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SOUTH BEND — Maybe they were a little out of sorts. Perhaps some timing mistakes took place. Unable to corral the 50-50 balls? It can happen.
For as knowledgeable as the Pe Ell High School girls basketball team is, they were quick enough to understand one thing.
Tuesday’s first half against Taholah was not up to their expectations.
“It was frustrating,” junior guard Karli Phelps admitted. “We needed to stay in the game and we weren’t locking in. We were struggling.”
All the Trojans needed was the 10-minute halftime break. And a couple seniors stepped up when they needed them the most.
Ava King and Madi Engel each played critical roles in the Columbia Valley champs’ 17-3 clinching run in the second half, igniting them to a 49-39 triumph over the Chitwins to return to the Class 1B state tournament.
For the second straight season, Pe Ell (15-7) will play in the District 4 title game on Saturday night in Montesano. It will take on Coastal winners Naselle, who beat Wahkiakum in the other semi, for the second time in the span of a month.
Pe Ell won the first meeting by 13 points.
“I am so proud of them,” Kelsey Lennox said. “We didn’t let little mistakes and missed lay-ins from the first half affect our second half play. We brushed that off.”
Once upon a time, the Trojans were 2-7. While Lennox and Phelps knew a beefed up non-league schedule was going to come with the potential of a losing record, there were one-sided results.
Onalaska whipped them by 40. Adna thumped them by 31. Toledo clipped them by 15.
On the other side, Rainier snuck out with a six-point win and Montesano barely hung on for a two-point victory. Moments of bright spots, and a tight team bond, overshadowed the losing.
“The physicality and the tougher 2B teams have helped us dominate (1B),” Phelps said. “I don’t think I've met a team that is like ours. We are a family.”
The old saying of imitation is the most sincere form of flattery rang true down Highway 6.
Pe Ell’s style is run-and-gun offense, full court press defense stifled Taholah for stretches. The Chitwins weren’t afraid of running the floor either and often doubled the Trojans’ ball-handler in the high post.
Plenty of turnovers both ways was the primary feature in a one-point halftime lead for Taholah.
“We talk a lot about playing quick, but not in a hurry and I think we played in a hurry,” Lennox said. “It is a difficult matchup. It is hard deciding defense-wise what we want to run against them.”
Despite scoring the first seven points in the third, Pe Ell never could pull away. With more than three minutes left in the frame, the Trojans built up the needed cushion to prevail.
Freshman Maisy King buried a triple to close a 6-0 third stanza spree, then Engel launched a corner trifecta that was nothing but net to put the Trojans up 43-33 and jumpstart a 9-0 run to eventually lead by 16.
Taholah went six minutes without a basket. It trailed by two after Shirleymae Stafford’s top of the key triple and never got within a possession again. Ava King registered six points and seven rebounds plus was the anchor in Pe Ell’s press defense.
“Don’t let down, keep pushing,” Lennox said. “Hitting some more (big shots) helped us. I was really relying on (Ava). If it is a defensive game and (she needs) to lock in, she'll do that.”
Maisy King stuffed the stat sheet with a team-best 18 points plus adding eight rebounds, seven steals and four assists. Lennox credited her toughness between the ears as a constant improvement from her eighth grade campaign.
Phelps agreed.
“Major improvement. I’ve been working with her, keeping her composed,” Phelps said. “When you’re in these ball games, you can’t think of what you just did.”
Post Peyton Zock added 12 points and 11 rebounds while Phelps chipped in eight points, five assists and five steals. The Trojans ended the night with 19 assists and 23 steals.
“Our box out was a lot better,” Phelps said.
With an unbeaten record a season ago, Pe Ell only was a seven seed when the state bracket was released. This time around, it's hopeful for a seed anywhere between nine and 11, avoiding potentially two elimination games to get back to Spokane.
Would a district title add to the resume? The Trojans aren’t trying to put any doubt in the committee’s eyes.
“We’ve beaten teams ranked above us,” Lennox stated. “I do feel like we are a stronger team. A championship on Saturday is going to boost that and show the other coaches what we can do and where we deserve to be.”
