PUYALLUP — The Forks girls basketball team found itself in a rough spot, down 15 in the second half on the road against a hot-shooting Chief Leschi and a rowdy home crowd.
“We got a little lazy and slow on our closeouts and they knocked down four 3s in the second quarter and got to the foul line. We weren’t getting out on shooters and that’s tough to do against a team with that style of play,” coach David Hurn said.
And things didn’t improve right after halftime for the Spartan girls basketball team.
“Chief Leschi came out and hit three straight 3s and we got down 15 right off the bat,” Hurn said. “They got hot and that place got loud and rowdy.”
But Forks went to work after a timeout, going on a 21-1 run to close out the third quarter and retake the lead entering the fourth on their way to a 76-70 victory over the Warriors.
Hurn said Chloe Gaydeski-St. John stepped up in a big way during the Spartans’ spurt.
“Chloe’s last two games have been the best of her career,” Hurn said. “She scored seven of her nine points during that run, and she was working hard inside as all her points were down low.”
Forks’ big three led the team as Keira Johnson had 27 points, Kyra Neel added 17 and Kadie Wood had 16.
The Spartans knocked down 10 of 14 free throws, including 8 of 10 down the stretch to put the game away.
“I think we are a pretty decent team and we need to win games like this against tough opponents on the road,” Hurn said. “I told the team I wouldn’t change anything about that game because the experience was invaluable.”
Forks 76, Chief Leschi 70
Forks 17 16 23 20 — 76
CL 11 28 12 19 — 70
Forks (76) — K. Johnson 27, Neel 17, Wood 16, Gaydeski-St. John 9, Ramos 3, B. Johnson 3, Wharton 2.
Annie Wright 55, East Jefferson 19
TACOMA — Rivals freshman Penina Vailolo led the Rivals with seven points in a road defeat against the Nisqually League’s second-place squad.
East Jefferson (3-4, 3-7) visits rival Klahowya (1-5, 1-6) on Friday.
Annie Wright 55, East Jefferson 19
EJ 6 6 2 5 — 19
AW 21 12 15 7 — 55
East Jefferson (19) — Vailolo 7, Vandenberg 5, Botkin 3, O’Donnell 2, Harris 2, Liske, O’Hara.
Bowling
Klahowya 7, Port Angeles 0
SILVERDALE — Abby Robinson had a two-game score of 280, while Paige Pangaro contributed a 242 to lead the Roughriders against a “deep Klahowya team,” according to coach Rebecca Gundersen.
“Abby Rudd worked hard and bowled above her average in both games,” Gundersen said of the freshman.
The Riders have a rematch with Klahowya this afternoon in their final home match of the season.
