By GEORGE KUNKE
Raymond took care of business with road wins over North Beach and Naselle and caught a break when Northwest Christian upset first-place Willapa Valley to put the two teams in a tie for the top spot in the Pacific League with two games to play entering the final week of the regular season.
Raymond dumped Naselle 47-29 Saturday night. Hailee Williams turned in another stellar performance for the Lady Seagulls with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Aiysha Garcia put up 13 points and took down 11 rebounds.
“We played some good defense tonight and got a nice league win down in Naselle,' Raymond HS Head Girls' Basketball Coach Jon Schray told the Herald Saturday. “We started the game off with some good pressure allowing us to get nine steals in the first half and held them to just six points in the half. We basically cruised to the end for the win.
“Hailee had a really nice all-around game (and) Aiysha had a nice double-double,” Schray noted. “Mikayla Collins had another good defensive and rebounding night with eight boards.” Gabby Oatfield and Alex Gilbert grabbed 7 rebounds apiece.
Raymond led 9-4 after one quarter and outscored Naselle 15-2 in the second panel to basically put the game out of reach.
NW Christian 62,
Willapa Valley 59
Willapa Valley suffered its first Pacific League after dropping a 62-59 verdict at the hands of Northwest Christian Saturday night at Lacey. Poor shooting was the primary downfall of the Vikings, who connected on only 19 of 87 field goal attempts.
“I was a little concerned coming into the game after an eight-day layoff and we
played very poorly tonight,” Willapa Valley HS Head Girls' Basketball Coach Matt Bannish told the Herald Saturday night. “We shot the ball horrendously. We missed a lot of easy opportunities and gave up too many easy baskets by not getting back on defense. We did battle back from a nine-point fourth quarter deficit and had a chance to win the game. Hopefully, this will be a good wake up call for us.”
Valley led 16-12 after the first quarter and 31-30 at halftime. The Navigators outscored Valley 16-6 in the third quarter to take a nine-point lead entering the final eight minutes.
Starting the week, the Vikes were tied for first place in the league with Raymond with 9-1 records with two games to play. Valley hosted South Bend last night and Raymond visits Tenoski Gym tomorrow night.
Raymond 46, North Beach 35
Raymond claimed a methodical victory from North Bech Thursday night. Williams shot in 13 points and snatched 11 rebounds and Cydney Flemetis tallied 12 points and made 4 steals.
“We had tough one at the beach last night,” Coach Schray told the Herald Saturday. “We started strong in the first quarter, and they turned their defensive intensity up a notch. We took too many three's off of the first pass in our offense and it really bogged us down mentally when we weren't hitting. We did a better job in the second half, but it was our defense that kept the game in our control. Cydney Flemetis had great game last night; she really steeped up for her teammates, leading the team in steals and scoring the most points she has scored so far in her career.”
Raymond blew out to an 18-9 lead after one quarter and was never seriously threatened the rest of the game.
Raymond faced Northwest Christian last night and heads to Menlo Thursday.
South Bend 56, Ocosta 47
Katlyn Sawyer singed the cords for 22 points to help South Bend defeat Ocosta last Thursday at Westport. The win snapped a nine-game losing streaking for the Lady Indians. Sawyer also had 9 rebounds.
Kessa Wilson scored a double-double with 13 points and 11 caroms, and .Sierra Cearns dished out eight assists.
The Wildcats dropped to 0-10 in the Pacific League and 2-15 overall.
“I was proud of our girls for being resilient,” SBHS head coach Gary Wilson told the Herald. “The key for us was limiting our turnovers to 13, which is good for us.”
Lady Indians 56, North Beach 35
Sawyer and Rielly Myers registered double-doubles to carry South Bend to a 56-35 triumph over North Beach Saturday at Koplitz Fieldhouse on Senior Night.
Cearns came up with a dozen points and 7 assists, and Razo scored 9 points.
Sawyer threw in 15 points and snared 11 rebounds, and Myers scored 11 and grabbed 10 boards for the Tribe.
“It was our Senior Night. We were trying to keep (our) postseason play alive,' Wilson said. “It had importance written all over it and the girls responded real well. It was a real good night for us.”
The Lady Indians held North Beach to 21% shooting from the field on 12 of 58.
South Bend (6-12) visited Valley last night and travels to Naselle Thursday.