Klickitat sweeps first round against Bickleton
Andrew Christiansen
Reporter
Klickitat’s boys and girls basketball teams evened their records at 2-2 half way through league play following home wins against Bickleton and road losses at Sunnyside Christian.
Bickleton’s girls showed they were an even match for Klickitat with Star Kibby sprinting from end to end, picking off lazy passes and scoring her team high 15 points.
The Pirates came out determined to establish an outside game with Morgan McBride coming through with six points. Jamie Venema played a strong game inside and the game was tied at the half.
Klickitat was led by Samantha Brewer, who had a slow start, but scored steadily throughout to finish with 20 points and 16 rebounds. Zoe Lindner was held to seven points, but she led both teams with 18 rebounds.
The Vandals got much needed help from freshman Chelci Curtis who pulled down 10 rebounds and scored six points in the final quarter when Klickitat pulled away for the 43-37 win.
The boys game was dominated by the Vandals who were up 34-9 at half. Bickleton Coach John Jensen complemented his young team on reducing their average number of turnovers, but their missed shots kept the team from making the game closer.
Twelve of the Pirates’ 23 points came from the foul line.
Caleb Keys led the Vandals with 15 points and Christian Schlangen had 18 rebounds. Tyler Linville had two important three-point shots to help pace the Vandals in the 46-23 win.
Vandals vs Knights
The Vandal high was short-lived when they were overwhelmed by Sunnyside Christian at Sunnyside.
Charice McConville scored 11 points, but Brewer was held to three in the 57-21 loss. The Knights were led by Hilari Bosma’s 19 points.
The boys were a little more competitive, but 10 Knights got into the scoring, more than Klickitat has players, and Sunnyside Christian coasted to a 73-38 win. The bright spot for Klickitat was the continued scoring of Linville who had 17 points.
Pirates vs Cougars
It didn’t take the Lady Pirates long to shake off the disappointing loss in Bickleton as they traveled a little further south and defeated the Lyle-Wishram Cougars 50-35. It was a big night for Clinton who had 19 points and 19 rebounds.
The Cougars were without center, Treane Wells, who was injured in a Thursday game against Sherman County. Karlee Roth scored 18 points for the Cougars.
While Coach Jensen was more pleased with the Pirate boys’ play, they were no match for the size and physical nature of Lyle-Wishram’s play and were defeated 63-23. Edgar Molina had 10 points.
Lyle-Wishram was led by Nolan Smith’s 12 points. Also in double figures were Henry Matai (11) and Kyle Murphy (10).
Klickitat and Lyle-Wishram played on Wednesday, and the Vandals played North Clackamas on Friday and Yakama Tribal in Toppenish on Saturday.
Bickleton has Tribal on Friday and goes to Glenwood to play TLG on Saturday.
Timberwolves outshot by Granger in west showdown
Lady Wolves slump against Leopards and Spartans, still in second
Andrew Christiansen
Reporter
The shootout at the top of the SCAC west lived up to expectations when the Timberwolf boys took on the Granger Spartans, Saturday night in Goldendale. The Spartans escaped with their unbeaten record intact, after withstanding a 7-0 Goldendale spurt to start the fourth quarter, but better shooting prevailed and Granger won the game 60-49.
Goldendale came out hot hitting 6-13 from the floor and out-rebounding the Spartans 12-4 for a 16-13 first quarter lead which was pared to a one point lead at half. Kane Thiele was 3-3 from the floor and Reed Lindhe had seven first half rebounds.
The game turned at the start of the third quarter with two Goldendale turnovers that were converted into four Spartan points. The Wolves had just two more turnovers in the quarter, but they only shot 4-15, while Granger hit 7-14, had one turnover and owned a nine point lead at the end of three.
The large crowd was fired up in the final quarter as Kaden Milliren watched a three-point shot roll around the rim and drop. The Timberwolf junior hustled back and blocked a shot at the other end and Lindhe followed up with a bucket to close the lead to 44-42 with 5:15 left in the game.
The Spartans responded to a time out with a couple of three point shots and Goldendale was outscored 16-7 in the final five minutes, as desperation defense allowed the Spartans some easy points at the end.
The loss coupled with the Timberwolves’ 53-33 win over Zillah on Friday night sets up a crucial game against Mabton in Goldendale this Saturday.
The Zillah game was a showcase for Milliren who scored 21 points in a game that was never close. Blake Lesko was also in double digits for Goldendale with 14 points.
Lady Timberwolves
The weekend games caught the Lady Timberwolves flat as they stumbled through the first quarter scoring one point, which led to a 65-40 loss to Zillah. A day later it was a 55-26 drubbing at the hands of the Spartans.
Goldendale couldn’t buy a bucket against the Leopards who were zeroed in on the hoop from three-point land. The second quarter was much better with Goldendale scoring 20, but Zillah put another 18 on the board.
Alex Counts led the Wolves with 11 points and Lexi Cameron and Sadie Shattuck each scored eight points.
The Spartans came to Goldendale with a perfect record and number three rank in the State that seemed to impress the Wolves, who looked a step behind all night. Ashlee Reddout did a lot of damage camped out under the basket, scoring 12 points and Sam Zapien hit from the top of the key for 13 points for the Spartans who quietly dominated the game. A 28-17 rebounding edge and 9-21 turnover margin allowed Granger to fire off more than twice as many shots as Goldendale and their 40 percent connect rate was more than enough to win.
Alex Counts led the Timberwolves with 3-4 shooting for nine points. Tate Bailey was held to just two shots and no points while Shattuck scored her five points from the foul line.
The Ladies are still in good stead in the league standings, but will need to get back to their winning form against Mabton when the Vikings visit Jan. 23. The first meeting of the two teams was a 52-51 Goldendale win. |
