Willapa Valley avenged a big loss earlier in the season with a 59-53 victory over Naselle on Tuesday in Menlo.
The Vikings (10-3 overall, 9-1 1B Columbia Valley), which lost to Naselle 77-55 on May 14, had five players score at least nine points apiece.
After sitting out the previous week with a back injury, senior center Beau Buchanan returned to the lineup and score 12 points to go along with 17 rebounds.
Riley Pearson also had a double-double for Willapa Valley with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
The Vikings got off to a hot start, scoring 22 points in the first quarter alone, nine on three 3-pointers from Pearson.
Tyler Adkins added 10 points for Willapa Valley with Derek Fluke and Joseph Pulsipher scoring nine apiece for the Vikings.
“We felt like we had something to prove,” Willapa Valley head coach Jay Pearson said. “They beat us pretty good at their place. We returned the favor.”
A key difference in Tuesday’s game was Willapa Valley limiting its turnovers and attacking Naselle’s vaunted half-court trap, which led to easy buckets.
“We looked to score (against the trap) and worked on it all week,” Pearson said. “It paid off.”
With the victory, Willapa Valley and Naselle finish the regular season tied atop the 1B Columbia Valley League standings.
A coin flip after the game gave Willapa Valley the No. 1 see entering the district playoffs.
Due to Oakville shutting down its season amid COVID concerns, Coach Pearson said it was not known on Tuesday evening if or when the Vikings will start their playoff run.
Pearson stated a decision is expected to be made Wednesday morning on the Vikings’ first-round opponent or if they will have a bye.
Naselle 19 7 11 16 — 53
Willapa Valley 22 8 15 14 — 59
GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL
Raymond 62, Northwest Christian 25
Raymond remained in the top spot in the league standings after a convincing 62-25 victory over Northwest Christian on Tuesday in Raymond.
The Seagulls (9-1 overall, 2B Pacific) dominated with a balanced effort on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court on Tuesday.
Eight different Raymond players scored in the game, led by Karsyn Freeman, who scored 16 points and has emerged as a consistent offensive threat to compliment the Seagulls all-state guard Kyra Gardner.
Speaking of Gardner, the junior guard had another sparkling all-around game, scoring 15 points to go along with eight assists, six rebound and four steals.
Hannah Miller scored eight points with Grace Busenius adding six for the Seagulls, which held NWC (4-5) to 15 points in the first half and one free throw in the third quarter.
“After a slow start, we were able to get our transition game going off their missed shots,” Raymond head coach Jason Koski said. “Our made field goals to assist ratio was better than it has been.”
Raymond sits one game ahead of Forks for the top spot in the 2B Pacific League with one game to go on the schedule.
The Seagulls take on South Bend at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday in South Bend before hosting a district playoff game on Monday (opponent to be determined).
NWC 9 6 1 9 — 25
Raymond 12 15 24 11 — 62
North Beach 45, South Bend 44
North Beach defeated South Bend 45-44 on Tuesday in Ocean Shores.
South Bend (0-9 overall, 2B Pacific) got 14 rebounds and 11 blocks from Reece Williams and Hannah Jewell had nine rebounds, seven blocks and five steals for the Indians.
“Sheer grit kept the game close,” South Bend head coach Randy Carlson said after his team shot 5-for-30 (17%) in the first half and was down by `8 points late in the second quarter. “I was extremely proud of what our girls gave us tonight and it’s something we can build on.”
South Bend committed 14 turnovers in the game, well below its season average of 30-plus.
North Beach moves to 2-7 overall and in the 2B Pacific League with the victory.
Naselle 41, Willapa Valley 33
A poor-shooting night led to a 41-33 loss for Willapa Valley against Naselle on Tuesday in Menlo.
The Vikings (8-5 overall, 8-2 1B Columbia Valley) faced a double-digit deficit in the first half at 21-11 after missing seven shots in the pain.
“We just shot so miserably,” Willapa Valley head coach John Peterson said. “You’ve got to convert those.”
The Vikings went on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 21-20 and hung close throughout the rest of the game, trailing by just two buckets at 37-33 with 2:30 left in the game.
But missed shots down the stretch prevented Willapa Valley from taking the lead as Naselle went on to sweep the season series over the Vikings.
“The kids are trying hard and giving effort,” Peterson said of his team. “But we just missed shots and you simply have to make those to win.”
Cami Swartz led Willapa Valley with 21 points.
Hannah Hamilton and Ana Chavez led the Vikings with 13 and eight rebounds, respectively.
Naselle 13 8 10 10 — 41
Willapa Valley 6 5 14 8 — 33
PREP BASEBALL
Three local athletes named to Senior All-Star game
Three Twin Harbors area athletes were named to the 43rd Annual Southwest Washington Senior All-Star Game as announced on Tuesday.
Aberdeen’s Eli Brown, Elma’s Justin Elliott and Ocosta’s Colby Scheuber were named to the “Americans” squad.
The game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Sunday at Wheeler Field in Centralia.
Admission for the nine-inning game is $5 for adults and $3 for seniors and children.
For more information, visit allstatebaseball.com/#washington
GIRLS PREP BOWLING
Black Hills 1950, Aberdeen 1358
Aberdeen lost Tuesday’s bowling meet to Black Hills 1,950-1,358 at Westside Lanes in Olympia.
Jennifer Guzman-Ramirez was Aberdeen’s top performer on Tuesday, bowling a personal-best 168 for Aberdeen’s high game of the match and high-series score of 467, a team high for the season.
“Outstanding bowling,” Aberdeen head coach Dave Bruncke said of Guzman-Ramirez’s performance.
Results (Game 1-3, Series)
Aberdeen (1358) — Cameryn Micheau (110, 108, 139, 357); Jennifer Guzman-Ramirez (149, 150, 168, 467); Savannah Algeo (98, 95, 193); Karie Turner (87, 88, 99, 274); Bailee Taylor (67, 67)
Black Hills (1,950) — Zoey Theophilus (145, 211, 156, 512); Dana Culley (167, 172, 170, 509); Kaitlyn Gwinn (113, 133, 120, 366); Hallie Stuart (214, 180, 169, 563)
