GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL
Montesano 52, Fife 26
Montesano used the transition game to get off to a fast start against Fife in the Bulldogs 52-26 season-opening win at home.
Zoe Hutchings gave the Spartans problems in the post and led Monte with 18 points. Lexi Lovell racked up 13 points, including three baskets from beyond the arch.
Lovell said steals on defense helped fuel the offense.
“We have a lot of chemistry with the girls out there on defense, so it’s really easy to know where everyone is going to be,” she said. “We read passes and we were able to steal the ball a lot and get those fast breaks by anticipating those passes.”
With the Bulldogs getting into the passing lanes and contesting shots on the interior, Fife struggled to get things rolling on offense and didn’t reach double digits as a team until 2:35 in the second quarter.
Montesano head coach Julie Graves said it felt good to see her team come out focused in the first game of the season.
“I thought we got off to a great start because you never know what to expect at the start of the season with jitters,” she said. “The kids came out and played really hard, played some intense defense and knocked down some shots early in transition.”
Lexi Lovell hits a layup in a game against Fife on Wednesday. Lovell had 13 points in the game. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
Montesano went into halftime with a 36-10 lead and expanded on that lead with another strong third quarter before Graves decided to give her starters some rest in the fourth.
The Bulldogs were effective in transition for most of the contest but struggled in the fourth quarter, putting up just two points.
Graves said she would like to see her team find better looks when her players slow the game down.
“We played really well for three quarters but we need to work on our half court offense,” she said. “We didn’t execute in the half court in the fourth quarter.”
Monte will head to Centralia to take on the Tigers on Friday at 7 p.m.
Coming away with a win in front of the home crowd in the season opener has Lovell feeling pretty confident that her team can continue to improve from here.
“I think we’re ready to roll and keep progressing and getting better everyday,” she said.
Fife 6 4 10 7 – 26
Montesano 18 18 14 2 – 52
Top Players: Montesano – Lovell (13 pts), Hutchings (18 pts, 8 rebs), Katie Granstrom (2 pts, 5 assts, 9 rebs)
— Hasani Grayson, Grays Harbor News Group
Northwest Christian 67, South Bend 49
South Bend’s fast start couldn’t keep them afloat as the Indians dropped the season-opener on the road to Northwest Christian 67-49 on Wednesday.
The Indians got buckets early on but the offense sputtered in the face the Navigators’ press defense, causing South Bend to turn the ball over to help put Northwest Christian up 33-21 at halftime.
“We started off the game on 8-0 run and couldn’t handle some of the pressure and they hit some big shots down the stretch,” South Bend head coach Manuel Rangel said.
On a night where offense was hard to come by for the South Bend, Drew Rose led the team with eight points.
South Bend will head to North Beach to play the Hyaks on Friday at 7 p.m.
Top Players: South Bend – Rose (8 pts, 7 rebs), Nathan Ashley (7 rebs)
BOYS PREP BASKETBALL
Ocosta 59, Pe Ell 53
The Ocosta Wildcats got a double-double from Cole Hatton and hit free throws down the stretch to secure a 59-53 win over the Pe Ell Trojans on Wednesday in Westport.
Hatton had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead Ocosta, which led for most of the game but was unable to pull away from Pe Ell.
The Trojans were within three points late in the fourth quarter but were unable to complete the comeback as the Wildcats hit their free throws in the fourth quarter. Hatton went 5-for-6 from the charity stripe and teammate Omar Luque hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final frame.
Alex Bailey added four steals and five assists for Ocosta, which was hampered by foul trouble. The Wildcats committed 28 fouls which led to 35 free throws for Pe Ell.
Ocosta (1-0, 1-0 Coastal 2B) faces Raymond in a league game at 7 p.m. on Friday in Raymond.
Pe Ell 11 15 13 14 — 53
Ocosta 15 16 13 15 — 59
Top Players: Ocosta — Hatton (16 pts, 10 reb), Beck (14 pts), Bailey (4 stl, 5 assts)
Willapa Valley 65, Raymond 39
Logan Walker and Matt Pearson scored 16 points apiece to lead the Willapa Valley Vikings to a 65-39 season-opening win over Raymond on Wednesday at Willapa Valley High School.
Willapa Valley jumped out to a seven-point lead after the first quarter and held a commanding 35-17 lead at the half as the Vikings defense held Raymond to just four points in the second quarter.
Walker added 10 rebounds to go along with his 16 points. Peter Hamilton led the Vikings with 11 boards. Chad Flemetis also hit double digits with 10 rebounds.
Allen Deniston added eight points and Carter Pearson had seven points for Willapa Valley (1-0, 1-0 Coastal 2B).
“We tried to press too much and didn’t shoot the ball as well as we normally do,” said Willapa Valley head coach Jay Pearson who added it took an “overall team effort” to pick up the season-opening win.
The Vikings will play at Northwest Christian at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Raymond 13 4 10 12 — 39
Willapa Valley 20 15 13 17 — 65
Top Players: Willapa Valley — Walker (16 pts, 10 reb), Matt Pearson (16 pts), Hamilton (11 reb), Flemetis (10 reb)
PREP BOWLING
Aberdeen 17, Tumwater 1
Liliana Mercado-George won both her matches and led the Bobcats with 307 pins to help Aberdeen snap its two-match losing streak on Wednesday against Tumwater.
Aberdeen (4-2, 2-2) defeated Tumwater 17-1 while collecting 1,650 pins, the highest total of the year.
Mercado-George bowled the highest game of the match with a 180 and Kaitlyn Martin finished just shy of 300 with a combined 291 in both her games.
The Bobcats won nine of the 10 head-to-head matchups to take a commanding lead heading into the two baker games, swept.
Tumwater (0-5, 0-3) got its lone point when Samantha Bluhm beat out Mehgan Howell 138-112 in the second round of head-to-head games.
Aberdeen will be back in action on Monday when they face Montesano at Bulldog Lanes at 3 p.m.
Aberdeen (1,650) – Mercado-George (307), Kaitlyn Martin (291), Annabelle Micheau (269), Meghan Howell (246), Bryerlee Perry (228)
Tumwater (1,232) –Samantha Bluhm (250), Lilah Keenan (238), Anna Lowery (209), Chinyelo Inwenofu (190), Lilly Waltner (129)
