UPDATE: Information added for Aberdeen boys swimming
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association announced its parings for the state basketball regional round on Sunday with five local teams included in the mix.
1A District 4 girls champion Elma received a No. 12 seed and will face Deer Park, which went 18-6 this season and finished second in the Northeast League. The Eagles will open regional play at noon on Saturday at Tumwater High School.
Montesano’s girls team will also be in action at noon on Saturday when the face No. 11 Seattle Academy, which finished 18-4 this season and won the Emerald City League.
In the boys 2B regionals, Willapa Valley earned a No. 10 seed and will face No. 15 Friday Harbor on Saturday.
Taholah’s boys and girls teams, which won their respective 1B District 4 Tournament, will also open regional play this weekend. The No. 9 Chitwhins will face No. 16 Mount Vernon Christian on Friday while the No. 13 Lady Chitwhins will take on No. 12 Moses Lake-Covenant Christian on Saturday.
1A Girls Regional Round
No. 12 Elma vs. No. 13 Deer Park, 12 p.m., Saturday, Tumwater High School
No. 11 Seattle Academy vs. No. 14 Montesano, 12 p.m., Saturday, Issaquah High School
2B Boys Regional Round
No. 10 Willapa Valley vs. No. 15 Friday Harbor, 2 p.m., Saturday, Tumwater High School
1B Boys Regional Round
No. 9 Taholah vs. No.16 Mount Vernon Christian, 6 p.m., Friday, Tumwater High School
1B Girls Regional Round
No. 12 Moses Lake-Covenant Christian vs. No. 13 Taholah, 2 p.m., Saturday, Big Bend Community College
BOYS PREP BASKETBALL
Willapa Valley 63, Winlock 54
With a regional spot on the line, the Willapa Valley Vikings stepped up big.
Four Vikings scored in double figures as the Vikings staved off elimination and earned a spot in the state regional round with a 63-54 victory over Winlock in the 2B District 4 Tournament on Saturday at Rochester High School.
A day after missing a chance to clinch a regional spot with a 69-54 loss to a red-hot Onalaska team, Willapa Valley (17-8) was able to keep its season alive with what Vikings head coach Jay Pearson called “a great overall team effort.”
Chad Flemetis scored 18 points, including a clutch 3-pointer to put Willapa Valley up by 12 with 2:30 left in the game, and led a quartet of Vikings that scored in double figures.
Allen Deniston and Beau Buchanan responded after lackluster performances in Friday’s loss to help extend the Vikings’ season. Deniston, who score three points with three rebounds against Onalaska, scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds against Winlock while Buchanan was also able to flip the script, scoring 13 points with 11 rebounds compared to just two points and four rebounds the night before.
Logan Walker scored 11 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out four assists while holding Central League MVP, Winlock’s Bryce Cline, to 12 points.
“The kids played hard and played smart,” Pearson said. “In my opinion, those two hard-fought, physical losses (against Toutle Lake and Onalaska) prepared us for this winner-to-state, loser-out game.”
Winlock 17 7 16 14 — 54
Willapa Valley 17 12 12 22 — 63
GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL
Montesano 52, La Center 35
Montesano’s Paige Lisherness had a huge game in leading the Bulldogs to the 1A regional with a 52-35 victory over La Center in the 1A District 4 Tournament on Saturday at WF West High School.
Monte (15-9) was able to avenge a 64-53 loss to La Center in the district semifinals six days earlier by quickly jumping out to a double-digit lead before the Wildcats were able to score a point.
La Center (14-9) trailed 26-16 at the half and never really threatened Monte in the game as the Bulldogs took a 42-25 lead in the fourth quarter when Jaiden King stole the ball and fed Zoe Hutchings for a breakaway layup.
Lisherness led Montesano with 20 points, 17 rebounds and six steals for a Montesano team that held a 52-27 advantage on the boards and defended well, according to head coach Mark Mansfield.
“We won this game with our defense,” he said. “We had a lot of intensity, flew around the court, never gave them open looks and made them work for every shot.”
