The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association announced its parings Sunday for the state basketball regional round with five local teams included in the mix.
1A District 4 girls champion Elma received a No. 12 seed and will face Deer Park, which went 18-6 this season and finished second in the Northeast League. The Eagles will open regional play at noon Saturday at Tumwater High School.
Montesano’s girls team will also be in action at noon Saturday when the face No. 11 Seattle Academy, which finished 18-4 this season and won the Emerald City League.
In the boys 2B regionals, Willapa Valley earned a No. 10 seed and will face No. 15 Friday Harbor on Saturday.
Taholah’s boys and girls teams, which won their respective 1B District 4 Tournament, will also open regional play this weekend. The No. 9 Chitwhins will face No. 16 Mount Vernon Christian on Friday while the No. 13 Lady Chitwhins will take on No. 12 Moses Lake-Covenant Christian on Saturday.
1A Girls Regional Round
No. 12 Elma vs. No. 13 Deer Park, 12 p.m., Saturday, Tumwater High School
No. 11 Seattle Academy vs. No. 14 Montesano, 12 p.m., Saturday, Issaquah High School
2B Boys Regional Round
No. 10 Willapa Valley vs. No. 15 Friday Harbor, 2 p.m., Saturday, Tumwater High School
1B Boys Regional Round
No. 9 Taholah vs. No.16 Mount Vernon Christian, 6 p.m., Friday, Tumwater High School
1B Girls Regional Round
No. 12 Moses Lake-Covenant Christian vs. No. 13 Taholah, 2 p.m., Saturday, Big Bend Community College
GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL
Montesano 52, La Center 35
Montesano’s Paige Lisherness had a huge game in leading the Bulldogs to the 1A regional with a 52-35 victory over La Center in the 1A District 4 Tournament last Saturday at WF West High School.
Monte (15-9) was able to avenge a 64-53 loss to La Center in the district semifinals six days earlier by quickly jumping out to a double-digit lead before the Wildcats were able to score a point.
La Center (14-9) trailed 26-16 at the half and never really threatened Monte in the game as the Bulldogs took a 42-25 lead in the fourth quarter when Jaiden King stole the ball and fed Zoe Hutchings for a breakaway layup.
Lisherness led Montesano with 20 points, 17 rebounds and six steals for a Montesano team that held a 52-27 advantage on the boards and defended well, according to head coach Mark Mansfield.
“We won this game with our defense,” he said. “We had a lot of intensity, flew around the court, never gave them open looks and made them work for every shot.”
Zoe Hutchings scored 19 points for Monte and Zoee Lisherness added 11 points for the Bulldogs, which finished second behind Elma in the district and punched a ticket to the state regional round with the victory.
La Center 4 12 9 10 — 35
Montesano 17 9 12 14 — 52
Montesano 43, King’s Way Christian 29
Down by as much as eight points in the third quarter, Montesano rallied to keep its season alive and earn a 43-29 victory over King’s Way Christian in a 1A District 4 girls basketball consolation game Feb. 19 at Rochester High School.
With the game tied at 19 with 5:30 left in the third quarter, King’s Way Christian went on an 8-0 run, taking a 27-19 lead on Abby Cummins’ 3-pointer with 2:41 left in the frame.
But Monte responded with a run of its own, scoring nine straight points to close out the quarter and take a 28-27 lead into the fourth.
The final period was all Bulldogs as Monte’s defense allowed just two points over the final eight minutes and secured the victory with a pair of Vanna Prom free throws to make it a 38-27 game with just under four minutes left.
Zoe Hutchings led Monte with 13 points, nine of those coming in the second half.
Paige Lisherness scored seven points for Monte while Prom added seven for the Bulldogs, who were without their second-leading scorer, freshman McKynnlie Dalan, who is unavailable with a wrist injury.
King dribble photo
“I think the big key was on the defensive end,” Montesano head coach Mark Mansfield said. “We talked about how we needed to pressure them and speed them up a little bit if we could. … Halfway through that third quarter, we really put pressure out front and were able to get people rotating on the backside and getting some steals.”
Mansfield said the Bulldogs have been keenly focused on the game in front of them in playing through the consolation bracket.
“We talked coming in that we were only worried about tonight,” Mansfield said. “It was either win or go home and it’s the same thing Friday. We’re never going to be perfect, but we have to give our best effort for all 32 minutes. … Look what happens when we pick up our defensive effort.”
Feb. 20 scores
Boys Prep Basketball
King’s Way Christian 88, Montesano 50 (Monte eliminated)
MEN’S COLLEGE BB
S. Puget Sound 78, Grays Harbor 63
Grays Harbor saw South Puget Sound pull away in the second half in a 78-63 loss on Saturday at The Evergreen State College.
Down three at the break to the Northwest Athletic Conference West Region leaders, Grays Harbor (15-13, 6-7 NWAC West) struggled to contain South Puget Sound’s Branden Bunn, who scored 14 of his game-high 30 points in the second half to lead the Clippers (22-5, 12-1).
Grays Harbor outrebounded South Puget Sound 40-29, but had 20 turnovers to just 10 for the Clippers.
The Chokers were led by Zachary Marrotte’s 16 points.
Michael Sampson, Tristan Schoepf and Zyare Ruffin added 10 points apiece for Grays Harbor.
Genuine Powell added nine points, 12 rebounds and seven assists for the Chokers.
Grays Harbor will host its Sophomore Night game at 8 p.m. Wednesday against Highline College. A win puts the Chokers in the NWAC Tournament while a loss will end the Chokers’ season.
Grays Harbor 36 27 — 63
South Puget Sound 39 39 — 78
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BB
S. Puget Sound 75, Grays Harbor 40
Grays Harbor fell behind by double-digits early and never recovered in a 75-40 loss to South Puget Sound on Saturday at The Evergreen State College.
The Chokers (0-16, 0-12 NWAC West) fell behind by 18 points at the half in suffering their 16th straight loss of the season.
Kamimi Papp led Grays Harbor with 18 points.
Armonnie Byrd added 12 points for the Chokers.
Grays Harbor 9 11 13 7 — 40
S. Puget Sound 15 27 12 21 — 75
