Monday's 2B Girls Basketball: Loggers Fend Off Trojans in District Opener

By Eric Trent

etrent@chronline.com

PE ELL — Onalaska led by as many as 12 then repelled a furious Pe Ell comeback attempt to hold on for a 52-47 victory in the opening round of the Class 2B District 4 tournament Monday.

Callie Lawrence had a team-high 15 points, including 10 of the team’s 12 points in the opening quarter, as the Loggers advance to the double-elimination portion of the bracket. The No. 8 Loggers (12-9) face second seed Adna (17-3) at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, at Castle Rock High School.

“It’s a bit reassuring to know we can play some more games and live to see another day,” Lawrence said.

It looked like the Loggers might run away with the victory early, breaking off a 20-4 run that stretched across the first and second quarters to take a 20-9 lead with 5:44 left before the half.

Onalaska led by as many as 12 twice with a potent pick and roll and slingshot passing that opened lanes down the middle for Lawrence and senior Eryn Duryea, who finished with 12 points.

“Our pick and roll is usually pretty open, and when we sub out our posts we usually run pretty past,” Lawrence said.

The Loggers led 26-17 at the half before Pe Ell’s Annika Mason, Charlie Carper and Kammi Hill took over in the third. Mason drilled back-to-back 3-pointers for the Trojans, part of 10 second-half points for her, while Carper knocked in a runner and Hill put in four free throws to cut the lead to five at 36-31 at the end of the third.

The Loggers switched to a triangle-and-two zone defense to slow Carper and Mason, but the one-two punch was tough to slow.

“We discussed if we didn’t play better it would be our last half,” Pe Ell coach Randy Driver said. “The girls got fired up.”

In the fourth it was all Carper for the Trojans, as the freshman engineered an 8-2 run, all eight points by herself, with three steals and breakaway layins in the final period alone. Carper finished with a game-high six steals to go with her game-high 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Pe Ell cut the lead to three at 46-43, but that’s the closest the Trojans would get.

Duryea drained a crucial 3-pointer with 2:20 remaining to stop Carper’s 6-0 solo run. Carmen Celeveland-Barrera, Ony’s immovable post, scored with 50 seconds left to bring the lead back to six after Carper’s layin, then Lawrence connected on a free throw to close out the game.

Cleveland-Barrera finished with 13 points in the paint, while Morgan Hamilton contributed six for the Loggers.

“She’s unstoppable,” Lawrence said of Cleveland-Barrera. “It’s awesome to have her.”

The Trojans (8-13) end their best season in four years. This is the first time any of the girls on the team have advanced to districts.

“It’s the most wins for us in a few years,” Driver said. “It was good to make it to the first game of districts. It’s something to build on.”

Along with Carper’s 18, Mason finished with 17 points and three 3-pointers as the team’s primary ballhandler and long-range shooter. Hill contributed four points and Rachel Ward eight.

Two seniors, Hill and Megan Krafczyk, played their final games for the Trojans.

For the Loggers, they have the task of taking on an Adna squad that beat them 53-28 on Jan. 9. But heading into double elimination eases some pressure.

“We have to come in worried about how we’re going to play, not what the other team’s going to do,” Lawrence said.

Tigers Recover From Poor Shooting to Knock Off Indians

South Bend — Napavine overcame an off night of shooting to easily cruise past South Bend 53-31 in the opening round of the Class 2B District 4 tournament Monday on the road.

Natalya Marcial pumped in a game-high 14 points, Vannie Fagerness added 12 and the Tigers advance to the double-elimination portion of the bracket.

Seventh-seeded Napavine (8-12) will now face No. 3 seed Rainier (16-4) at 7:30, Wednesday, at W.F. West High School.

Against South Bend, the Tigers shot just 28 percent on 21 of 75 shooting, but nearly doubled the amount of shot the Indians got off (12 of 33) to shoot their way out of the slump and into victory’s arms.

The rebounding battle was nearly even, 37 for Napavine and 35 total for South Bend, but the Tigers forced an absurd 34 turnovers and coughed the ball up just 12 times themselves. Dani Tupuola had an all-around performance for Napavine, logging nine points, a game-high seven steals and seven rebounds.

The Indians (6-15) were led by Zaira Medina’s 10 points and Alise Rohr’s eight.

Mossyrock Pounds LCA in District Opener

MOSSYROCK — The Vikings found themselves in a win-or-go-home situation Monday night, and they weren’t about to leave.

Mossyrock blew out to a 21-7 lead in the first quarter and never looked back, blowing out Life Christian 67-22 in the play-in round of the District 4 2B Girls Basketball Tournament.

Payton Torrey led the Vikings with 15 points, and added 11 rebounds, seven assists and seven steals.

“She had a great night,” Mossyrock coach Autumn Moorcroft said. “And everybody else played really well, too, just contributing where they could.”

The Vikings were coming off a stretch in which they lost three of their last four games, after starting the season 13-0.

“My girls were really excited, coming off of some tough losses at the end of league,” Moorcroft said. “They were excited to come out playing their game, and get some confidence back.”

Andee Nelson added 11 points for Mossyrock, with Faith Mulligan chipping in 10.

Hailey Brooks added 12 rebounds for Mossyrock. The Vikings outrebounded the Eagles, 58-21.

Mossyrock (17-4) plays Willapa Valley on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. at W.F. West High School in the first round of the District 4 tournament.