Naselle junior Brooke Davis (2) drives for a layup against Mary M. Knight.

NASELLE — In the third period, the sophomore captain seemingly couldn’t miss.

Aubrey Katyryniuk (23), Naselle’s 5-foot-9 sharpshooting forward, drained four straight three-pointers in the third period in less than a minute, blowing open a one-possession game en route to a game-high 32 points and leading the Comets to a 69-47 league victory over Mary M. Knight, on Friday, Jan. 17, in Naselle.

It was the third straight league win for Naselle, improving to 9-4 overall, including a 3-1 mark and first-place tie in a deeply contested 1B Coastal League (along with Taholah and Willapa Valley, also 3-1).

Comets silence Owls with 17-0 third period run

Mary M. Knight (9-4) was competitive with Naselle through the first two periods as both teams struggled to convert, but simply had no answer once Katyryniuk caught fire in the third period.

“Well, to start the game it was really slow, and we lacked energy,” said Naselle head coach Marie Green.

“We started to pick it up a little toward the end of the second quarter. Aubrey hit a layup right as the buzzer sounded to take us into halftime. During the half I talked to the girls about enjoying playing the game and to get back to the basics and not overthink things. Then we came out and Aubrey turned it on. She had four consecutive threes, boosting us to an 11-point lead, and we just kept going from there.”

The Comets, trailing 21-20 early in the third period, went on a 12-0 run that consisted of four straight Katyryniuk three-pointers in less than a minute, flipping a close game into a comfortable Naselle cushion (34-23) and forcing a Mary M. Knight timeout to slow the onslaught. Katyryniuk would account for 22 of Naselle’s 30 points in the the period.

After the timeout, Naselle junior forward Haylee Rose (12) hit a dagger three-pointer, seemingly ending any Owl hopes for a comeback as the Comets capped off a 17-0 run, taking a 51-38 lead into the final period. They coasted to a 69-47 victory.

“The team as a whole played great basketball. While our shots didn’t fall in the the first half, we moved their defense around and had good looks at the basket,” said Green. “The girls on the bench all got to see some good minutes. I’ve been really impressed with the girls that we have pulled up.”

Katyryniuk finished with a game-high 32 points, with teammates Rose and Brooke Davis (2) contributing 10 points each.

Up next: Naselle (9-4) traveled to take on Taholah on Jan. 21, followed by a home game against Onalaska on Jan. 25.