ILWACO — In a showdown between the Pacific League’s only two unbeaten teams, Erika Glenn led Ilwaco to a 70-56 victory over Ocosta on Jan. 3.

Glenn dominated the first quarter with ten points, scoring on the opening tip and helping Ilwaco overcome an early 12-6 deficit. Glenn went coast-to-coast after an Ocosta miss, and later forced her way to the hoop through traffic for a basket. Near the end of the quarter she blocked a shot, then, at the other end, pump-faked her defender, took a dribble and pulled up from 15 feet for the jumper with 2.3 seconds in the quarter for a 16-14 lead. Glenn had 10 points and two assists in the period, just missing out on at least two more assists when teammates could not quite finish at the rim.

Ilwaco was on its way to a solid offensive showing against a team that had held all its previous opponents to 44 points or fewer.

“I thought our bench depth helped us,” Glenn said. “We all just made our shots.”

While Ocosta had four players score all but four of its points, Ilwaco had six players score at least six points, including a game-high 25 from Glenn.

Ilwaco gained some separation with an 8-2 run the final 1:30 of the first half. Glenn found a couple of more angles to the basket, Ebby McMullen got fouled on a drive and hit two free throws, and Estella Sheldon made a put-back in traffic from eight feet for the 37-27 halftime lead.

“They tried a box-and-one [four in a zone, with one man defender], with a defender on me,” McMullen said. “Then they switched and did it with a defender on Erika…We handled it all.”

Ilwaco got a running, fast-break game going to start the second half. McMullen reached in for a steal and took it the other way, hitting the layup through contact just 15 seconds into the third quarter. Arianna Bell found Sheldon on the break for a score. McMullen’s put-back made it 45-27, and the lead soon went to 20. McMullen had all 10 of her points in the second and third quarters as Ilwaco built its big lead.

Ocosta answered with a 12-2 run but could not cut the lead to single digits. With the Wildcats down by 12 and looking for a fast-break basket, Glenn intercepted a skip pass, leading to a baseline jumper by Bell at the other end. Ilwaco led 57-41 after three quarters.

Bell handled another tough defensive assignment, tenaciously guarding Ocosta star Kjirstin Hopfer, who had twelve points. Teammates say they experience every day in practice the competitive fire she brings to matchups against top scorers.

“[Bell] is quick and really just annoying when she gets after us (on defense) in practice, and she does the same thing to whoever she’s guarding,” Glenn said.

“Arianna is a bulldog,” McMullen said. “She gives us hell in practice; she’ll find some way to distract us or take us off our game.”

Ilwaco built its lead to 70-49 late in the fourth quarter before settling for a 14-point win. Estella Sheldon finished with 16 points to go with Glenn’s 25 and McMullen’s 10. Kaylee Barnum led Ocosta with 19 points.

Ilwaco will visit South Bend Friday, Jan. 11, at 7 pm.