Despite a late fourth-quarter surge by the Morton-White Pass girls basketball team, a potential game-tying three missed the mark and the Timberwolves were eliminated from the district tournament with a 51-48 loss to Ilwaco.
“They went down fighting to the last second,” Morton-White Pass coach Tim Roberts said.
The Timberwolves (8-12, 4-9 C2BL) had plenty of chances early, getting several good looks at the basket, but they shot just 5 for 17 from the floor in the first eight minutes and trailed by three entering the second.
They struggled even more from the floor in the second, hitting just 3 of 19 shots while Mikaila Warfield helped push the Ilwaco lead to 10 with 17 first-half points.
The T-Wolves were able to trim the deficit to five in the third quarter, but Ilwaco responded with a solid run of its own to push the lead back up the 12 in the fourth.
From there, Morton-White Pass turned it on, going on a 10-1 run to get within one possession. After a steal, they were able to put up the last shot, but it didn’t go.
“I’m super proud of their tenacity and ability to play hard for 32 minutes despite coming off a string of four exhausting games in five days last week,” Roberts said.
Kiera Miller led the T-Wolves with 13 points and eight rebounds, while McKenzee Mays scored 11 points. Malia Armstrong and Natalia Armstrong both added nine points.
Natalia Armstrong and Mays are set to graduate this spring, and Roberts said he considered it a “privilege” to coach them.
“I am so proud of both of them,” Roberts said. “I hope that we can use this season’s success as a springboard to continued improvement despite the loss of two longtime starters and leaders.”
