YAKIMA — The Neah Bay girls basketball team brought back its second trophy in as many seasons from the Class 1B state tournament at the Yakima Valley SunDome.
Of course, that’s two more trophies than Neah Bay had in its entire school history up until last March.
The Red Devils split their games this weekend, beating Moses Lake Christian 42-34 on Friday before falling to Almira/Coulee-Hartline 39-30 on Saturday in the fifth/eighth-place game.
North Olympic League offensive MVP Shayla Nagel was named a second-team, All-Tournament performer after leading the Red Devils with a scoring average of 13.25 points per game.
The senior was a big part of the Red Devils’ hardware-clinching victory on Friday, pouring in 14 points and grabbing seven rebounds and five steals in a game Neah Bay led from start to finish. Fellow senior Alisha Kallappa added 10 points and four steals, while Stephanie Greene had 10 points in the win.
The Red Devils outscored Moses Lake 16-8 in the first quarter. The Lions (10-10) cut the lead to two points in the second, but Neah Bay scored the next seven straight and Moses Lake never got closer than six points the rest of the game. Neah Bay assisted on 13 of its 15 baskets in the win.
The Red Devils’ fortunes changed on Saturday, however, as they were unable to track down Almira/Coulee after it took an early lead.
The Warriors led the entire second half, though Neah Bay trimmed their lead to 22-21 with 1:15 left in the third quarter. But Almira/Coulee then went on a 7-1 run, capped by Madeline Isaak’s 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter, to extend its lead and pull away.
Kallappa was the lone Red Devil in double figures with 11 points. That included Nagel’s only single-digit game all tournament after she finished with seven points. Stephanie Greene had six rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and three steals.
Neah Bay hit just 12-of-50 shots in the loss.
(Friday) Neah Bay 42, Moses Lake Chr. 34
Neah Bay 16 15 8 3 — 42
MLC 8 14 9 3 — 34
Individual Scoring
Neah Bay (42)
Kallappa 10, Shuffelen 2, Greene 10, Nagel 14, Moss 4, Allen 2.
Moses Lake Christian (34)
Firouzi 3, Timofeyev 25, Verhage 6.
(Saturday) Almira/Coulee 39, Neah Bay 30
Neah Bay 5 6 11 8 — 30
Almira/Coulee 6 9 11 13 — 39
Individual Scoring
Neah Bay (30)
Kallappa 11, Shuffelen 4, Winck 1, Greene 2, Nagel 7, Moss 3, Allen 2.
Almira/Coulee (39)
Starkenburg 6, Isaak 9, Gloyn 10, N. Osborne 8, Noggles 2, M. Osborne 4.
