CASTLE ROCK — After an up and down season, with high peaks and low valleys, the Adna girls basketball team put together its most dominant performance in a regional-clinching win over Onalaska Thursday in Castle Rock, 55-28.
The Pirates led by the tip and never looked back, swarming the Loggers with their defense and easily earning a place in the 2B District IV third-place game on Saturday at W.F. West High School.
“It’s overwhelming a little bit,” Pirates coach Chris Bannish said. “A week ago, we were down and out. We lost to Leschi and had to fight out the backside, and it’s a testament to a lot of things.”
Adna fought through the loser’s bracket after a quarterfinal loss to the Warriors, defeating Toutle Lake in an ugly game, getting past Napavine a few days ago, before dispatching the Loggers Wednesday night.
Bannish credited his coaching staff for the gameplans they drew up over the last week, and his players for having the resiliency to fight through adversity to earn that regional bid.
“This was the best defensive effort we’ve had all year,” he said. “That was the game plan, to keep the ball out of the high post and not let run their high-low, where they kill people. At the end of the day, you have to make shots, too.”
And make shots the Pirates did. Three Adna girls scored in double figures, led by Karlee Von Moos’ 15 points, Kaylin Todd’s 12, and Summer White’s 11.
On the other end, the Loggers just couldn’t get anything going. Callie Lawrence had a team-high 10 points, but no other Logger scored more than six points. They were held to single digit scoring in three quarters.
Ony will have to play and beat Rainier in the fifth-place game at 10 a.m. on Saturday at W.F. West to earn the regional bid it has been looking for. A loss would be season-ending.
For the Pirates, it’s a satisfying result after a tumultuous year, but they aren’t done yet. Adna will play Wahkiakum in the third-place game on Saturday in Chehalis at 1 p.m. for seeding.
“It’s somewhere we expected to be, and now we’re there, but we don’t want to stop,” Bannish said. “We can’t play for tomorrow unless we win today.”
