Editor's Note: This story is included in The Chronicle's 2022-23 Prep Basketball Preview, which is published in the Thursday edition.
Just about everything the Tenino girls basketball team had last year for a season that finished a game shy of Yakima is gone.
All-area MVP Ashley Schow is in Ellensburg now, starting for Central Washington. Her four fellow starters from last season are similarly graduated, along with a sixth rotation player. Tenino played four postseason games last February, and got a grand total of five points in them from players still suiting up this season.
So yeah, rebuilding would be the way to describe things for Scott Ashmore’s program this winter.
To add to the picture, his crew for the year only includes two seniors, one of whom wasn’t on the roster last season. Rilee Jones is back to lead the Beavers in the post after featuring in the rotation as a junior, while Seaonna Morgan is making her varsity debut in her final year on campus.
On the perimeter, Brianna Asay has been leading the way, and the main goal for Ashmore has been finding more consistent guards to fit in around her, both to score themselves and also to get the ball to the tall bodies in the post.
Around the Evergreen, there’s no reason to believe Montesano won’t be the top contender yet again. The Bulldogs opened their year with a 42-point win over fellow regional qualifier La Center, and have multiple tests against 2As and 4As scheduled down the road. After them, things could get interesting, with Eatonville, Hoquiam, Elma, and Tenino all fighting for three district bids.
1A Evergreen at a Glance
Tenino
Coach: Scott Ashmore (fourth)
2021-22 record: 17-7 (regionals)
Returning starters: N/A
Newcomer(s) to watch: Rilee Jones, Brianna Asay, Brynn Williams, Chloe Grayless, Seaonna Morgan, Kiyah Goodwin, Savannah Brantley, Presley Vanchieri
Quotable: “(It’s a matter of) getting them to play together, getting them to believe in each other, getting them to just learn what to do and play off of each other, and be positive.” — Scott Ashmore
