Ilwaco 8th-grade guard Brooklyn Avalon (4) dishes an outlet pass.

ILWACO — A physical matchup among two of the Pacific League’s premier basketball teams clashed last Friday in Ilwaco, where the Lady Fishermen muscled out a 73-49 victory over Chief Leschi.

Ilwaco (10-2 overall) improved to 4-1 and second place in the 2B Pacific League standings with the win, trailing only first-place Forks (7-3, 5-0), while Chief Leschi (6-4) slipped to fourth place. The win also marked a milestone for Ilwaco head coach Ned Bittner, who recorded his 300th career win as coach.

Coach praises defense, team composure

The game opened with a physical, back-and-forth battle for early buckets, with each team only scoring once in the first four minutes. After slogging through a 2-2 tie the first few minutes, Ilwaco 8th grade forward Mikaila Warfield took control, scoring eight straight points to give the Lady Fishermen a 12-3 lead late in the opening quarter. A Julia Fleming jumper closed the first-quarter scoring with Ilwaco leading 14-6, a lead they would never relinquish.

In the second period, Ilwaco freshmen guard Sophia Bittner and senior guard Zoey Zuern did the most damage, scoring a combined 14 points, including four three-pointers, extending the Lady Fishermen lead to 31-20 at the half.

In the third quarter, the Lady Fishermen were dialed in offensively and defensively, outscoring the Warriors 27-14 behind a barrage of three-pointers and layups by Mikaila Warfield, Brooklyn Avalon, Ione Sheldon, Olivia McKinstry, Zoey Zuern, Natalie Gray and Sophia Bittner, pushing their lead to 58-34 heading into the final period, where they coasted to a 73-49 victory.

“We did a lot better job in the second half getting the ball inside,” coach Bittner said. “Once we settled down we started hitting some shots and got into a groove. I was very pleased with how the girls played.”

Slowing down Chief Leschi senior Tala Mitchell and junior Taiah Mitchell was a goal going into the game.

“The Mitchell girls are really good, but between our girls — Brooklyn, Ione, Sophia — they did a great job guarding them. We played hard until the very end,” Bittner said.

Mikaila Warfield led the Lady Fishermen with a team-high 18 points and 16 rebounds, followed by Sophia Bittner with 14 points.

Bittner reaches 300-win milestone

The Friday-night victory over Chief Leschi was a milestone 300th win for Bittner. He was quick to deflect the accomplishment, instead crediting the former players and assistants for the success over the past 19 years.

“It’s a nice achievement and accolade. But I’ve been surrounded by some great assistant coaches and players over the past 19 years coaching girls basketball. We have alumni that come back and give back to their craft when they’re in town. It’s tradition, and we want to try to keep it going,” he said.

JV game ends early due to unruly fan

The feistiness of the match-up between the Lady Fishermen and the Warriors was on full display in the junior varsity game, which went to OT but ended without a winner. With 1:30 remaining in the OT period, with Ilwaco clinging to a 24-20 lead, an irate Chief Leschi fan stormed the court following a foul and stoppage in play. The angry fan, an adult man, berated the officials for several seconds for what they perceived as poor officiating. Moments after the outburst, the man was escorted from the building by Long Beach Police and the game was called.

“Probably how we held our composure,” Bittner said when asked what he was most impressed with following the physical match-up.

“As you can tell, the JV and varsity game was intense, everyone was getting excited … but we held our composure.”

Up next: Ilwaco (10-2) will next face South Bend (1-10) Thursday, Jan. 12 in South Bend.