One day after a gut-wrenching loss, the Elma Eagles responded with a valiant effort that fell short in a 72-64 loss to Napavine on Friday in Elma.

The Eagles (9-8 overall) trailed in the first half against the 2B class’ No. 8 team, falling behind 21-14 after the first period and 38-27 at halftime.

Napavine (13-3) led by as much as 17 points in the third quarter before Elma rallied to cut into the deficit, eventually losing by eight points.

The Tigers hit 13 3-pointers in the game, led by James Grose with five threes and a total of 27 points.

“They can put five guys on the floor that can all shoot the three,” Elma head coach Matt Ferrier said. “James Grose is the real deal. Arguably the best shooter I have seen around here in a long time.”

Elma was led by guards Cason Seaberg and Traden Carter with 21 and 18 points, respectively.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Elma guard Traden Carter (10) drives to the basket against Napavine’s James Grose (3) during the Eagles’ 72-64 loss on Saturday at Elma High School.

“Traden Carter and Cason Seaberg both bounced back with great games. Seaberg attacking their zone with penetration, Carter hitting jumpers and handling their pressure,” Ferrier said. “We put up an amazing fight versus a state-ranked Napavine program. Extremely proud that we responded today after heartbreak last night. This game easily could have been much different. True character comes out when your backs are against the wall.”

Elma shot 53% from the field on 26-of-49 shooting.

AJ Holmes led Elma with nine rebounds while Seaberg had five assists and five steals for the Eagles.

Elma will face Montesano at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

Napavine 21 17 18 16 — 72

Elma 14 13 18 19 — 64

Scoring: Napavine — Kelly 10, Stanley 2, Grose 27, Demarest 4, Denault 8, Prather 11, Bullock 10. Elma — Seaberg 21, Carter 18, Holmes 9, Vessey 7, Studer 4, Flores 3, Hackney 2.

Hoquiam 62, Onalaska 41

Hoquiam got off to a hot start en route to a 62-41 thrashing of Onalaska on Saturday in Hoquiam.

Led by 10 points from star senior guard Michael Lorton Watkins, the Grizzlies (12-4) leaped out to a 23-12 lead after one quarter.

Leading 36-22 at the half, Hoquiam put the game away in the third quarter, holding the Loggers (5-11) to just five points in the frame to extend its lead to 50-27 entering the final period.

Lorton Watkins led the Grizzlies with 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting (60%) to go along with nine rebounds and three assists.

Justice Stankavich added 11 points for a Grizzlies team that shot 44% on 24-of-54 shooting from the field.

Owen McNeill had five assists, Jake Templer recorded five steals and Kort Gordon scored six points and grabbed five rebounds off the bench for Hoquiam.

“This was a good tune-up,” said Hoquiam head coach Jeff Niemi, whose team showed little let-down 24 hours after a comeback win over Elma in a key league contest. “If you want to get to the next level, you have to be able to play two nights in a row.”

Hoquiam faces Tenino at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

Onalaska 12 10 5 14 — 41

Hoquiam 23 13 14 12 — 62

Scoring: Hoquiam — Lorton Watkins 24, Stankavich 11, Gordon 6, Wonderly-Leonard 5, Jump 5, Butcher 4, McNeill 3, Templer 2, Hobucket 2. Onalaska — Russon 8, Rushton 7, C. McGraw 7, Kaden 7, R. McGraw 5, Lawrence 4, Ponnkuk 3.

Willapa Valley 69, Firm Foundation 41

Willapa Valley won its fifth-straight game with a 69-41 victory over Firm Foundation Christian on Saturday in Battle Ground.

The Vikings (12-4, 8-0 1B Columbia Valley) took care of business early in outscoring the Eagles (2-8, 2-6) 29-11 in the first quarter and held a comfortable 44-20 lead at halftime.

Riley Pearson led Willapa Valley with 23 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists.

Wil Clements (13 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists) and Derek Fluke (13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals) also scored in double figures while Brody Ritzman led the Vikings with nine rebounds.

Willapa Valley went 30 for 66 from the field (45%) and had 47 rebounds and 17 assists as a team.

Senior post Garrett Keeton led the Vikings with five assists.

The Vikings face Morton-White Pass at 7 p.m. Monday in Randall.

