Montesano defense keys rivalry win over Elma

Fifth-ranked Montesano’s strength is its scoring prowess in the paint and on the perimeter. Add in its defense, which made life tough for Elma on Jan. 26, and it is a long night for any Monte opponent.

The Eagles went through a cold offensive spell to start, plus gave up 11 turnovers, to allow the Bulldogs extra chances to score and run away with a 68-41 Evergreen 1A League girls basketball win at Bo Griffith Memorial Gym.

Senior post Jordan Spradlin led all scorers with 23 points and 16 rebounds for Montesano (6-0, 15-3), which clinched a share of the league title and the league’s No. 1 berth entering the District IV 1A Tournament. Josie Toyra added 14 points, including four 3-point baskets, for the Bulldogs. Senior Peyton Elliott led Elma (5-2, 10-8) with nine points.

“I though the kids did a nice job of defense, anticipating where the pass would go and closing in on the shooters to make it difficult to shoot,” Montesano head coach Julie Graves said. “We tried to get our transition offense going. We moved the ball well in the first half and tried to adjust to their defense. We emphasized to the kids that everyone can shoot and everyone can score.”

“We got the defensive stops; we came out in a triangle and two to get the stops, but we came back and turned the ball over,” Elma head coach Lisa Johnson said. “We missed some shots. We didn’t execute and turned it over too many times.”

Spradlin had a strong start to her night with interior and offensive-rebound putback baskets in the first half. When Elma sank down to double cover her in the paint, the rest of Monte’s offense responded with drives and mid-range jumpers.

On the other end of the floor, the Bulldogs made the Eagles work and give up the basketball. In the first quarter alone, Elma had 11 turnovers. Coupled with 3-for-16 shooting from the field in the quarter, the Eagles fell behind and never got back close to the Bulldogs again.

Flying around on defense, the Bulldogs benefited from Cheyann Bartlett’s strong night as a floor leader. The senior finished with nine assists and seven steals and earned Graves’ praise for her floor game.

Montesano took a 20-11 lead into the second quarter and watched Spradlin and Toyra lead the charge. From the paint, Spradlin scored her points. From the perimeter, Toyra found open spaces when Elma sagged in on Spradlin. Toyra nailed back-to-back-to-back 3-point baskets late in the first half for a 40-18 Monte lead at halftime.

Spradlin and Toyra each scored 14 points in the first half. For Elma, to mark how much of a rough night it was on offense, it needed three quarters to score 28 points.

“When you work so hard to get the stops against a team like (Montesano), to turn the ball over on the other end is like giving them free points,” Johnson added. “Yeah, you pick your poison (with Spradlin and Toyra), but when you don’t hit your shots and you give up turnovers after you work your butt off, you can’t do that.”

“We’re getting better, but we have a few things we need to clean up ourselves,” Graves added. “The kids came out with intensity and it isn’t hard to get that intensity against a rival. We were able to do our thing.”

In the third quarter, it was more of the same. Montesano dominated the board with second- and third-chance possessions and Elma got into foul trouble in the process. Spradlin finished her night with her best quarter of the game — nine points — and sat out the fourth quarter.

On Tuesday, Montesano traveled to Forks, while Elma drives up to Tenino. Results of that game were not available when The Vidette went to press.