With the prep basketball district playoffs tipping off this week here’s a look at what’s ahead for area Class 1A schools in their opening games. The Class 2B matchups are online at thevidette.com.
1A girls District IV tournament
(No. 4) Castle Rock at
(No. 1) Elma
Elma will have to shut down Castle Rock’s interior offense to come away with the win against the Rockets in the first round of districts at 7 p.m. on Friday.
The Rockets have relied heavily on center Zoe Naugle to score in the post as the senior has put up nine points a game this season.
Elma (18-2, 7-1 Evergreen 1A) will counter with Jalyn Sackrider, who will likely be guarding Naugle, who is in her first year of high school ball, according to The Daily News in Longview. Sackrider has been a force in the low post herself this season with a team-leading 13.6 ppg average.
Sackrider has also shown an ability to protect the rim and had seven blocks in Elma’s 43-35 win over Montesano.
The Rockets (10-10, 4-6 Trico 1A) have also gotten contributions from a freshman guard. Brooke Wirkkala is right behind Naugle with 8.6 points a night.
Elma has used a press defense at times this season to bother ball handlers and the Eagles may go to it again to disrupt the Rockets’ offense.
Quin Mikel and Kali Rambo could also give the Rockets some trouble as both forwards are averaging about 11 points a game.
Castle Rock first-year coach Kim Karnofski’s second leading scorer comes off the bench in freshman point guard Brooke Wirkkala.
(3) La Center at
(2) Montesano
Montesano will have to make sure its perimeter defense is ready to handle La Center’s pair of high-scoring guards.
Taylor Stephens has been a handful for the opposition this year and has put up about 21 points a game this season.
The Wildcats (10-10, 7-3 Trico 1A) had a shot at winning the Trico 1A in the last game of the season, but at 56-41 loss to eventual league-champions King’s Way Christian sent La Center to the lower seed. La Center was on a five-game winning streak before that loss.
Montesano (12-8, 6-2 Evergreen 1A) has looked inside for its scoring with Zoe Hutchings leading the way. Hutchings has averaged 17.5 points a game, doing most of her work in the low post.
Lexi Lovell and Glory Grubb are also candidates to take up the scoring mantel as both guards are averaging over eight points a contest.
The Bulldogs and Wildcats had similar ends to the season as Montesano lost out on the 1A Evergreen title with a 43-35 loss to Elma on Feb. 1.
Montesano will play host to La Center and its high-scoring guards on Friday at 7 p.m.
1A boys District IV Tournament
(3) Seton Catholic at
(2) Montesano
Seton Catholic will bring a high-scoring duo to town when the Cougars face Montesano in the Bulldogs’ playoff opener in the Class 1A District IV Tournament’s North bracket.
Guards Isaiah Parker and Gabe Anderson are both averaging 14.7 points a game this season to lead Seton Catholic.
The Cougars (15-5, 7-3 Trico 1A) are coming in hot, ending their regular season with blowout wins over Castle Rock and Stevenson.
Montesano (12-8, 6-2 Evergreen 1A) has also benefited from strong guard play as Sam Winter has used his perimeter shooting to lead the Bulldogs with 17.4 ppg.
The Bulldogs haven’t shied away from pounding the ball inside either, as center Tanner Nicklas has put up approximately 10 points a game this season.
The Bulldogs will host the Cougars at 6 tonight, Feb. 7, in Montesano.
(3) Hoquiam at
(2) King’s Way Christian
It’ll be a pair of high scoring guards going up against a pair of talented post players when Hoquiam travels to Vancouver to take on King’s Way Christian in the South bracket of the Class 1A District IV Tournament on Thursday.
Point guard Kahl Cason leads the Knights (13-7, 8-2 Trico 1A) in scoring with nearly 14 points-per-game while shooting guard Brady Metz isn’t too far behind with 11.7 points a night.
Younger brother Bryson Metz has also been tough to stop with 10.9 ppg.
Hoquiam (10-10, 5-3 Evergreen 1A) has looked to posts Matt Brown and Rayyon Dayton to scoring points in the paint all season and will likely look to the big men to shoulder the load offensively on Thursday.
Matt Brown has been a workhorse for the No. 3 Grizzlies with over 19 ppg. Brown set a scoring record in a double-overtime game against Castle Rock where he scored 46 points and had 22 rebounds in a 85-81 loss on Dec. 18.
Dayton has done a lot of work from the high post this season, relying on the jumper to put up 15.6 points a game.
Hoquiam will face the No. 2 seed Knights at 7 tonight, Feb. 7, in Vancouver.
2B Boys District IV Basketball Tournament
(8) Winlock at (5) Ocosta
Ocosta comes into the 2B District IV Tournament as the No. 5 seed and will host a No. 8 Winlock team that boasts two players that average in double figures.
