The Elma girls basketball team had a busy holiday vacation the past week. They traveled south to Seaside, Oregon, where they won the Seaside Holiday Classic tournament. The Montesano girls basketball team went in the opposite direction both literally and figuratively. The went north to Lynden for the Cloud 9 Christmas Classic, where they lost two games.

Elma 37, Seaside 30

The Elma girls basketball team’s trip to Oregon for the Seaside Holiday Classic resulted in a tournament championship for the second straight year with a 37-30 win over Seaside on Saturday, Dec. 22, in the title game in Seaside, Oregon.

Elma (7-0 overall) came out strong in the first quarter but saw the offense slow to a trickle in the second where they only shot 1-of-8 from the field.

The Eagles had some trouble taking care of the ball and committed 25 turnovers in the contest.

Despite the rough second quarter Elma still went into halftime protecting a slim 17-16 lead.

The Eagles got some help off the bench when it came to expand their lead as Kaelyn Burgher scored all 10 of her points in the fourth quarter while hitting all five of her foul shots.

Jalyn Sackrider played solid defensively in the low-scoring affair with four steals and three blocks to keep Seaside from completing the comeback attempt.

For her efforts over the course of the tournament, Elma’s Quin Mikel was recognized as the tournament’s MVP. Sackrider and Kali Rambo were also recognized with all-tournament honors.

Elma 15 2 6 14 – 37

Seaside 6 10 5 9 – 30

Top Players: Elma – Burgher (10 pts.), Sackrider (8 pts., 9 reb., 4 stl., 3 blk.), Mikel ( 7 pts., 8 reb., 3 asst.).

Elma 44, Marist 37

The Elma girls basketball team fought off a late-game comeback attempt thanks in large part to a double-double performance from Mikel in a 44-37 win over Marist on Dec. 21 at the Seaside tournament.

Mikel dropped 17 points and grabbed 11 boards while Rambo added another 12 points and 13 rebounds in the victory.

Elma (7-0 overall) led by as many as 15 midway through the third quarter, but Marist nailed a few 3-pointers before the end of the quarter to shrink Elma’s lead to 32-27 by the end of the frame.

The Eagles also had to deal with foul trouble as Mikel, Rambo and Sackrider all picked up their fourth foul early in the fourth quarter.

Elma hit six of its 11 free throws and got a pair of big buckets from Sackrider to edge Marist in the final fame and secure the win.

Elma head coach Lisa Johnson gave her team credit for playing with focus down the stretch.

“We played strong and disciplined through the fourth and withstood several comeback attempts,” she said. “It was a great team win.”

Elma 10 11 11 12 — 44

Marist 10 2 15 10 — 37

Top Players: Elma — Mikel (17 pts., 11 reb), Rambo (12 pts., 13 reb.) Jalyn Sackrider (9 pts., 10 reb.)

Meridian 47, Montesano 39

Turnovers and rebounds were costly as Montesano lost to Meridian 47-39 at the Cloud 9 Christmas Classic on Dec. 28 at Lynden High School.

The Bulldogs (6-5) coughed up 25 turnovers and allowed 17 offensive rebounds in their second game in as many days.

“That really hurt us,” Monte head coach Julie Graves said of her team’s inability to take care of the ball. “But I thought our kids played with tremendous energy and effort.

Monte was led by Paige Lisherness, who had a double-double with 10 points and a team-best 13 rebounds.

Lexi Lovell had 10 points while Katie Granstrom and Sophia Reed scored eight and seven points, respectively, for Montesano.

The Bulldogs shot 17-for-44 from the field (39 percent) while 4A Meridian hit 25-of-60 shots (42 precent).

Montesano has a few days off before opening up 1A Evergreen League play against Hoquiam at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Hoquiam Square Garden.

Montesano 10 14 9 6 — 39

Meridian 14 13 12 8 — 47

Top Players: Lovell (10 pts.), Lisherness (10 pts., 13 reb.), Granstrom (8 pts., 6 reb., 3 stl.), Reed (7 pts.).

Bellevue Christian 51, Montesano 40

Despite a solid effort, the Montesano girls baskeball team couldn’t match the size of Bellevue Christian in suffering a 51-40 defeat to the Vikings in the Cloud 9 Christmas Classic on Dec. 27 at Lynden Christian High School.

“I thought we battled really well being undersized against their height,” Graves said. “We played really well and made some defensive adjustments in the second half, where we outscored them.”

Lexi Lovell led the Bulldogs with 18 points. Paige Lisherness and Katie Granstrom each had eight points for Monte (6-4).

Bellevue Christian’s Sophia Bold led the way with a game-high 20 points for the Vikings.

Monte made 17 of 49 shots from the field and went 3-for-10 from the free-throw line.

Bellevue Christian (7-0) went 23-for-46 from the field and 4-of-6 from the charity stripe.

After a long layoff, Graves was pleased to see her team compete in its first game back.

“We talked about trying to come out with some energy,” she said. “We haven’t played in eight days. … We tried to control the tempo and not get into a running game. We didn’t have to sub as much as I thought we would need to.”

Montesano 10 10 12 8 — 40

Bellevue Christian 16 17 18 10 — 51

Top Players: Montesano — Lovell (18 pts.), Lisherness (8 pts., 8 reb.), Granstrom (8 pts., 4 stl.), Janessa Otterstetter (6 pts.), Matti Ekerson (4 asst.); BC — Bold (20 pts.).