Willapa Valley 29 15 17 8 — 69

Firm Foundation 11 9 14 7 — 41

Scoring: Willapa Valley — Pearson 23, Clements 13, D. Fluke 13, K. Fluke 7, Ritzman 4, N. Fluke 3, Swartz 2, Ruelas 2, Young 2. Firm Foundation — n/a.

Ocosta 76, Taholah 50

Ocosta got a big game from its top-scorer en route to a 76-50 win over Taholah on Saturday in Westport.

The Wildcats (9-8) got out to a 22-11 lead after one quarter, led by Xander Prigmore’s 14 points in the period.

Ocosta led 40-25 at the half and 54-40 entering the fourth quarter.

The Wildcats outscored the Chitwhins (7-8) 22-10 in the final frame, with Prigmore scoring 11 points in the period to finish with a career-best 35 points on 13-of-23 shooting (56.5%).

Prigmore added nine rebounds and five steals to his stat line while teammate Josh Figueroa had 11 points, eight rebounds, nine assists and eight steals for Ocosta, which hit 30 of 70 shots as a team (42.8%).

Jayden Lewis led Taholah with 25 points on 11-of-19 shooting (57.8%).

The Chitwhins shot 41.6% as a team on 20-of-48 shooting.

Ocosta plays at South Bend at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

Taholah takes on Lake Quinault at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Amanda Park.

Taholah 11 14 15 10 — 50

Ocosta 22 18 14 22 — 76

Scoring: Taholah — Lewis 25, McCrory 9, Vitalis 7, Adams 2, Charlie 2, Davis 2, Bryan 1. Ocosta — X. Prigmore 35, Figueroa 11, Turner 7, Barnum 5, Ceja 4, M. Lewis 3, J. Agramon 3, K. Agramon 2, Matthews 2, Wyland 2.

GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL

Montesano 60, Seattle Academy 45

Montesano senior forward McKynnlie Dalan had one of the more memorable games of her prep career on Saturday, eclipsing 1,000 points on her birthday in a 60-45 win over Seattle Academy in Montesano.

Dalan scored 33 points to lead the Bulldogs, breaking the 1,000-point barrier in the second half on her 18th birthday.

Monte (14-3) was once again led by a superb defense that held the Cardinals (9-5) to six points in the first quarter and led 28-18 at the half.

The Cardinals stayed in the game with 19 points, including three 3-pointers, in the third quarter.

Monte’s defense responded by holding the Cardinals to eight points in the fourth quarter — three coming on free throws — to pick up the 15-point victory.

“Seattle Academy) kept battling and staying in it, but we kept holding them at bay,” Montesano head coach Mark Mansfield said. “It was another good test for us and the game had a playoff feeling.”

Evanjillie “Jillie” Dalan scored 11 points while Mikayla Stanfield and Jaiden King added six and five points, respectively, for the Bulldogs.

Monte faces Eatonville at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Eatonville High School.

Seattle Academy 6 12 19 8 — 45

Montesano 17 11 20 12 — 60

Scoring: Montesano — M. Dalan 33, E. Dalan 11, Stanfield 6, King 5, Prom 3, Young 2. Seattle Academy — n/a.

Hoquiam 35, Onalaska 26

Despite a poor offensive performance, Hoquiam rode its defense to a 35-26 win over Onalaska on Saturday at Hoquiam Square Garden.

The Grizzlies (10-5) trailed 11-10 at halftime before a 14-6 effort in the third quarter put Hoquiam up by by seven entering the fourth period.

Hoquiam was led by Graci Bonney-Spradlin and Ashlinn Cady with 16 and 11 points apiece as the Grizzlies shot 8 of 39 from the field (20.5%) and 17 of 30 from the free-throw line (56.6%).

“The ability to win an ugly when we shoot 21% from the field and 57% from free-throw line is a tribute to how hard our players defend to get much-needed extra possessions,” Hoquiam head coach Chad Allan said. “We just struggled getting into an offensive flow tonight. We are still working on our execution and making the correct reads during the game.”

Hoquiam was outrebounded 37-30, but forced 34 turnovers and had 26 steals as a team, led by Bonney-Spradlin and Cady with seven and six, respectively.

“It is so easy for players to give up and let down when their offense is not working, but I am always proud of how our players rise above and keep battling until the end,” Allan said.

