Naselle junior Brynn Tarabochia is a picture of concentration at the free-throw line during WIAA 1B state championship action in Spokane Friday.

SPOKANE — It just wasn’t Naselle’s day.

Defensive dynamo Echo Cenci was carried off court after 2 minutes, the tearful senior returning on crutches to support her team from the bench, her ankle wrapped in ice.

Nothing worked for the Comet players who remained. Their shots just didn’t drop. And at the other end Mossyrock built a lead that was never going to be overcome.

“It was not us out there,” coach Russ Hickman told his tearful squad as they gathered afterward. “It was a tough one. The hardest part of this is as a senior. Juniors, you can build on it. Sophomores, you can build on it. Freshmen, you can build on it. Eighth-graders, you can build on it.”

They had just been defeated 46-12 by their regional rivals at the WIAA 1B state championships.

And while the Vikings advanced to play for a trophy Saturday, it signaled an end to Naselle’s season. At state they won one and lost two.

“It’s hard to always finish a season on a loss, but it’s even worse when you played like we did,” Hickman said. “Boy, I thought we were ready. We seemed to be pretty well focused. But hats off to Mossyrock. They came out and played really really well and of course they shot the ball well.”

Vikings junior Payton Torrey had 25 points and classmate Caelyn Marshall added 11; five Comets were on the scoreboard.

The game story is unpleasant reading for a Comet fan. Mossyrock just kept scoring, although Naselle defenders did have some success breaking up Viking forays toward the hoop. Junior Brynn Tarabochia had the Comet fans on their feet with an early 3-pointer just before the first quarter ended. She played with power throughout, but four more shots from distance bounced out.

At one point, junior Kaylin Shrives and senior Morgan Reitz battled for the ball under the hoop then rolled their eyes when the ball was awarded to their opponents.

Lauren Katyryniuk, another member of NHS’ stellar junior class, never replicated the astonishing solo performance in the Comets’ first game at state. But she fought for the ball under the hoop and drove to the basket for two points to add a glimmer of hope.

Halftime saw a 7-27 scoreline and some glum faces. Shrives and Reitz took turns fighting for the ball on the ground. Courtney Paul, a senior, subbed in and contributed to some excellent passing moves.

But there was no comeback.

The squad had performed during a long season characterized by continuing covid restrictions and the early loss of another key Comet to injury.

Captain Peyton Dalton dried her tears and chose to focus on the season, not the two losses that ended their state run. “I think we started off a little rough and then we had lots of ups and downs,” the senior said.

And then her face brightened into a smile. “I am so proud of us for coming together and playing the best basketball we have ever played, playing as a team, and not letting any of these things interfere with how far we get to go,” she said.

Her coach summed up Dalton’s contribution. “She had really improved and she is such a team leader — a real tenacious attitude about things,” he said,

The loss of Cenci Friday, falling heavily after a collision under her opponents’ key, meant the coach had to reshuffle.

“She has been our spark plug on defense. That just killed us — that was our whole defensive scheme, and when we lost her we didn’t really have a good rotation,” Hickman said. “Not that it would have mattered tonight, because I thought Mossyrock was much better.”

Reitz’ family moved back to Naselle a short while ago and contributes greatly to Comet programs. “This is her first year playing for us, and she really helped us out,” the coach said, “because we lost Delaney Kragerud to a concussion at the start of the season, and we didn’t have another post in the rotation, so Morgan really helped us out. She did a great job, there many games she was in double-digit rebounds for us.”

Two other seniors, Grace Hunt and Paul, stepped up in the final game, both looking smooth when passing the ball around the outside of the key. Their coach heralded Hunt as a good team player, and smiled when asked about Paul. “She is our P.E. ‘ratballer,’” he said with a laugh, and noted that both stepped up. “They had to tonight, because we were shorthanded.”

At the end, subs Bella Dunagan, Ava Myers-Marshall, Jessah Watson and Gladys Wilson had a brief taste of state court action.