Elma’s chance at staking a claim to a 1A Evergreen title may have slipped by the wayside with a 68-58 loss to Eatonville on Wednesday in Elma.

Tied at 14-14 at the end of the first quarter, the Eagles (9-6 overall, 2-2 1A Evergreen) led 31-19 in the second quarter and 36-27 at halftime, outscoring the Cruisers (8-6, 4-0) 22-13 in the period.

Eatonville trimmed Elma’s lead to 52-49 by the end of the third quarter and controlled the pace of play in the fourth period, outscoring the Eagles 19-6 to hand Elma its second league loss.

“We had the league-leader on the ropes most of the night, but you have to finish the game off. The fourth quarter-blues got us,” Elma head coach Matt Ferrier said. “They shot extremely well. We allowed them to have plenty of second chances and we lost because of it. We have lost the last two league games giving up rebounds in the second half. This late in the season and you can’t get your kids to rebound means it’s definitely my fault. We aren’t doing the correct things and we will get it fixed immediately.”

Senior post Gibson Cain led Elma with 23 points on 11-of-18 shooting (61%) to go along with six rebounds and two blocks.

Sophomore guard Traden Carter (12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists) and junior AJ Holmes (10 points, 2 rebounds, assist, steal) also scored in double figures for Elma, which shot 23 of 59 from the field (39%) as a team.

Senior guard Walker Bruun led Eatonville with 28 points, including 4 of 10 from the 3-point line (40%).

Eatonville went 24 for 68 from the field (35%) and 10 of 34 from the 3-point line (29%).

With the loss, Elma will needs to win out the remaining four games of its league schedule and get some help if the Eagles are to hoist a league trophy.

“We went after it tonight,” Ferrier said. “Played extremely well for three quarters. So incredibly proud of our guys and the growth we continue to make. We don’t like to lose and feel like that easily could have been a win. But losing close games is how you learn to win and we are learning how to win.”

Elma plays at Hoquiam at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Eatonville 14 13 22 19 — 68

Elma 14 22 16 6 — 58

Scoring: Eatonville — Bruun 28, Taylor 19, Clevenger 14, Cox 5, Stogsdill 2. Elma — Cain 23, Carter 12, Holmes 10, Seaberg 9, Studer 4.

Hoquiam 54, Montesano 31

Hoquiam picked up a much-needed league victory with a 54-31 win over Montesano on Wednesday in Hoquiam.

The Grizzlies (10-4, 1-3 1A Evergreen) got out to a 20-8 lead after the first quarter and led 39-14 at halftime.

Hoquiam outscored Montesano (3-11, 0-4) 12-7 in the third quarter, allowing the Grizzlies to play their reserves over the final eight minutes of the game.

Senior guard Michael Lorton Watkins scored 23 points, six rebounds, four assists and six steals.

Zander Jump added 10 points, seven boards and three steals for Hoquiam, which went 17 of 58 from the field (29.3%) and 17 of 27 from the free-throw line (62.9%).

Montesano was led by junior forward Tyce Peterson, who scored nine points in the game.

The Bulldogs shot 11 for 40 from the field (27.5%) and committed 27 turnovers in the game.

“Outstanding defense, our goal was to hold them under 40, giving up 31, I’m pretty darn happy with that,” Hoquiam head coach Jeff Niemi said. “Tonight, the main thing was that when the night started, we were in the exact position at 0-3. So my big thing this week was do not overlook them for a single second. They have some guys that can play and we knew they were going to try hard. … Take care of business but do not overlook anybody because every one of these games matters.”

Hoquiam hosts Elma while Monte plays at Tenino in league games scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday.

Montesano 8 6 7 10 — 31

Hoquiam 20 19 12 3 — 54

Scoring: Montesano — Peterson 9, Olsen 6, Adams 4, Wilson 4, Taylor 3, Stevenson 2, Cobb 2, Johansen 1. Hoquiam — Lorton Watkins 23, Jump 10, Butcher 6, Stankavich 5, Higgins 4, Templer 3, Bozich 3.