Hoquiam hosts Tenino at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Onalaska 5 6 6 9 — 26

Hoquiam 6 4 14 9 — 35

Scoring: Onalaska — Haight 8, Ikola 7, K. Sandridge 6, Berg 4, Talley 1. Hoquiam — Bonney-Spradlin 16, Cady 11, Folkers 6, Gordon 2.

South Bend 49, Mary M. Knight 19

South Bend held Mary M. Knight to six points or less in each quarter to pick up a 49-19 win on Saturday in South Bend.

South Bend (2-13) was led by Dakota Bale and Raydynn Morley with 10 points apiece.

South Bend led 15-3 after one quarter, 27-9 at the half and 39-13 entering the fourth quarter.

“It felt good getting a win,” South Bend head coach Jon Schray said. “We got some really good minutes out of our swing players tonight. Dakota had a breakout game offensively, hitting double-digit scoring for the first time. We needed a positive game like this so we can take it into next week looking to face Ocosta to hopefully get a key league win.”

South Bend faces Ocosta at 6 p.m. on Tuesday in Westport.

Mary M. Knight 3 6 4 6 — 19

South Bend 15 12 12 10 — 49

Scoring: South Bend — Elli Capps 7, Summer Stigall 6, Dakota Bale 10, Avalyn Stigal 7, Raydynn Morley 10, Fatima Delgado 3, Ava Pine 2, Sophia Markwell 4. MMK — Fletcher 6, Lohman 4, Nygard 9.

Willapa Valley 59, Three Rivers Christian 29

A strategic move led to Willapa Valley pulling away from Three Rivers Christian 59-29 on Saturday in Menlo.

The Vikings (12-5, 8-1 1B Columbia Valley) led 14-13 after one quarter as the Eagles (5-11, 2-8) made three 3-point shots against Willapa Valley’s zone defense, including a 35-foot buzzer-beater.

The Vikings switched to a man defense in the second quarter to win the frame 22-3.

“They couldn’t do anything,” Willapa Valley head coach John Peterson said of the Eagles’ response to his team’s smothering defense. “They couldn’t even breathe.”

The man-to-man pressure continued to produce dividends in the second half as the Vikings held the Eagles to five and eight points in the third and fourth quarters, respectively, to pick up the victory.

Grace Huber led Willapa Valley with 15 points, five rebounds and three steals.

Hadlee Russell had 10 points in her first start while Brooklyn Patrick had another standout floor game with nine points, eight assists, four steals, three rebounds and a block.

Willapa Valley shot 22 of 49 from the field (45%) and had just nine turnovers in the game.

The Vikings play at Naselle at 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday at Naselle High School.

Three Rivers Christian 13 3 5 8 — 29

Willapa Valley 14 22 15 8 — 59

Scoring: Willapa Valley — Huber 15, Russell 10, Patrick 9, Emery 8, Matlock 8, Quezada 6, Merkel 3. Three Rivers — Poyner 16, Romanillos 9, McGinley 2, Fortunati 2.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Lawyer Niemi, right, is presented with the Elks Hoop Shoot district championship in the boys 10-11 division by Elks Hoop Shoot District Director Syd Nunez on Saturday in Port Angeles.

YOUTH BASKETBALL

Locals win Hoop Shoot titles

Lawyer Niemi, Blake Rogich and Addisyn Fry each won their respective divisions to win Elks Hoop Shoot district championships on Saturday at the Vern Burton Community Center in Port Angeles.

Niemi, a Cosmopolis Elementary student, hit 21 of 25 free throws to win the district title in the boys 10-11 year old class.

Fry, a Simpson Elementary School student, hit 15 of 25 free throws to take first in the girls 10-11 division.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Addisyn Fry of Montesano won the Elks Hoop Shoot district championship in the girls 10-11 division on Saturday in Port Angeles.

Rogich won the district championship in the boys 8-9 division.

The trio advanced to the Hoop Shoot Washington State Finals on Saturday, Feb. 4 at Saint Martin’s University’s Marcus Pavilion in Lacey.

Other scores

Boys Prep Basketball

Taholah 54, Wishkah Valley 14 (Friday)

Girls Prep Basketball

Chief Leschi 44, Taholah 28

Men’s College Basketball

Green River 93, Grays Harbor 66

Women’s College Basketball

Green River 100, Grays Harbor 60

Taholah 81, Wishkah Valley 28 (Friday)