VASHON — The East Jefferson girls basketball team won a crucial road game 36-30 over Vashon on Friday to put themselves in solid position for the playoffs.
“What a difference a year makes,” said coach Lorraine Rimson. “Last year, we were thrilled by a win. Any win. This year, we are appreciative, for sure, but also very focused on how we can continue to improve. [I’m] very proud of the girls.”
The Rivals were led by Alyssa Vandenberg and Kay Botkin, who each scored 14 points.
“Very good game by Kay, who had been battling a cold earlier in the week,” Rimson said. “She is really developing into a true varsity point guard and it is exciting to see. Good defense by Maddy [Harris]. Penina [Vailolo] shut down their top post and Addy [Asbell] held their top scorer to four points.”
With the victory, East Jefferson sits at 7-7 in the Nisqually League (8-10 overall) in fourth place, one-half game ahead of Cascade Christian. The Rivals can lock up a playoff spot with another win. They host Annie Wright (12-3 in league) in Port Townsend at 7 p.m. Tuesday and then wrap up the regular season by hosting Klahowya (4-9) at 7 p.m. Thursday in Chimacum.
East Jefferson 36, Vashon 30
EJ 18 2 8 8 — 36
Vashon 6 5 9 10 — 30
East Jefferson (36) — Botkin 14, Vandenberg 14, Vailolo 4, Harris 4.
Neah Bay 76, Taholah 37
NEAH BAY — The No. 1-ranked Neah Bay girls basketball team improved to 15-1 on the season by crushing Taholah 76-37.
The Red Devils got 23 points from Allie Greene, who hit five 3-pointers. Ryana Moss had 12 points and Wiinuk Martin and Angel Halttunen each scored eight.
Neah Bay (15-1) has a big game at 6 p.m. Tuesday against Sequim, which is 18-0 and ranked No. 2 among 2A schools. The Wolves beat Neah Bay 60-52 in the first game of the season.
Neah Bay 76, Taholah 37
Tah. 9 8 13 7 — 37
NB 23 13 23 17 — 76
Neah Bay (76) — Greene 23, R. Moss 12, Halttunen 8, Martin 8, Swan 7, Chartraw 6, Q. Greene 4, C. Moss 4.
Boys Basketball Neah Bay 91, Taholah 36
NEAH BAY — The Neah Bay boys basketball team remained hot with a 91-36 win over Taholah this weekend.
It was Neah Bay’s fourth-straight win and seventh win in eight games. It was also the Red Devils’ fourth game of the season with more than 90 points.
The Red Devils got 24 points from Jaden Halttunen, who shot 11-for-14 from the floor. They also got 20 from Buddy Aguirre and 19 from Julian Carrick. Makyah Chambers added 12 and Tyler Swan eight points and eight rebounds.
Neah Bay (11-5) is done with its scheduled regular season and awaits its seeding in the district postseason tournament.
Neah Bay 91, Taholah 36
Tah. 8 7 12 9 — 36
NB 35 23 14 19 — 91
Neah Bay (91) — Halttunen 24, Aguirre 20, Carrick 19, Swan 8, Woodruff 4, Jimmicum 2, Ellis 2.
Crescent 44, Clallam Bay 34
JOYCE — The Crescent boys basketball team clamped down on defense in the fourth quarter to pull out a 44-34 win over Clallam Bay in a regular-season finale.
“Clallam Bay gave us a very serious tussle in a big game. They’ve improved in leaps and bounds from the first time we played them,” said Crescent coach Chris Ferrier.
“The first half was a really physical, floor-burn-type of game,” Ferrier said. “Bodies were flying everywhere and the game was allowed to be gritty by the officials.”
Ferrier said the Loggers started the third quarter with a 9-0 run, but the Bruins responded with a 9-2 run. In the fourth, Crescent outscored Clallam Bay 13-7 to fend off the Bruins.
Conner Ferro-May had a huge game for the Loggers with 27 points.
The Loggers finish the regular season with a 13-6 record and begin postseason play Feb. 11.
Crescent 44, Clallam Bay 34
Cres. 9 11 11 13 — 44
CB 8 8 11 7 — 34
Crescent (44) — Ferro-May 27, Sprague 6, Bauers 6, L. Love 5.
