Naselle girls basketball

The Naselle girls basketball team split their two games last week, losing to Willapa Valley 44-29 before rebounding with a resounding 71-16 win over Lake Quinault.

“The girls played a well rounded game,” said head coach Marie Green following the win over Lake Quinault.

“Our game was called at 6:16 left in the 4th quarter. Lake Quinault had girls get injured and would have only had 3-4 girls to finish the game. While it wasn’t the overall result that we wanted, my girls still wanted to play, it was a great combo mixture for the girls.”

Naselle sophomore Aubrey Katyrniuk finished with a game-high 24 points, while helping limit Lake Quinault to only 16 total points.

“We played solid defense and really took care of the ball tonight,” Green said.

“We only had three turnovers for the whole game. That is fantastic. We were playing our tempo and made really smart decisions throughout the whole game. I couldn’t be more proud of the girls tonight. Even with the 4th quarter being cut short for us, all of the girls saw a lot of playing time. Which is going to be good for the whole team as we set our sites on post season after next weeks game.”

The Comets remain in third place in the 1B Coastal League at 4-3, while slipping one spots to 19th in the latest RPI rankings among 70 1B teams in the state.

Up next: Naselle (10-7) will wrap up their regular season with a home game against Ocosta on Feb. 4.

Naselle boys basketball

The Naselle boys basketball team split their two games last week, including a 72-51 loss to Willapa Valley before beating Lake Quinault 105-19, bringing their overall record to 11-8 on the season, with one regular-season game remaining.

Naselle senior guard Jacob Lindstrom (5) was recognized this week for surpassing the 1,000-point scoring milestone. 

The Comets (11-8) remain 26th in the latest RPI rankings among 81 1B teams. Naselle remains in third place in the 1B Coastal League at 4-3, trailing Ocosta (6-1) and first-place Willapa Valley (6-0).

Up next: Naselle (11-8) will wrap up their regular season with a home game against Ocosta on Feb. 4.

Ilwaco boys basketball

The Ilwaco boys basketball team won both of their games last week, including beating North Beach 73-31 and Chief Leschi 74-67, bringing the Fishermen to 8-10 overall on the season.

“Our program has been hit pretty hard with the flu these past couple of days,” said Ilwaco head coach Eric McMillan following the 74-67 win over Chief Leschi.

“On my way to the game I got phone calls from three of our varsity players telling me they couldn’t make it, so we had to call up a couple more of our younger guys as reinforcements.”

Relying on several underclassmen, Ilwaco trailed early against Chief Leschi, who took a 16-14 lead in the the second period.

“We didn’t come out with the energy we had hoped and let Chief Leschi get a lot of second chance opportunities,” McMillan said.

“Cooper Petit was able to score our first eight points while some of the other guys were still finding their rhythm.”

Petit (31) would finish with 13 points, with teammate Haddox Hazen (1) scoring a game-high 15 points. Ilwaco freshman Sawyer McClure (1) added nine points and sophomore Sawyer Linquist (22) chipped in five.

“(The) Second quarter wasn’t much better and you could tell we were sluggish which resulted in some silly fouls to let CL get to the free throw line where they converted 8 for 9 in that quarter alone,” McMillan said.

“With the youth we have on the team and struggles we have had this year, it was really special to hear the boys encouraging each other and being accountable for their mistakes (in between the coughing and sneezing) as I walked into the locker room at halftime.”

Ilwaco found their groove in the third period, where they outscored Chief Leschi 27-9.

“After giving my two cents, we came out and had our best third quarter of the year outscoring Leschi 27 to 9,” McMillan said.

“Spencer Needham had about 6 or 7 blocks in that quarter and two of our freshmen (Hazen and McClure) hit a couple of 3s that sparked our run. We really needed it because CL just caught fire in the 4th quarter. They hit some tough shots and we definitely sent them to the free throw line too many times (9-14 in the 4th) that made things interesting.”

