Vandal boys, TLG girls first round winners in Gorge league showdown
Andrew Christiansen
Reporter
It was showdown time in the Columbia Gorge league last weekend, as the battle for top seeding in the district tournament heated up among contenders. Klickitat traveled to Trout Lake on Friday to take on TLG, with both teams looking to contend for a top two seed at District. The Klickitat boys and TLG girls walked away with victories, but the close play left nothing decided.
The TLG girls edged Klickitat 33-30 on an icy night that permeated both teams’ shooting. Liz Vogt led all scorers with 18 points and she pulled down 17 rebounds. It was a great night for rebounding as TLG shot just 23 percent from the floor and Klickitat was even worse at 20 percent. Zoe Lindner led the way for the Vandals with 13 points and 11 rebounds as Samantha Brewer was held without a basket through the first half and five minutes of the third quarter, when Brewer moved away from the basket for room to shoot. Katie Yarnell also had a tough night, scoring only in the second quarter, but she was active on the boards with 11 rebounds.
TLG built a lead with a 12-6 third quarter, but almost lost it when they scored just six points, including a buzzer-beater by Amy Keithley in the fourth quarter. Lara Parsons scored her only points with 5:50 left to make it 27-23. Then Lindner muscled one up over Ashley Barrett to get within two points at the 3:32 mark. The game was tied on a shot by Charice McConville with 3:06 left in the game and TLG was still scoreless in the quarter. Vogt finally scored the next four points for TLG and Lindner hit one of two from the free-throw line after a Brewer bucket to make it 31-30 with 24 seconds left. But, Klickitat wasn’t even close to being in foul trouble, so a fouling strategy didn’t force free-throws and TLG was able to run out the clock.
The Vandal boys found a way to shut down TLG’s inside game of Andy and Jacob Wells, holding Andy to two points on the night and Jacob without a point in the second and third quarters on the way to a Klickitat 44-38 win. Klickitat was disciplined in their offense, taking nine shots in each of the first three quarters, working the ball inside to Caleb Keys who scored 12 points. The Vandals trio of Keys, Seth Davis and Christian Schlangen won the battle of the boards with Schlangen leading the way with 10 and Davis pulling down nine.
Coach Joe Bales was worried at half time as three players had three fouls and there were only two people on the bench. But, the team also was disciplined on defense and even managed to turn up the tempo in the fourth quarter, forcing eight TLG turnovers and shooting 6-15 from the floor to neutralize a very hot-shooting C.J. Schuster. Schuster led all scorers with 15 points including three straight three point shots in the final quarter. The sophomore was 0-4 from three point land in the first half, but hit a perfect 3-3 on twos, then went without a shot in the third quarter, a quarter where TLG needed points, shooting just 1-9 and letting Klickitat open a six point lead.
Klickitat vs Yakama Tribal
The following afternoon, Yakama Tribal visited Klickitat and turned the table on the Vandals, as the girls walked away with the victory and the boys found themselves short on scoring. The Vandals made short work of the Eagles, leading by 15 at the end of the first quarter and 30-7 at the half. Tribal shaved eight points off the lead in the third, but gave it right back in the final quarter for a 55-32 Klickitat win. Lindner scored 21 points and Brewer added 17.
Yakama Tribal’s boys’ team was a big question mark going into Saturday’s game. It was known they had several shooters who were among the league’s best, but their wide-open play at times makes them easy game for a patient team. Their 39-34 win over Klickitat adds one more contender to the fight for top two in the league. Gordon Gardipee led the way for the Eagles with 16 points. Klickitat got points they needed inside from Keys, but there wasn’t much other help. Schlangen and Davis had another good rebounding night, picking up 12 and 11, respectively, but could manage just seven points between them. The Eagles press forced 21 turnovers by the Vandals. The Vandals got to the foul line enough times to win the close game, but left too many points off the rim in 12-28 shooting. Klickitat finishes the first round of league play this weekend with Bickleton in Klickitat on Jan. 15, and at Sunnyside Christian on Jan. 16.
Lady Wolves easy winners over SCAC rivals during home stand
Andrew Christiansen
Reporter
The Lady Timberwolves are off to a 5-0 start in SCAC west play following wins over Cle Elum, 58-31 and Naches Valley, 58-44 last weekend.
The Wolves came out hot against the Warriors, leading 32-8 at the half. Sadie Shattuck scored 14 points as nine Wolves put points on the board.
The following night, Shattuck was held to six points by the Rangers, who dominated the boards through the first three quarters. But, poor shooting doomed Naches Valley and Goldendale had an 11-4 rebounding edge in the fourth quarter to finish strong. Three Wolves were in double figures, led by Lexi Cameron who made 8-10 shots from the free-throw line. Alex Counts scored 16, including a perfect 2-2 on three-point shots and Tate Bailey scored 13 points and led the team with 14 rebounds.
Zillah is in town on Friday night, and a showdown at the top of the standings against Granger will entertain the Goldendale faithful on Saturday night. The Wolves will have a long break until the final home game against Mabton on Jan. 23.
Braydon Ross captures 160 title at Classic
Andrew Christiansen
Reporter
Braydon Ross won the 160 pound title leading five Goldendale wrestlers into the finals at the Naches Ranger Classic wrestling tournament on Saturday. Ross defeated East Valley’s Roberto Martinez 11-6 for the win. The other four wrestlers, Torey Spaulding-Jimenez, Nolin Bare, Billy Monroe and Kurt Wilkins each placed second, losing the finals on points, Spaulding-Jimenez 10-8 in overtime.
The five Timberwolves are on pace to make a good showing at district and regional tournaments this year. Two days prior to the Ranger Classic, Goldendale hosted Naches Valley in a dual meet won by the Rangers 45-27. Goldendale forfeited five divisions and won one on forfeit, 112 to Kirk Giese, giving Naches Valley a 24 point edge before the match began.
Ross won his match against Tanner Slick with a pin in round three with 30 seconds left on the clock. Wilkins was also a winner by pin in 2:52 of the first round against John Whitney. Spaulding-Jimenez and Monroe each won on shutouts. Bare did not wrestle.
Wade Gaston and Austin Jones were pinned and Kyle Ross lost on points, 5-1 to Noble Stoneman. In exhibition matches, Zach Smith was pinned twice at 171 pounds, and Zach Shattuck was pinned at 145.
Giese and Jessi Rosario had an exciting three rounds of exhibition, with Giese at 112 and Rosario at 119 pounds. Rosario twice fought off take down attempts by Giese and turned them into near-falls. The first gave the Ranger a 5-1 lead in the first round. Giese started round two in the down position and quickly reversed, but was reversed in turn. Rosario led 13-4 after two rounds. The pair traded takedowns and reversals in the final round before the buzzer sounded to give Rosario a 21-9 win.
The Timberwolves are scheduled to wrestle at Cle Elum on Jan. 16. Senior night will be Jan. 21, at 7 p.m. as Goldendale takes on Mabton for the only other dual meet held in Goldendale this year. |
