense, scoring 10 points to go along with eight rebounds.
Rylee Vonhoff had a good night on the interior with nine points and eight rebounds, but Hoquiam had trouble slowing down Rochester’s post players.
Hinchen said the Warriors’ presence in the post helped open things up for their perimeter shooters in the third and fourth quarters.
“Every coach wants that inside-outside game and the Warriors have it,” he said. “They started with their bigs to set up the inside presence and once we hunkered down on that they just started kicking and making threes.”
Rochester’s Paige Winter gave the Grizzlies trouble in the paint and put up a game-high 21 points.
The Grizzlies will look to bounce back with a game against Onalasaka on the road at 7 p.m. on Monday.
The game against the Loggers starts a stretch of three games in five days before Hoquiam gets a a 10-day break in the schedule.
Hoquiam’s Maya Jump, middle, tries to rip the ball away from Rochester’s Megan Elkins in the fourth quarter of a game on Thursday. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
Though the result didn’t go their way, Hinchen said he hopes Rochester’s size and athleticism prepares the Grizzlies for the top teams in the 1A Evergreen League.
“They muscled us. Their size took over. For big girls like that to move like that, it’s impressive,” he said. “I told the girls in the locker room that that’s Elma right there. We needed that battle.”
Hoquiam’s junior varsity team lost 51-48 but got a big game out of Charlie Sampson-Eastman who dropped 25 points and grabbed 11 boards in the loss.
Rochester 18 19 13 11 – 63
Hoquiam 9 9 14 9 – 41
Top Players: Hoquiam – Brydon (10 pts., 8 rebs, 4 assts.), Vonhoff (9 pts. 7 rebs.); Rochester – Winter (21 pts.), Megan Elkins (17 pts.), Lexi Jones-Sederberg (12 pts.)
Willapa Valley 39, South Bend 27
In a game that turned out to be a defensive struggle, the Willapa Valley Vikings got a big game from senior guard Hannah Cook to down the South Bend Indians 39-27 on Thursday in Menlo.
“She’s one of our captains and she played like a captain tonight,” Willapa Valley head coach John Peterson said of Cook, who scored a team-best 11 points to go with 10 rebounds, six steals, three assists and two blocks.
The Vikings (6-0 overall, Pacific 2B) got out to an 11-6 lead after the first quarter and took control of the game in the third period, where they outscored the Indians 15-6 to take a 33-15 lead into the fourth quarter.
South Bend (3-2) rallied to win the final period 12-6, but it was too little, too late as the Vikings remained undefeated with the 12-point victory.
“Third quarter did us in and the game got away from us,” South Bend head coach Gary Wilson said.
South Bend’s Karley Reidinger, left, is defended by Willapa Valley’s Katie Adkins during the Vikings’ 39-27 win on Thursday in Menlo. (Photo by Larry Bale)
Peterson credited his team’s ability to limit South Bend stars Karley Reidinger and Jessica Sanchez, who scored 12 and six points, respectively.
“The are two of the premiere players in our league,”Peterson said of the Indians’ duo. “I thought (our players) did a terrific job on them tonight.”
“We struggled from the start,” said Wilson, whose team shot 10-for-38 from the field and hit 5-of-12 free throws. “Valley hit shots at the right time. We need to bring our A game for a team like Willapa Valley and we didn’t (do that).”
By comparison, the Vikings shot 14-for-51 from the field and hit on 8-of-19 free throws.
Peterson also noted Katie Adkins and Brittany Patrick did “a real nice job” for the Vikings defense, which forced 29 South Bend turnovers to just 12 for Willapa Valley.
Brooke Friese added 10 points and a game-best eight steals for Willapa Valley.
Next up for the Vikings is a crucial 2B Pacific League matchup when they face Ocosta at 7 p.m. on Saturday in Westport.
South Bend will have little time to rest as they hit the road to take on Chief Leschi a 5:45 p.m. on Friday.
South Bend 6 4 5 12 — 27
Willapa Valley 11 6 16 6 — 39
Top Players: Willapa Valley — Cook (11 pts., 6 stl., 3 asst., 2 blk.), Friese (10 pts., 8 stl.)
— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group
North Beach at Raymond postponed
The North Beach at Raymond girls basketball game originally scheduled for Thursday was postponed due to flooding in the Ocean Shores area.
The game has been rescheduled to take place at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 1 at Raymond High School.
Other scores
Ilwaco 76, Pe Ell 15
