MONTESANO — Days after their rousing upset victory over previously unbeaten Elma, the Montesano Bulldogs girls basketball team avoided a letdown with a 74-51 victory over Hoquiam on Jan. 17.
Playing its third-straight home game, Monte was led by junior center Zoe Hutchings, who scored a team-best 21 points — 15 in the second half — while grabbing 11 rebounds.
Monte (10-7 overall, 4-1 Evergreen 1A) built an early lead thanks to an 18-4 first-quarter advantage.
But Hoquiam (7-8, 0-5) got back into the game with an 18-point second quarter sparked by senior Rylee Vonhof, who scored 10 of her game-high 22 points in the second frame.
Hoquiam’s Rylee Vonhof dribbles out of pressure during the first half of Thursday’s game in Montesano. Vonhof scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Grizzlies. (Ryan Sparks | Grays Harbor News Group)
“Rylee has been playing out of her mind lately,” Hoquiam head coach Denny Hinchen praised. “They can talk about (Elma center Jalyn) Sackrider and Hutchings, but here’s a girl that’s been carrying the load all year long. She battles those girls and puts up the same numbers, if not better.”
Hoquiam went on a 6-0 run in the second capped by Sharaya Brydon’s fast-break layup to cut the deficit down to 13 points, forcing Monte head coach Julie Graves to call timeout.
When play resumed, Monte’s Zoee Lisherness scored on a rebound of her own missed shot to slow the tide. But Hoquiam wasn’t finished. The Grizzlies ran off another eight straight points, closing the gap to 27-20 on a Jade Cox bucket with 1:44 left in the half, causing Graves to use another timeout.
Hoquiam cut the lead to 27-22 on a Vonhof fake-left, shoot-right move in the paint with under a minute left until halftime.
Monte senior guard Glory Grubb scored just before the half to stop the bleeding and give the Bulldogs a 29-22 lead at the break.
Montesano guard Glory Grubb puts up a shot during Thursday’s game against Hoquiam. Grubb scored eight points, six of those coming off two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to help the Bulldogs pull away. (Ryan Sparks | Grays Harbor News Group)
“We had a big lead and then we kind of dropped,” Hutchings said. “It was mostly our defense, we weren’t blocking out or doing any of that. But once we learned that it’s all about defense we decided to block out their shooters and since Rylee (Vonhof) was scoring all their points, get up on Riley.”
Hoquiam would get no closer in the second half, as Monte responded each and every time Hoquiam would attempt a run and collapsed on Vonhof in the paint, limiting her opportunities.
The Grizzlies cut the lead to 39-32 on a Brydon shot with 1:42 left in the third only to have Monte’s Lexi Lovell bury home a 3-pointer on the subsequent possession, pushing Monte’s lead back up to 10.
Lovell was key to Monte keeping the Grizzlies at arm’s length in the third quarter. The senior shooting guard scored eight of her 19 points in the frame to pace Monte.
While Lovell hit shots in the third quarter, her backcourt teammate, Grubb, knocked down some big shots in the fourth. Grubb, who had eight points on the evening, buried two big 3-pointers in the final two-plus minutes to push the lead close to 20.
“I think if we hit some of those passes that were wide open against their press in the first quarter, it’s a different game,” said Hinchen, whose team committed 22 turnovers in the game. “Turnovers got us tonight.”
Though the game was close at the half, Hutchings was proud of how her and her teammates kept their poise and played solid basketball to earn the league victory.
“With any big win, you can have a letdown,” Hutchings said, referring to Monday’s emotional victory over Elma. “We just came back and played well. … In the fourth quarter, that’s where we took off.”
After last week’s games, the Bulldogs are tied with Tenino for the league lead with 4-1 records with Elma close behind at 3-1.
Monte played at Tenino on Tuesday, but that game ended too late for this edition.
Hoquiam 4 18 12 16 — 51
Montesano 18 11 19 26 — 74
Top Players: Montesano — Hutchings (21 pts., 11 reb.), Lovell (19 pts., 7 reb., 3 asst.), Grubb (8 pts., 5 stl, 4 asst.), Matti Ekerson (8 pts.), Katie Granstrom (7 pts., 7 reb., 5 asst.); Hoquiam — Vonhof (22 pts., 11 reb.), Brydon (8 pts., 10 reb.), Taylor Strom (6 pts.), Maya Jump (6 pts., 3 asst.), Jade Cox (5 pts., 5 reb.).
Montesano 45, Elma 30
Montesano used a stifling defense to hand the Eagles their first loss of the season with the Bulldogs winning at home Jan. 15.
Montesano kept the Eagles grounded with the help of a defense that grabbed 10 steals.
Elma also had trouble connecting on passes and committed 20 turnovers in the contest.
