Ilwaco junior varsity players reacts after a three-pointer by Natalie Gray.

Naselle boys basketball

The Naselle boys basketball team (16-2) won their eleventh straight game after reeling off three wins last week, including Firm Foundation Christian (87-37), Willapa Valley (54-45) and Winlock (68-51).

The Comets, now 10-1 in league play, remain in first place in 1B Columbia Valley League play with two league games remaining.

Up next: Naselle will next close out the regular season hosting Three Rivers Christian on Thursday, Feb. 1, then will wait to hear their district seeding, with the first round of the boys 1B District 4 playoffs set to start Feb. 6.

Ilwaco girls basketball

The Ilwaco girls basketball team collected their fourth straight win, improving to 11-6 overall, with a convincing 76-54 victory over Chief Leschi (6-7) on Saturday.

The Lady Fishermen are currently 6-3 in league play and in third place, behind first-place Forks (8-0) and Raymond/South Bend (7-3).

Up next: The Lady Fishermen will host North Beach (1-12) Tuesday, Jan. 30, then will wait to hear their district seeding, with the first round of the girls 2B District 4 playoffs set to start Feb. 3.

Naselle girls basketball

Naselle freshman guard Aubrey Katyryniuk scored 33 points to lead the Comets to a 52-50 victory over North Beach last week.

“Aubrey was fantastic tonight,” summed Naselle head coach Marie Green following the win.

“Talking with [Aubrey] and telling her how many points she had, she commented that she didn’t even think she scored that much. Though we were on a skeleton crew today — we had a couple girls sick and then a couple gone for other things — we pulled up Jaylee Bonk and she played a solid game for us tonight. Evelyn (Normand) played a great game all around tonight. She was shooting with confidence and playing solid on defense. I was super proud of my crew today.”

Naselle improved to 7-11 overall with the win, remaining in fourth place in the 1B Columbia Valley League at 4-4.

Up next: Naselle will take on Three Rivers Christian (0-9) in a league matchup Tuesday, Jan. 30, then will wait to hear their district seeding, with the first round of the girls 1B District 4 playoffs set to start Feb. 5.

Ilwaco boys basketball

The Ilwaco boys basketball team (15-4) had their eight-game win streak snapped in a 69-54 league loss to Chief Leschi last week. The Fishermen bounced back with a 79-54 victory over Ocosta (5-13) two days later coupled with a 66-40 home victory against North Beach (8-12) on senior night. The Fishermen have a senior-laden squad, including Kyle Morris (2), Derrick Cutting (3), Boston Caron (5), David Roberts (20), Jacob Rogers (22), Beckett Turner (32) and Sam Needham (33).

The Fishermen — featuring an all-senior starting lineup including Beckett Turner, Sam Needham, Kyle Morris, Jacob Rogers and Derrick Cutting — held the Hyaks scoreless in the opening period, building a 16-0 lead, led by 11 points from Needham. North Beach scored 10 points in the second, but Ilwaco added 20 more, including 11 from Turner, to take a 36-10 lead into the half.

“It was a little clunky at times due to shots not falling as much as we are used to, but our defense and rebounding really carried us through the night,” said Ilwaco head coach Eric McMillan. “I was really impressed with our discipline on the defensive end in the first half as we forced multiple shot clock violations and limited North Beach to multiple one-shot possessions or forced them into a turnover.”

Needham and Turner alternated leading the offensive attack in the first half.

“It was good getting Sam Needham going early as he had 11 points down low in the first period,” McMillan said. “Beckett Turner was able to follow that up with 11 of his own in the second period as we tried changing up our post presence throughout the night, depending on who was guarded by North Beach’s Tyrell Hovland who is 6-foot-7.”

Turner finished with a game-high 21 points and seven rebounds, followed by Needham with 15 points and seven boards.

The Fishermen will play their final regular season game against Forks on Wednesday, Jan. 31, with league championship implications and important ramifications for the upcoming district tournament.

“We have only had one day to practice due to playing three games in five days, so we hope to regroup tomorrow and clean up some things as we play Forks on the 31st before ending the regular season,” McMillan said. “A win in that game would make us outright league champions and secure the No. 1 seed for the Pacific League in the district tournament.”

The Fishermen remain in first place in the 2B Pacific League (9-1), with a slight lead over second-place Chief Leschi (9-2).

Up next: Ilwaco will next host Forks (11-1) Wednesday, Jan. 31, then will wait to hear their district seeding, with the first round of the boys 2B District 4 playoffs set to start Feb. 3.

Raymond boys basketball

The Raymond boys basketball team collected their second-straight win after downing North Beach (49-29) and Onalaska (62-49) last week, bumping their overall season record to 10-9.

The Seagulls, at 7-4 in league play, remain in fourth place in the 2B Pacific League, behind Ilwaco, Forks and Chief Leschi.

Up next: Raymond will next travel to take on South Bend (0-16) Tuesday, Jan. 30, then will wait to hear their district seeding, with the first round of the boys 2B District 4 playoffs set to start Feb. 3.

Raymond/South Bend girls basketball

The Raymond/South Bend Ravens girls basketball squad got back in the win column after smoking North Beach 80-18 last week, improving to 12-6 overall on the season.

The Ravens, at 7-3, remain in second place in league play, behind first-place Forks.

Up next: Raymond/South Bend will wait to hear their district seeding, with the first round of the 2B District 4 playoffs set to start Feb. 3.

South Bend boys basketball

The South Bend boys basketball team fell to 0-17 on the season after losing three games last week, including setbacks to Chief Leschi (69-17), North Beach (79-21) and Raymond (75-45).

The 45 points against Raymond were the highest offensive total for South Bend this season.

Up next: South Bend will close out their regular season against Onalaska (3-13) on Feb 2.

Willapa Valley girls basketball

The Willapa Valley girls basketball team won two of their three games last week, improving to 11-10 overall on the season.

Up next: Willapa Valley hosted Washington School for the Deaf on Jan. 30 and will travel to take on Mossyrock on Feb. 1 to close out their regular season, then will wait to hear their district seeding with the first round of the girls 1B District 4 playoffs set to start Feb. 5.

Willapa Valley boys basketball

The Willapa Valley boys basketball team split their games last week, first losing to Naselle 54-45 before beating Firm Foundation Christian 77-38 to improve to 9-10 overall on the season.

Up next: Willapa Valley hosted Washington School for the Deaf Tuesday night and will hit the road to take on Mossyrock later this week to close out their regular season, then will wait to hear their district seeding with the first round of the boys 1B District 4 playoffs set to start Feb. 6.