GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL
Raymond 49, Elma 47
The freshman phenom is now a super sophomore, and in the first game of the season, the super sophomore showed she hasn’t missed a beat.
Raymond standout guard Kyra Gardner scored 13 of her game-high 30 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Seagulls to a furious 49-47 comeback victory over 1A state power Elma on Monday in Raymond.
Last season’s 2B Pacific All-League First Teamer and AP 2B All-State Honorable Mention, Gardner led Raymond down the stretch, giving the Seagulls their first lead of the game at 48-47 when she buried a three with 1:13 left.
Moments later, Gardner came up with her 12th steal of the game and was fouled on the break. She converted 1-of-2 free throws with six seconds left to secure Raymond’s rousing upset of an Elma team that placed sixth in the state in the 1A section last season.
“Gardner took over in the fourth,” Raymond head coach Jason Koski said. “She is special and deserves every accolade she gets.”
Gardner’s work completed a comeback attempt that Raymond had faced the entire game after Elma opened the game on an 8-0 run.
But Gardner caught fire, scoring six points as Raymond tied the game at 8-8 after the first period.
Led by their own All-State standout in senior center Jalyn Sackrider, Elma responded to take a 21-18 lead at the break. Sackrider scored 11 of her team-high 16 points in the first half as Raymond got into foul trouble with four players picking up two fouls each.
Elma extended its lead to nine points in the third quarter as Sackrider and company looked to open the season with an impressive victory on the road.
But Raymond’s Izzy Silvernail kept Raymond close, scoring all of her seven points in the quarter as the Seagulls were down 37-31 heading to the fourth.
Gardner’s killer instinct did the rest, hitting two 3’s, two field goals and going 3-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final frame.
Raymond outscored Elma 18-10 in the fourth quarter as Ana Silva hit a 3-pointer and Sidney Swogger scored a bucket in addition to Gardner’s stellar performance.
Kaelyn Burgher scored nine points while Ella Moore and Kali Rambo added eight points each for Elma, which went 13-of-21 from the charity stripe in a game that saw the two teams combine for 35 fouls and 42 free-throw attempts.
Raymond will have a day to relish the victory before turning its attention to a key league matchup against Willapa Valley at 7 p.m. Thursday in Menlo.
Elma will travel north to face Seattle Christian in a non-league game scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday.
Elma 8 13 16 10 — 47
Raymond 8 10 13 18 — 49
Top Players: Raymond — Gardner (30 pts., 12 stl., 9 reb.); Silvernail (7 pts.); Silva (7 pts.). Elma — Sackrider (16 pts.); Burgher (9 pts.); Rambo (8 pts.); Rambo (8 pts.)
Fife 66, Montesano 34
After an off-season filled with turmoil and an abrupt coaching change, the Montesano Bulldogs opened the season with a 66-34 loss to Fife on Tuesday at Fife High School.
Montesano struggled to score against Fife, failing to crack double-digits in any quarter of the game.
Senior center Zoe Hutchings led Montesano with 14 points. Paige Lisherness score nine points and McKynnlie Dalan added eight points for the Bulldogs.
Fife’s Aliya Hunter and Breanna Hernandez led the way for Fife, scoring 19 and 16 points, respectively.
Monte will host Centralia at 7 p.m. on Friday in a non-league matchup.
Montesano 9 9 7 9 — 34
Fife 13 18 18 17 — 66
Top Players: Montesano — Hutchings 14 pts., P. Lisherness 9 pts., Dalan 8 pts. Fife — Hunter (19 pts.), Hernandez (16 pts.)
Olympic 53, Aberdeen 28
The Aberdeen Bobcats lost its season-opening game 53-28 to Olympic on Tuesday at Olympic High School.
No further information was available for this game at the time of this writing.
Toledo 68, Ocosta 23
The Ocosta Wildcats lost its season-opening game 68-23 to Toledo on Tuesday at Toledo High School.
No further information was available for this game at the time of this writing.
Clallam Bay 83, Lake Quinault 14
The Lake Quinault Elks lost its season-opening game 83-14 to Clallam Bay on Tuesday at Lake Quinault High School.
Lake Quinault fell behind 24-4 by the end of the first quarter in the loss.
Kat Neeland led the Elks with seven points.
Cedar Johnson led all scorers with 19 points.
Lake Quinault hosts Crescent at 5:45 p.m. on Friday.
Clallam Bay 24 9 31 18 — 83
Lake Quinault 4 5 0 5 — 14
Top Players: LQ — Neeland (7 pts.). CB — Johnson (19 pts.); Koren Cummings (18 pts.); Amber Swan (16 pts.)
BOYS PREP BASKETBALL
Hoquiam’s Dane McMillan drives and dishes during Hoquiam’s 49-34 loss to Castle Rock on Tuesday at Hoquiam High School. (Ryan Sparks | Grays Harbor News Group)
Castle Rock 49, Hoquiam 34
Poor shooting and foul trouble spelled doom for the Hoquiam Grizzlies in a 49-34 season-opening loss to Castle Rock on Tuesday at Hoquiam High School.
Hoquiam managed no more than 12 points in any quarter as the Grizzlies hit just 14-of-62 shots from the field and 5-of-14 from the free-throw line.
Castle Rock didn’t fare much better, shooting 14-for-42 on the night, but Hoquiam fouls put Rockets shooters to the line 28 times, converting 17 free throws.
“(Shots) weren’t falling,” Hoquiam head coach Curtis Eccles said. “Whether it was first-game jitters or whatever you want to call it, the ball wasn’t going through the hoop and the statistics showed that.”
Cameron Bumstead led Hoquiam with 12 points and nine rebounds. Zach Elsos added seven points and nine boards for Hoquiam.
Eccles added that though the poor shooting was of concern, the Grizzlies were taking some positives out of the loss.
“We had some good looks, they just didn’t fall,” he said. “We just need to shoot better and that’s something that will come. We’ll get better and the kids know it.”
Hoquiam takes on Rainier at 7 p.m. on Monday at Rainier High School.
Castle Rock 11 12 14 12 — 49
Hoquiam 5 11 6 12 — 34
Top Players: Hoquiam — Bumstead (12 pts., 9 reb.); Elsos (7 pts., 9 reb.)