Montesano head coach Julie Graves was pleased with the number of turnovers her team forced and pointed out that rebounding also was a factor in Elma’s low point total.
“We really talked about getting back and not giving up any second-chance points,” she said. “They got one shot and they had to make sure that they got the block out and the rebound. Elma’s a high-scoring team and to hold them to 30 points is a credit to the defense.”
Hutchings shot
Elma (14-1, 3-1), who came into the game average more than 55 points a contest, scored its lowest point total of the season.
Montesano has a history of giving Elma fits. The Bulldogs have handed the Eagles three of the team’s four losses over the past three seasons.
Elma head coach Lisa Johnson was impressed by Monte’s defensive effort.
“I’ll give Montesano credit for their effort. They got us out of our defensive rhythm,” she said. “They had us throwing the ball all over the gym, so hats off to them for that.”
Monte took control of the game early and had a 15-7 lead by the end of the first quarter with the Bulldogs getting inspired play from Zoee Lisherness. The sophomore scored eight of her 17 points in the first eight minutes.
Elma cut into Monte’s lead with some strong defense of its own in the second quarter. The Eagles outscored the Bulldogs 9-6 to bring the score to 22-18 by halftime.
The Bulldogs came out of halftime looking to expand their lead and started the third quarter on a 6-0 run over the first two minutes.
Elma struggled to keep pace and only hit three shots from the field in the third.
Johnson said her team played well on the defensive end of the court, for the most part, but was disappointed Elma couldn’t follow up stops with scores on the other end.
“I think our defensive stops were there, but they hit some clutch shots. We just have to value the ball better and make better passes,” she said. “We would work really hard to get a defensive stop and then we’d fumble it off our foot.”
On a night where the Eagles struggled to find scoring, Quin Mikel was the lone Eagle in double digits with 10 points to go along with five steals.
Elma went to a full-court press with about four minutes remaining in the game, but couldn’t close the gap as Monte only turned the ball over twice during that stretch.
Graves said she hopes her team is peaking at the right time to pull out ahead in a competitive league.
“With all the adversity we faced in the first part of the season, I feel like we’re just getting into our groove right now,” she said. “With the last few games, I feel like every game has been a step in the right direction. We still have work to do, but I like the direction that we’re going.”
Monte celebrates photo
Montesano 15 6 11 13— 45
Elma 7 9 6 9 — 30
Top Players: Montesano — Lisherness (17 pts., 7 reb., 3 stl), Zoe Hutchings (9 pts., 10 reb), Glory Grubb (11 pts.), Katie Granstrom (6 stl.); Elma — Kali Rambo ( 9 pts., 14 reb.), Mikel (10 pts., 7 reb., 5 stl.), Kayli Johnson (5 stl)
GIRLS PREP BOWLING
Aberdeen 15, Montesano 4
Aberdeen held serve on senior night, completing their first winning season in their short history with a 15-4 victory over Montesano on Jan. 16 at Rainier Lanes.
Aberdeen swept the first two games, 694-611 and 709-649, won both Baker games and its pin total of 1,665 was third best in program history.
Monte’s Annalynn Farley had the high game of the match, bowling a 181 in Game 2.
Aberdeen’s Illiana Mercado-George had the high series of the match with a 331.
Aberdeen JV bowler Mild Poompuang rolled the fourth best series score in Bobcats history with a 336 in the JV match.
Aberdeen will have a tune-up match at the Jills Tournament (Longview, time and date not available) before looking ahead to the district tournament on Jan. 25 at Triangle Bowl in Longview.
Aberdeen (15) — Mercado-George (163, 168, 331), Meghan Howell (146, 173, 319), Ambar Morales (147, 109, 256), Anabelle Micheau (136, 119, 255), Bryerlee Perry (102, 140, 242).
Montesano (4) — Farley (136, 181, 317), Danika Peterson (152, 114, 266), Kaylee Lundgren (126, 113, 239), Cassidy Schoenbachler (101, 124, 225), Olivia Moore (96, 117, 213).
Montesano center Zoe Hutchings scores two of her team-high 21 points in a 74-51 win over Hoquiam on Thursday. (Ryan Sparks | Grays Harbor News Group)
Montesano players celebrate at half court after the final buzzer in a 45-30 win over Elma on Tuesday. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
Montesano’s Zoe Hutchings scores on a put back attempt in the second quarter against Elma. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
Elma’s Kali Rambo, left, guards Montesano’s Katie Granstrom in the fourth quarter on Tuesday. Montesano beat Elma 45-30. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
Montesano’s Paige Lisherness finishes a break away layup in the second quarter while defended by Elma’s Kaelyn Burgher in the second quarter. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
