Over a half decade of missing out on a district championship came to an end for the Montesano girls basketball program as the Bulldogs defeated King’s Way Christian, 44-33, in the 1A District 4 Championship on Saturday in Vancouver.

The Bulldogs fortunes didn’t look so bright in the first half, as leading scorer and front-runner for 1A Evergreen League MVP, Paige Lisherness, was saddled with two fouls and had to sit the bench for the entire second quarter.

Down 23-20 after a low-scoring first half, Monte (12-2 overall) took control of the game with a big third quarter. Inserted back into the lineup, Lisherness scored six of her team-high 12 points in the third as Monte regained the lead.

Monte was further bolstered by the play of freshman up-and-comer Mikayla Stanfield, who broke out by hitting some big shots against La Center in Thursday’s semifinal, scoring six points as well in the third.

The Bulldogs outscored KWC 18-7 in the third and held the Knights to just 10 points on three field goals in the second half as Monte cranked up the defensive pressure.

“We didn’t shoot real well, which could’ve made it easier for us. But we just stayed after them, especially in the last 16 minutes,” Monte head coach Mark Mansfield said of his team’s defensive effort. “The second half was as good a defense as we played this year. … They really brought the intensity tonight.”

Monte trophy photo

Lisherness led Monte with 12 points. while Stanfield had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds in Monte’s first district title since the 2014-15 season.

Zoee Lisherness scored eight points and was a force on the defensive end, snatching four steals and grabbing 16 rebounds for a Bulldog team that outrebounded KWC 38-18.

Jaiden King added eight points for Montesano.

“We had a lot of people step up tonight,” Mansfield said. “They were motivated. I’m just so proud of how hard they worked.”

Aberdeen 57, Shelton 29

Aberdeen clinched the No. 3 seed entering the district tournament with a victory over Shelton on Friday in Aberdeen.

Maddie Gore had a phenomenal game for the Bobcats (5-7 overall, 5-6 2A Evergreen), scoring 23 points on 8-of-18 (44%) shooting, including hitting 4-of-8 (50%) from beyond the arc. Gore also had five rebounds and four steals in the contest.

“Maddie Gore played her best game of the season,” Aberdeen head coach Rachel Wenzel said before turning her attention to the entire team. “The girls are now playing tighter defense and pressing the right way.”

Marina Maril scored eight points for Aberdeen while Kaely Chum had six for the Bobcats.

Wenzel cited Zoe Filan for playing “great defense in the paint” on Friday.

Aberdeen will host Shelton at 6 p.m. on Monday in a 2A District 4 Tournament game.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Shelton 47, Aberdeen 40

After two clutch conference wins earlier in the week, Aberdeen fell to host Shelton on Friday.

Aberdeen (4-8 overall, 3-8 2A Evergreen) kept it close against Shelton (8-4, 6-4), never trailing by more than five points at the end of each of the first three quarters.

But the Bobcats managed just nine points in the fourth quarter — seven by Jayden Watson alone — in taking the loss in the regular-season finale.

Angel Baltazar led the Bobcats with 12 points, eight of those coming in the first half.

Watson and Kaiden Seibert added seven points apiece with Jeremy Sawyer scoring six points for Aberdeen.

The Bobcats will take on Black Hills in a 2A District 4 Tournament game at 7:30 p.m. on Monday in Tumwater.

Aberdeen 5 13 13 9 — 40

Shelton 10 11 14 12 — 47

BOYS WRESTLING

Aberdeen’s Hoseney wins at season-ending meet

Aberdeen wrestler Jaden Hoseney took first place in the 220-pound class at a season-ending league crossover meet on Tuesday, June 1, at Tumwater High School.

Hoseney was one of four Bobcat wrestlers that placed in the top five of their respective weight class at the tournament, which featured teams from the 2A Evergreen and 2A Lower Greater St. Helen’s conferences.

In addition to Hoseney, Aberdeen’s Shayne Glowacki took second at 132 pounds and Jack Dore and Talatheon Warness placed third in the 126-pound and 106-pound weight class, respectively.

Aberdeen’s Aiden Watkins placed fourth at 152.

PREP BASEBALL

Senior All-Star Game moved to Thursday

Due to inclement weather, the 43rd Annual Senior All-Star Game has been moved to 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Wheeler Field in Centralia.

Four Twin Harbors athletes — Eli Brown (Aberdeen), Justin Elliott (Elma), Cobey Moore (Elma) and Colby Scheuber (Ocosta) — are listed on the Americans roster for Thursday’s game.

For more information, visit allstatebaseball.com.