TENINO — In a loss to Rainier last week, the Mountaineers keyed in on Beaver star Ashley Schow and forced the rest of her teammates to beat them. The shots fell short. At home on Saturday, when Adna harassed Schow in the first half, the Beavers began hitting shots in the second half and ran away with a 45-33 non-league win.
“Everybody hit a shot and we just fed off it,” Tenino coach Scott Ashmore said. “Making shots makes a big difference. And (Adna) is a quality team.”
The Pirates held a tight advantage through most of the first half, leading by one (9-8) after the first quarter and one at the half (19-18).
Then the Beavers’ shots started falling, part of a 19-point third quarter that gave Tenino all the momentum it would need.
The turning point came when Tenino senior point guard Abby Severse drained three-straight 3-pointers midway through the third, the first tying the game up at 23 a piece and the second giving the Beavers the lead for good.
That forced the Pirates to switch from zone to man-to-man, allowing Schow to work her defenders one-on-one and create open shots. And she did, finishing with a game-high 15 points.
“A lot of our offense is designed to try to — not to force it — but get (Schow) where she needs the ball,” Ashmore said. “We’ve done a really good job of that lately, of not trying to force feed her all the time, cause usually there’s more than one girl trying to stop her.”
The Beavers outscored the Pirates 19-8 in the third quarter to take a commanding 37-27 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Beavers’ defense cinched down in the fourth, holding the Pirates to just six points in the final frame and riding out the victory.
“We played great defense,” Ashmore said. “We were talking, communicating and our defense sets the tone.”
Offensively, Severse finished with nine points, Grace Vestal had eight, Megan Letts chipped in seven and Alivia Hunter finished with six.
For Adna (2-2), it was another night of the Pirates being slow adjusting to opposing defenses, which has been a problem for them all four game so far this season.
“What you saw today is what we’ve been,” Adna coach Chris Bannish said. “We’re not seeing what’s in front of us and we’re not attacking where we should be attacking. I’m trying to figure this one out.”
It was Adna’s second loss of the season, both to Class 1A teams, and a frustrating finish for a team that has already proven it can beat a higher-classification squad this season (1A Elma).
“We have the athletes and the kids that say they want to,” Bannish said. “But when you’re a team that should be scoring in the 50s and you’re scoring in the 30s, you better be able to defend in the 20s. And right now, we’re a team scoring in the low 40s, upper 30s and we’re defending like a team that can score 60. If we can’t figure it out on the defensive end, we’re gonna be in trouble.”
The Pirates were led offensively by Kaylin Todd, who finished with 11 points and a game-high eight steals. Karlee Von Moos added eight points, seven rebounds, six steals and three blocks. Brooklyn Loose contributed seven points and six rebounds.
For Tenino, it was the Beavers’ second-straight win after handling La Center (52-36) on Thursday, and a sign they’re heading in the right direction.
Tenino (3-1) will look to keep its momentum churning when it hosts Seton Catholic on Tuesday.
Adna (2-2) hopes to turn things around when it travels to Winlock (2-1) on Monday.