Ilwaco 71, Raymond 47

Ilwaco got hot in the second half to hand Raymond a 71-47 loss on Wednesday in Ilwaco.

The Seagulls (8-8, 4-4 2B Pacific) were within striking distance at halftime, trailing 29-21 to the Fisherman (11-5, 7-1).

But Ilwaco shot 67.7% from the field in the second half on 21-of-31 shooting to outscore Raymond 42-26 over the final 16 minutes of the game, including 23-12 in the fourth quarter.

“Our effort was good against Ilwaco, but they got hot in the third quarter and we couldn’t keep up,” Raymond head coach Mike Tully said. “We have several guys under the weather right now, so I was proud of the guys for how hard they worked. We just couldn’t buy a bucket at times.”

Senior guard Morgan Anderson led Raymond with 27 points, nine rebounds and four steals.

No other Seagull scored more than five points in the game.

Raymond hosts league-leading Chief Leschi at 7:15 p.m. on Friday.

Raymond 10 11 14 12 — 47

Ilwaco 15 14 19 23 — 71

Scoring: Raymond — Anderson 27, Hutson 5, Gunderson 4, Quintana 4, Medeiros 2, Yearout 2. Ilwaco — Morris 24, Turner 21, West 13, Needham 12, Cutting 1.

GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL

Aberdeen 52, Centralia 19

Aberdeen had its most balanced scoring effort of the season in a 52-19 win over Centralia on Wednesday in Centralia.

The Bobcats (11-3, 6-2 2A Evergreen) got points from nine different players in the game and led by a commanding 28-4 score at halftime.

Aberdeen was led by guard Zoe Troeh, who scored 10 points, grabbed four rebounds, had five steals and three assists in the game.

Mija Hood added eight points for the Bobcats as did standout senior guard Maddie Gore, who added four rebounds, seven steals and seven assists before leaving the game in the third quarter after suffering what appeared to be an injury to her ankle.

Gore was able to return to the game in the fourth quarter.

With the win, Aberdeen remained in third place in the 2A Evergreen League and second-place Tumwater by 1.5 games.

Aberdeen hosts the Thunderbirds at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Aberdeen 12 16 10 14 — 52

Centralia 2 2 10 5 — 19

Scoring: Aberdeen — Z. Troeh 10, Hood 8, Gore 8, Yakovich 6, A. Troeh 6, Phimmasone 6, Lamont 4, Marll 2, Mainio 2. Centralia — n/a.

Other scores

Boys Prep Basketball

Forks 50, South Bend 46

Chief Leschi 76, Ocosta 61

BOYS PREP SWIMMING

Aberdeen 93, Mark Morris 61

Utilizing its depth, Aberdeen overcame Mark Morris’ first-place punch to register its first dual meet win of the season in a District IV 2A contest at the YMCA of Grays Harbor pool on Wednesday.

Senior Zach Parker, sophomore Denny Linker and two relay teams grabbed event wins on the afternoon, while the Bobcats loaded up behind them to score points for the victory.

“This was a great day to be a Bobcat,” AHS head coach Rob Burns said. “Everyone who swam today contributed to this meet win. We had the numbers this time against Mark Morris, which is a very fast team. We are very happy overall with the team.”

Parker claimed the 50-yard freestyle win, while Linker took care of the 100 free event. The duo got together, along with brothers Eli and Zeke Olson, to win the 200 freestyle relay.

The Bobcats’ Jacob Hallak, Marcus Paniagua, Jacob Natwick and Eli Olson combined to finish the meet with a win in the 400 free relay.

“Our relays have been very good this season,” added Burns. “The boys have put together their best swims in the relays, where you need them the most.”

The Aberdeen coaches cited Tyson Powell (distance races), Hallack (100 back), Austin Weiss (50 free and 100 back) and Cole Nylander (100 breast) for their performances.

On Wednesday, Aberdeen stays home to greet another district foe, Hockinson, at 4 p.m.

— Submitted article