The Montesano Bulldogs started slow but earned a 55-37 victory over Adna on Dec. 19 at Adna High School.

The Bulldogs (6-3) found themselves down 9-0 after the first three minutes of the game.

But Monte got back into the game with its defense. After allowing 15 points in the first quarter, the Bulldogs held the Pirates (5-2) to six points in the second quarter.

“We made some defensive adjustments to slow down Adna’s offense and started chipping away at their lead,” Monte head coach Julie Graves said.

The second half belonged to the Bulldogs as they outscored Adna 28-16 to earn the victory.

“We played the second half with the same intensity in which we finished the first half,” Graves said. “Great team defense, patience on offense and unselfish play contributed to our win.”

The Bulldogs shot 23-for-60 while the Pirates made just 16 of 53 shots.

Monte’s Glory Grubb came off the bench to score a team-best 13 points. The senior guard also had seven rebounds, five assists and six steals for the Bulldogs.

“She came off the bench and had a strong floor game,” Graves said of Grubb.

Zoe Hutchings scored 12 points and had nine rebounds, and Katie Granstrom had 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and held Adna’s Payton Aselton to just two points on the night.

Paige Lisherness added nine points and eight rebounds for Monte, which plays Bellevue Christian at noon on today at the Cloud 9 Christmas Classic at Lynden Christian High School.

Montesano 14 13 16 12 — 55

Adna 15 6 9 7 — 37

Top Players: Montesano — Grubb (12 prs., 7 reb., 6 stl, 5 asst.), Hutchings (12 pts., 9 reb.), Granstrom (12 pts., 8 reb., 5 asst.), Lisherness (9 pts., 8 reb.); Adna — Pannette (10 pts.), Wellander (10 pts.).

Elma 47, Astoria 30

Elma got a well-rounded effort with three players in double figures in the Eagles’ 47-30 win over Astoria on Dec. 20 at the Seaside Tournament in Seaside, Oregon.

Quin Mikel led Elma in scoring with 12 points while Kali Rambo and Jalyn Sackrider both registered 11 points for the Eagles.

Elma (8-0 overall) found itself locked in a close one after the first frame when they were protecting a 13-12 lead.

Elma pulled away with the help of its defense, limiting Astoria to just one made bucket in the second quarter, as the Eagles built up their lead over the next three quarters.

Elma played two more games in the tournament Both ended too late for this edition.

Astoria 12 2 6 10 – 30

Elma 13 11 15 8 – 47

Top Players: Mikel (12 pts.7 reb.), Sackrider (11 pts., 8 reb.), Rambo (11 pts., 6 reb.).

Hoquiam’s Rylee Vonhoff (42) scores over Centralia’s Madelinn Corwin during the Grizzlies’ 53-42 win over Centralia on Wednesday at Hoquiam Square Garden. (Ryan Sparks | Grays Harbor News Group)