FORKS — Forks navigated through some choppy seas in the second quarter before getting the upper hand on the Ilwaco Fishermen with a strong third quarter in a 75-64 Pacific League girls basketball triumph.
“That third quarter was big for us, both teams battled foul trouble in the first half, so our depth was challenged,” coach David Hurn said.
“We hung on in the second quarter and held down the fort as best we could. Katelynn Wallerstedt and Bailey Johnson gave us some good minutes there to help us weather the storm while Kadie [Wood] had to sit pretty much the entire second quarter and Chloe [Gaydeski-St. John] was in foul trouble.”
The Spartans were able to get steals and points in transition to take advantage in the high-scoring contest.
“We had 22 points in transition, which is how we want to play,” Hurn said.
“Our first few games we were averaging 20 3-point shots and we only had nine against Ilwaco. That shows we were driving and attacking and putting pressure on them.”
Keira Johnson led Forks with 27 points, 13 rebounds, seven steals and four assists.
Wood added 21 points, six steals and six rebounds.
“Kadie led the charge in the second half,” Hurn said. “She played tremendously, grabbed some big boards and really sparked us. She made some powerful drives and shots that really sparked us.”
Forks (3-0, 3-2) handed Ilwaco (2-1, 5-1) its first loss on the season.
“A great game for us to get a win against a team that has dominated this league for a decade,” Hurn said.
The Spartans host defending league champ Raymond (3-1, 4-2) in another early season tussle for control of first place tonight at 7 p.m.
Forks 75, Ilwaco 64
Ilwaco 15 21 11 17 — 64
Forks 16 23 22 14 — 75
Forks (75) — K. Johnson 27, Wood 21, Neel 10, Gaydeski-St. John 5, B. Johnson 4, Ramos 3, Whorton 3, Wallerstedt 2.
Boys Basketball
Coupeville 60, Crescent 14
COUPEVILLE — The Loggers struggled against the Class 2B Wolves, a state tournament team last season with plans on reaching Spokane in March.
“The game was just sped up for us and we weren’t really able to get in any sort of rhythm on offense,” coach Chris Ferrier said. “We had trouble with their length and their strength. We had at least 30 turnovers and only were able to get maybe 20 shots to the rim. Coupeville was a state tournament team last year and they have the framework in place to maintain that level of play. I can’t fault my guys for their effort, the effort and the buy-in was there.”
Crescent (5-1) will play at Lake Quinault on Saturday.
Boys Swimming
Port Angeles 123, Klahowya 23
BREMERTON — The Roughriders won all 11 events to sink the Eagles.
Grabbing the first win of the meet was the 200-yard medley relay team of Blake Nahory, Aidan Butterworth, Alex Che and Landon Close.
Earning top points for the Riders were Che, a senior, and sophomore Blake Nahory, each collecting 12 points.
Che captured first in both the 50 freestyle and the 100 breaststroke, and Nahory picked up a pair of first-place finishes in the 200 individual medley and the 100 backstroke. Che and Nahory also swam to victories in two relay events.
Among the first-place highlights were senior Will Roening, taking top honors in the 200 free. Topping the field in the 500 free was junior Colby Ellefson, while making his season debut in that event.
Seniors Landon Close and Davis Hueter swam to victories in the 100 butterfly and 100 free respectively while also both achieving personal best times.
“Quite a few of the boys swam personal records,” said coach Sally Cole. “Most impressive were from co-captains Max Baeder and Aidan Butterworth, both dropping time from just last week. Max dropped 5½ seconds in his 500 free and Aidan dropped over 2 seconds in his 100 breast.”
Snatching the other pair of Roughrider wins were the 200 free relay squad of Keane McClain, Close, Roening and Che, and the 400 free relay crew of Roening, Close, Nahory and Ellefson.
Port Angeles is off until a Jan. 6 home meet against Bainbridge.
