State calls Wolves again

CENTRALIA - Because her Black Hills girls team was returning only one starter from last season's 22-win team, Wolves basketball coach Robin Johnson came into this season both optimistic and pessimistic about her team's chances.

On Saturday, she was just ecstatic.

With senior center Chelsea Haskey scoring nine of her game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter, Black Hills survived Chehalis’ wild comeback to pull out a 47-40 victory in a Class 2A District IV winner-to-state tournament game at Centralia High School.

It’s Black Hills’ fifth straight trip to state.

“I thought we could make it to state, but I didn’t know if we would,” Johnson said. “I told my team all year that we could beat anyone or lose to anyone.”

Haskey and 5-foot-4 sophomore guard Taylor Pottschmidt scored 14 of their team’s final 15 points. Pottschmidt sank two running jumpers in the closing minutes.

“They did a super good job defending me,” said Haskey, who also pulled down 19 rebounds. “We had some people step it up. Taylor was awesome.”

Pottschmidt, who had no varsity experience coming into this season, finished with 10 points, seven above her season average.

“Taylor was the difference,” Johnson said. “We had a lot of players step up today. It was really a team win.”

Black Hills, which split with Chehalis in league play in its two-game series, used an 11-0 run at the end of the second quarter to turn a four-point deficit into a seven-point edge just before halftime.

Black Hills had a 23-19 lead at halftime.

“Our girls played with a lot of heart,” Chehalis coach Henri Weeks said. “Their defense took us out of what we wanted to do.”

The Chehalis offense came to life in the fourth quarter. After being held to seven points in both the second and third quarters on 26 percent shooting, the Bearcats scored 17 points in the final period and closed their deficit to 41-36 on Megan O’Hara’s two free throws with 2:16 remaining.

Chehalis missed a pair of 3-pointers that rattled in and out in the closing scramble.

“We make both those 3s and it’s a different game,” Weeks said. “You’ve got to give our girls credit for coming back.”

Black Hills, which had lost four of its previous six games, improved to 13-9. Chehalis, which lost to Black Hills 58-24 the last time these two teams played after beating them 44-42 in December, finished its season with a 13-12 record.

Haskey, who went 5-for-13 from the field and 8-for-12 from the free-throw line, was excited and relieved about going back to the 2A state tourament, which starts Wednesday in Yakima.

“People didn’t expect us to do a lot this year,” Haskey said. “We lost a lot of people off last year’s team. I’m so proud of this team.”

Expectations are high for a Black Hills team that’s become a fixture at state.

“Sometimes, I don’t think people appreciate how hard it is to get to state,” Johnson said. “It’s a tough league to get out of.”

Gail Wood: 360-754-5443

gwood@theolympian.com

www.theolympian.com/sports/blog