Montesano rallies to beat Tenino, clinches 1A EvCo girls championship, 51-43
Tenino High School entered its Friday night girls basketball game at Montesano still alive for a share of the 1A Evergreen Conference championship.
When the Bulldogs rallied from a four-point deficit midway through the third quarter to sweep the season series from the Beavers, 51-43, and stay unbeaten in league play, that possibility went away.
But coach Scott Ashmore believes staying even with the third-ranked Bulldogs (16-1) puts Tenino (14-5) in a good frame of mind heading into next week’s District 4 playoffs.
“These are the type of teams you’ve got to compete with in districts if you want to move forward into regionals and state,” said Beavers’ coach Scott Ashmore. “We played hard for four quarters. The ball didn’t fall for us in the second half.”
Montesano caught a bad break 12 minutes before tipoff when McKynnlie Dalan, the Bulldogs’ highly-regarded 6-foot-1 junior forward suffered a right knee injury during warm-ups. She was helped out of the gym but returned on crutches before game time and watched from the bench.
An MRI has been scheduled.
“It’s always easier without her,” Ashmore said. “I like the way she plays, though, she really battled against us last time. If we’re going to compete with them, I’d rather she be out there.”
The game was airtight throughout after Montesano blew Tenino out on its own court, 58-34, a week ago.
“This time we handled their press, last time they really got into us,” said Ashmore. “We turned it over quite a bit. I was really proud of the way we handled their press, especially in the first half.”
There were six lead changes and five ties during the first quarter and a half. The Bulldogs then put together a 9-2 run that gave them their largest lead until the final moments, 24-17, a minute before intermission on a pull up jumper by Jaiden King, who finished with a game-high 19 points.
A pair of Alivia Hunter free throws and a driving bank shot by Ashley Schow pulled Tenino back to within three at the break.
When the Beavers began the second half on an 11-4 run of their own sparked by two quick Hunter baskets, Tenino would grab its largest lead, 32-28, with 4:42 remaining in the third quarter.
“When we went up by four I thought we were really in good shape, but they got a couple baskets and it was tough on us,” Ashmore said.
A long two pointer from the right wing by Maia Young and a pair of free throws by King brought the Bulldogs to within one heading into the fourth quarter.
Montesano took the lead for good, 37-36, early in the fourth on a post move by senior Paige Lisherness, who scored 16 points to help celebrate Senior Night for herself and guard Olivia Young.
The Bulldogs finished the game on a 16-7 run, extending their lead to as many as nine just before the end.
Tenino’s Central Washington-bound forward Ashley Schow led the Beavers with 15 points, a few below her average of 20, as Montesano double- and triple-teamed her out of its zone defenses. The extra attention on Schow allowed Hunter to flash inside often enough to score 12 points.
“Ashley didn’t have her normal game,” Ashmore said. “We had kids open, though.”
Ashmore praised not only Hunter’s scoring but her man defense on the 5-foot-11 Lisherness.
“She’s built like Paige but she’s five inches shorter. She worked hard. We stayed man the entire night,” he said.
Though no one from Tenino complained too loudly, the Beavers did not shoot a single free throw during the second half and were called for 11 fouls after intermission as opposed to three called on the Bulldogs.
Tenino still has a regular season game, at Elma on Monday night, before entering post-season play.