Zoe Hutchings scored 19 points for Monte and Zoee Lisherness added 11 points for the Bulldogs, which finished second behind Elma in the district and punched a ticket to the state regional round with the victory.
La Center 4 12 9 10 — 35
Montesano 17 9 12 14 — 52
BOYS PREP SWIMMING
Aberdeen relay team places 10th in state
Aberdeen’s boys swimming team capped its 2019-20 season in impressive style on Saturday afternoon at the state 2A swimming championships at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.
Qualified in the 200-yard freestyle relay, the Bobcats’ team of Colton Burns, Brice Kola, Isaac Brandt and Russell Bates took 10th place overall in the event.
The relay was the only entry for Aberdeen on Saturday, placing the Bobcats in 23rd place overall in the team standings with 14 points.
“Our goal all season was to get to Saturday at state and the boys did it,” Aberdeen head coach Rob Burns said. “It has been a while since Aberdeen had a relay swim on the second day (2015) and it has been a bit longer since Aberdeen placed as high as it did (2013). They are extremely proud of what they accomplished today and they are looking for more next season.”
On Friday, the quartet knocked off 2 1/2 seconds off of their seeding time at 1:38.13 to earn a 12th place finish and a spot into the consolation finals.
On Saturday, they improved nearly two seconds to crawl through the field and challenge Selah for the race lead before coming in second at 1:36.32.
“Honestly, I kinda want another week to see where these guys could go with another week of swimming,” coach Burns noted. “They peaked at the right time. You want your best performances at the end of the season and, including districts, these four were on their A-games. It has been so much fun watching them that I’m a bit disappointed that the season is over.”
Coach Burns cited seniors Brice Kola and Jakhongir Ayupov, an Uzbekistan exchange student who was the relay alternate, for their contributions to the program. Kola was a two-year team captain and a three-time state swimmer, while Ayupov improved greatly throughout the season in his first year with the Bobcats to earn the alternate spot on the state relay.
— For the Grays Harbor News Group
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
S. Puget Sound 78, Grays Harbor 63
Grays Harbor saw South Puget Sound pull away in the second half in a 78-63 loss on Saturday at The Evergreen State College.
Down three at the break to the Northwest Athletic Conference West Region leaders, Grays Harbor (15-13, 6-7 NWAC West) struggled to contain South Puget Sound’s Branden Bunn, who scored 14 of his game-high 30 points in the second half to lead the Clippers (22-5, 12-1).
Grays Harbor outrebounded South Puget Sound 40-29, but had 20 turnovers to just 10 for the Clippers.
The Chokers were led by Zachary Marrotte’s 16 points.
Michael Sampson, Tristan Schoepf and Zyare Ruffin added 10 points apiece for Grays Harbor.
Genuine Powell added nine points, 12 rebounds and seven assists for the Chokers.
Grays Harbor will host its Sophomore Night game at 8 p.m. Wednesday against Highline College. A win puts the Chokers in the NWAC Tournament while a loss will end the Chokers’ season.
Grays Harbor 36 27 — 63
South Puget Sound 39 39 — 78
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
S. Puget Sound 75, Grays Harbor 40
Grays Harbor fell behind by double-digits early and never recovered in a 75-40 loss to South Puget Sound on Saturday at The Evergreen State College.
The Chokers (0-16, 0-12 NWAC West) fell behind by 18 points at the half in suffering their 16th straight loss of the season.
Kamimi Papp led Grays Harbor with 18 points.
Armonnie Byrd added 12 points for the Chokers.
Grays Harbor 9 11 13 7 — 40
S. Puget Sound 15 27 12 21 — 75
Other scores
Men’s College Baseball
Southwest Oregon 3, Grays Harbor 1
Southwest Oregon 9, Grays Harbor 5
Southwest Oregon 16, Grays Harbor 5
Southwest Oregon 3, Grays Harbor 1
Women’s College Softball
Grays Harbor 22, Yakima Valley 18
Yakima Valley 14, Grays Harbor 13
Yakima Valley 13, Grays Harbor 11