The Fishermen rose two spots to 40th  in the latest RPI rankings among 54 2B teams. Ilwaco remains in third place in the 2B Pacific League at 4-4, trailing Raymond/South Bend (5-2) and Forks (7-0).

Up next: Ilwaco (8-10) will finish their regular season at home against Raymond/South Bend on Feb. 4.

Ilwaco girls basketball

The Ilwaco girls basketball team was idle last week, remaining 5-7 overall on the season.

Ilwaco (5-7) remains 37th in the latest RPI state rankings among 52 2B teams, while staying in third place in the 2B Pacific League at 2-3, trailing Raymond/South Bend (5-1) and Forks (6-1).

Up next: Ilwaco (5-7) will wrap up their regular season  away game against Raymond/South Bend on Feb. 3.

Willapa Valley boys basketball

A special season is continuing to unfold in Menlo, where the Willapa Valley boys basketball team scratched off another three wins last week — including their 16th straight — bringing the Vikings to 16-2 on the year.

The Vikings completed a season sweep of rival Naselle 72-51, then beat Taholah 74-63 before capping the week with with a 63-58 victory over Wahkiakum, collecting their third win in four days.

The Vikings, who haven’t lost since Dec. 5, rocketed up the state rankings five spots 4th place among 80 1B teams in the state following the impressive wins last week.

Willapa Valley while remains in first place in the 1B Coastal League at 6-0, with their final league game against second-place Ocosta (6-1), a team that hasn’t lost since a 50-29 setback to the Vikings on Jan. 14.

Willapa Valley has been incredibly balanced offensively this season, led by junior guard Blane King (10), averaging 14 points per game; followed by senior guard Nathan Fluke (2), averaging 13 points per game and sophomore power forward Brody Aust (5), averaging 11 points per game.

Up next: Willapa Valley (16-2) will close out the regular season against Ocosta on Feb. 7.

Willapa Valley girls basketball

The Willapa Valley girls basketball team won both games last week, including beating Naselle 44-29 and Taholah 59-52, improving to 9-8 overall on the season.

Willapa Valley climbed eight spots to 22nd in the latest RPI rankings among 70 1B teams. The Vikings are currently in second place in league play at 5-2.

Up next: Willapa Valley (9-8) will travel to take on Taholah on Jan. 31, followed by home game against Ocosta on Feb.6.

Pe Ell girls basketball

The Pe Ell girls basketball team remained perfect on the season (16-0) this week, beating Oakville 56-34.

Pe Ell remained 7th in the latest RPI rankings among 70 1B teams, while also retaining their first-place position in the 1B Columbia Valley League at 8-0. 

Up next: Pe Ell (16-0) will close out the resular season at home against CAA on Feb. 6.

Pe Ell boys basketball

The Pe Ell boys basketball team split their two games last week, including a 66-40 loss to Willapa Valley before beating Oakville 44-32, bringing their record to 9-9 overall on the season.

Pe Ell dropped rose six spots to 35th in the RPI among 80 1B teams, including second  place in the 1B Columbia Valley League at 6-2.

Up next: Pe Ell (9-9) will close out the regular season at home against CAA on Feb. 6..

Raymond/South Bend boys basketball

The Raymond/South Bend boys basketball team won both games last week, including wins over North Beach (87-59) and Chief Leschi (69-62), improving to 9-10 overall on the season.

The Ravens rose two spots to 31st in the RPI among 54 2B teams and second place in the 2B Pacific League at 5-2.

Up next: Raymond/South Bend (9-10) will host Chief Leschi on Jan. 31, followed by an away game at Ilwaco on Feb. 4.

Raymond/South Bend girls basketball

The Raymond/South Bend girls basketball team won two games last week, improving to 13-5 overall on the sseaon. 

Raymond/South Bend remained 15th in the latest RPI state rankings among 54 2B teams, while staying in second place in the 2B Pacific League at 5-1.

Up next: Raymond/South Bend (13-5) will close out the regular season Feb. 3 st home against Ilwaco.