ILWACO – Heather Hocking eclipsed the 1,500 career point mark and the Lady Fishermen outscored Ridgefield 61-52 on Senior Night at Aase Gym Thursday, completing their regular basketball season with a 12-8 record.

Ilwaco enjoyed a 17-12 first period lead on the strength of 10-12 free throw marksmanship and on field goals by senior, Mary Margaret Tomberlin and Ashley Kitzman and a “three” from Hocking.

Midway through the second quarter Hocking sank two foul shots to equal the milestone, then snapped the twine for another three-pointer to go with layups from Katie Holmes and Kitzman as Ilwaco built a 26-19 half time margin.

In the third quarter Ashley Fauver hit two mid-range jump shots and had two assists, as did Hocking to go with her six points, and the Lady Fishermen extended their lead to 43-33. Kelly Heald sparked the Lady Spudders comeback attempts, three times helping them to get within six points of Ilwaco in the final frame.

Holmes half-baked the Spuds with an old-fashioned three-point play and an assist to Hocking on one occasion. Later Kitzman sank two free tosses and Hocking drained a “three,” and finally Kitzman blocked a shot with resounding authority and then scored on a pass from Ariel Barker to swing the game Ilwaco’s way one final time with 33 seconds to play.

The Lady Fishermen sank five of five free throws in the final period and committed only one foul in the first 12 minutes of the second half to help limit Ridgefield to making 5-8 from the line on the night. Ilwaco was 21-28 from the charity stripe for 75 percent.

The Lady Fishermen were 19-54 from the field (35 percent) to 23-55 (42 percent) for the visitors. Ilwaco out-rebounded Ridgefield 40-32 and was whistled for 10 fouls to their foes 20, which proved fortunate as the Lady Fishermen turned the ball over 18 times to the Lady Spudders eight. Fourteen of Ilwaco’s 19 buckets were off assists.

Kitzman scored 19 points on 7-8 from the line and 5-11 from the floor and she added nine rebounds. Michelle Wroble and Barker were both 4-4 from the foul line and each grabbed five rebounds. Robyn Unruh and Hocking passed for three assists apiece to pace Ilwaco.

Hocking knocked down 21 points on the evening to lead all scorers. Her 1,500-plus points means that from her freshmen year to now she has averaged close to 20 points per game and played in 80 to 95 contests. Ilwaco High School Principal Lisa Nelson accomplished similar numbers at Naselle, “before there was a three-point line,” she was quick to jokingly remind listeners as she witnessed Hocking’s feat.

Other seniors seeing action in the contest were Herlet Padilla, Laura Herbold, and Argelia Mendez. The Lady Fishermen finished in fourth place in the Trico with a 6-6 record.

Cheering in their final home game in Aase Gym were Shannon Carnahan, Jessica Heriot, Ashley Wilkie, Tess Whitten-Marsh, and Meghan Peterson, according to squad coach, Tiffany Turner.

Ridgefield 11 8 14 19 -52

Ilwaco 17 9 17 18 -61

Ilwaco – Hocking 21, Kitzman 19, Wroble 6, Holmes 5, Barker 4, Fauver 4, Tomberlin 2, Unruh, Mendez, Padilla, Herbold

Ridgefield – Heald 20, Meyer 10, Hutchinson 6, Schweikhardt 4, Conway 2, Wagoner 2, Ford 2, Dougherty 2, Rohrer 2, Lowery 2