By Michael Carman and Pierre LaBossiere
Peninsula Daily News
HOQUIAM — Forks exorcised some road game demons and clinched a district tournament berth with a 60-43 win against Hoquiam on Friday.
“I’m proud that we are there and excited for them,” Spartans coach David Hurn said. “I think it’s our first road league win in seven years, so the girls were pretty excited for that accomplishment. It’s a big step for them.”
Hurn said a great first half pushed Forks to a 30-13 halftime advantage.
“We were all amped up for the game and we really turned it on in the second quarter, one of the better quarters we played all season,” Hurn said.
“Rian [Peters] and Chloe [Leverington] combined to score 16 in the second and that gave us a lot of momentum.”
The Spartans did well offensively against the Grizzlies’ pressure defense and their half-court zones.
“We handled the press, got some points off our pressbreaker which has been a struggle at times,” Hurn said.
“And we tried to work the ball down low against their 1-2-2 zone.”
That worked as Leverington led the way with 20 points and Peters totaled 17.
“We played pretty good defense,” Hurn said. “Their big girl Rylee [Vonhoff] has been putting up some points, we executed pretty well on that.”
Forks (2-6, 8-11) will open the Southwest District 4 Tournament at Trico League champions King’s Way Christian (14-6) at 7 p.m. Friday.
“We go down and play King’s Way Christian, a nice long road trip for us, but that’s great,” Hurn said.
“We played a top-10 schedule strength-wise, played tough teams in Neah Bay and Sequim in nonleague, so I’m just telling them all the games we’ve played before have tested us and made us stronger.
“I have the expectations we will go and win some games and make some noise.”
Forks 60, Hoquiam 43
Forks 10 20 13 17— 60
Hoq. 4 9 14 16— 43
Forks (60) — Leverington 20, Peters 17, Rowley 7, Kilmer 5, Olson 5, Johnson 3, Bouchard 3, Horton, Sandoval.
Neah Bay 62, Crescent 12
Neah Bay 66, Taholah 40
NEAH BAY — The Neah Bay girls finished un undefeated season in North Olympic 1B League play with a 62-12 win over Crescent.
Laila Greene led a balanced attack with 11 points, while Ruth Moss had nine and Mia Lovik eight. Moss also added eight rebounds.
The Loggers were led by Mackenzie Belford, who scored six.
In a Thursday game against Taholah, Greene sank three second-quarter 3-pointers as the Red Devils turned a seven-point deficit into a 15-point halftime lead on the way to routing the Chitwins.
Taholah entered the game sixth in the Class 1B RPI rankings.
Greene finished the game with 13 points, seven steals and two assists.
Moss led Neah Bay with 18 points, connecting on four 3s, and leading the team in assists with seven along with two steals.
Courtney Swan scored an efficient 16, hitting 7 of 8 shots and 2 of 2 free throws.
Oceanna Aguirre had a great all-around game with seven points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
Patience Swan added six points and nine rebounds.
The Neah Bay girls (9-0, 18-2) now get ready for the Tri-District 1B Tournament. As league champion, the Red Devils get a bye and will play at Port Angeles High School on Feb. 12. The Clallam Bay girls (6-3, 11-8), the second-place team in the NOL, will play a loser-out game at Port Angeles on Saturday.
Neah Bay 62, Crescent 12
NB 17 16 18 11 — 62
Crescent 3 2 4 3 — 12
Neah Bay (62) — Greene 11, Moss 9, Lovik 8, P. Swan 7, Aguirre 6, Peters 6, Gagnon 6, C. Swan 4, Horejsi 3, Woodruff 2.
Crescent (12) — Belford 6, O’Neel 3, Mandeville 2, Tejano 1.
Neah Bay 66, Taholah 40
Taholah 15 3 8 14— 40
Neah Bay 8 25 17 16— 66
Neah Bay (66) — Moss 18, C. Swan 16, Greene 13, Aguirre 7, P. Swan 6, Gagnon 4, Cummins 2, Lovik, Woodruff, Peter.
Chimacum 61, Bremerton 39
CHIMACUM — The Cowboys celebrated senior night with a solid win over the Knights to round out the regular season.
“We started all the seniors last night, that core group that’s been together since they were super young, and we started off on an 11-2 run,” Chimacum coach Trevor Huntingford said.
Huntingford said his team did the rights things offensively in Thursday’s game.
“Grace [Yaley] got going, Mia [McNair] was shooting from outside early,” Huntingford said. “She had four 3s in the first half.
“It was really good to see Grace shoot well. Clara Noble continues to get more and more active on the boards. Jada [Trafton] hit some outside shots and got some points in transition and Maddie Dowling gave us a nice contribution.”
McNair had 21 points, including six 3s, while Yaley added 16 and Trafton had 10.
“A really great way to end the regular season,” Huntingford said. “This group of girls has been unique, they accomplished a lot of the things they wanted to do this year. They went undefeated in league play and won the league, won 10 games in a row counting that forfeit and represented the school really well.”
Chimacum (6-0, 14-5) will face the Nisqually League No. 2, either Annie Wright or Bellevue Christian, at Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12.
Chimacum 61, Bremerton 39
Brem. 5 18 5 9— 39
Chim. 14 23 14 10— 61
Chimacum (61) — McNair 20, Yaley 16, Trafton 10, Dowling 5, Young 3, Nordberg 3, Horner 2, Noble 2, Clark 1.
Port Townsend 32, Klahowya 20
PORT TOWNSEND — The Redhawks qualified for the postseason by beating Klahowya 32-20.
Port Townsend started the season 1-10, but won five out its last six games, beating Klahowya twice during that stretch to finish second in the Olympic League 1A Division, making the West Central District III 1A Tournament.
Gina Brown had 15 points and six rebounds, while Izzy Hammett had 10 points and eight rebounds.
The Redhawks (2-4, 6-11) will begin postseason play by hosting a game at 6 p.m. Thursday against the Nisqually League No. 4 team, Seattle Christian.
Port Townsend 32, Klahowya 20
PT 8 4 12 8 — 32
Klahowya 4 8 4 4 — 20
Port Townsend (32) — Brown 15, Hammett 10, Johnston 3, Hoffman 2, Asbell 2.