Winlock (5-14, 3-7 Central 2B) has been looking to junior Bryce Cline for the majority of its scoring this season, with the guard averaging nearly 16 points a game.
The Cardinals will also bring some size to the court with Coleson Richendollar. The junior post will has been averaging 11.2 points a game.
The Wildcats (8-12, 8-10 Pacific 2B) haven’t had too much trouble scoring this season and have three players averaging double digits.
Cole Hatton has paced the team with 16.3 ppg while grabbing just over six rebounds a night. Kobe Beck has also been contributing to the offense with 12 points a night while Richard Dueber has been putting up almost 11 points a contest.
Listed at 6-foot-4, Dueber has also been the team’s primary rebounder with 7.4 per game and will be an important piece to slowing down the Cardinals’ interior offense.
Ocosta and Winlock will square off in Ocosta at 7 tonight.
(7) Morton White Pass and (6) Raymond
Raymond found itself on the outside looking in as the regular season drew to a close, but with North Beach and Chief Leschi not receiving invites to the 2B District IV Tournament after an altercation during their game on Thursday, the Seagulls will get a chance at postseason glory when they take on Morton-White Pass.
MWP (12-8, 4-6 Central 2B) comes into the district tournament as the No. 7 seed as will bring a roster filled with senior leadership.
The Timberwolves have four seniors on the roster including Dylan Richards, who has shown an ability to score and put up 10 points against Toledo last Thursday.
Richards provides a lot of post scoring for the T-Wolves while guard Hayden Young gets his points from the perimeter.
Young dropped 23 points in that Toldeo game and can create matchup problems for other guards with his 6-foot-3 frame.
Morton-White Pass relies on upperclassmen while a younger Raymond squad looks to one of its freshmen to put up points. Tre’ Seyedel is the only player averaging double figures for the Seagulls with just over 15 ppg.
Raymond (7-13, 7-11 Pacific 2B) will also be looking to Devin Souvannavanh and Cesar Delgado to clean the glass as both post players are averaging about seven rebounds a game.
The Seagulls will head to Morton to face the T-Wolves at 7 tonight.
(7) South Bend at (6) Wahkiakum
South Bend struggled to find the win column and will be looking to pull off the upset against Wahkiakum tonight.
The Indians were one of two teams to qualify for districts after North Beach and Chief Leschi did not receive tournament invitations after an altercation between the two teams last Thursday.
The Indians (3-17, 2-16 Pacific 2B) struggled to score with regularity in the regular season and the scoring they did get came mostly from Drew Rose and Nathon Ashley. Rose provided a lot of senior leadership from the guard position and averaged 15.8 points a game. Ashley was also a big part of the Indians’ offense with 11.2 ppg.
Wahkiakum (8-12, 5-5 Central 2B) will be looking to Luke Brown to carry the offensive load in this matchup as the senior guard put up a combined 53 points in the last three games of the season. South Bend will also have to watch out for Logan LaBerge, who reached double figures in scoring in the last three games of the season.
South Bend will make the road trip to Cathlamet to face the Mules at 7 tonight.
Willapa Valley will face the winner of this matchup on Thursday at Rochester High School.
2B Girls District IV Basketball Tournament
The 2B District IV Girls Basketball Tournament tipped off on Tuesday, with Raymond hosting Napavine in the at 7 p.m. in the first round. The winner faces No. 4 Toledo in the second round at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 6 at Rochester High School.
North Beach faces Onalaska on Tuesday, with the winner taking on No. 3 Willapa Valley in the second round at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, also at Rochester High School.
South Bend, which received a No. 4 seed in the tournament’s upper bracket, will face the winner of (9) Toutle Lake at (5) Mossyrock game. The Indians’ second-round contest is scheduled to take place at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at WF West High School.
Ocosta, which received the highest seed of any Twin Harbors team in the tournament at No. 2, has two byes before it opens the playoffs in a quarterfinal matchup on Saturday, Feb. 9 (opponent yet to be determined).
Seton Catholic’s Isaiah Parker (2) shoots during Friday night’s game at King’s Way High School in Vancouver on Jan. 25, 2019. King’s Way won 75-66. Seton Catholic next plays Montesano at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 7, in Montesano. (Alisha Jucevic/The Columbian)
Seton Catholic’s Gabe Anderson (23) shoots as King’s Way’s Bryson Metz (55) and Khal Cason (1) defend him during Friday night’s game at King’s Way High School in Vancouver on Jan. 25, 2019. King’s Way won 75-66. Seton Catholic next plays Montesano at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 7, in Montesano. (Alisha Jucevic/The Columbian)
