Today (1/17): Blazers Host Abes for Second in the Narrows; T-Birds, Wolves Doubleheader
Girls basketball
Black Hills @ Tumwater – Tumwater HS – 6:00 PM
Timberline vs. Lincoln – Timberline HS – 7:00 PM
Olympia vs. Gig Harbor – Olympia HS – 7:00 PM
North Thurston vs. South Kitsap – North Thurston HS – 7:00 PM
Capital vs. Aberdeen – Capital HS – 7:30 PM
Busy, busy night of girls hoops tonight with five games highlighted by a battle for second place in the 3A Narrows League between Timberline and Lincoln.
The Blazers and Abes sit a game behind Wilson in the standings at 4-1 with both of their losses coming to the Rams. The loss to Wilson was the only of the season for Lincoln. They are 11-1 this season and feature an outstanding sophomore in Tamia Braggs who is averaging 15.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
Junior Callan Russell leads the Blazers with 12.9 points per game and senior Linae Myhand and sophomore Sara Bowen each are scoring in double digits at 10.8 and 10.6 points per game respectively. The Blazers are 6-6 overall.
Boys basketball
Black Hills @ Tumwater – Tumwater HS – 7:30 PM
The lone boys basketball game in town tonight is game two of a girls and boys Pioneer Cup doubleheader betweent Black Hills and Tumwater at Tumwater High School. One game separates the Wolves (1-4) and T-Birds (2-3) in the 2A EvCo standings.
Both games of the Black Hills/Tumwater doubleheader can be heard on the Eli Sports Network.
Thursday Scores: Wiedeman, Gelhar Keep Saints in First
Women’s basketball
| Saint Martin’s 73, Simon Fraser 71 – Recap | |||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simon Fraser (3-3 GNAC, 9-5 overall) | 36 | 35 | 71 |
| Saint Martin’s (5-1 GNAC, 11-4 overall) | 38 | 35 | 73 |
| Saints remain in 1st place, undefeated at home |
Sophomore Megan Wiedeman made her first career start and rewarded head coach Tim Healy’s gamble with her best career game posting 12 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and three assists in Saint Martin’s back-and-forth 73-71 win over Simon Fraser at Marcus Pavilion on Thursday night. The win keeps the Saints in first place in the GNAC at 5-1 and they stayed 7-0 on their home court this season.
The two teams battled back and forth the entire game. The Clan took an 11 point lead early in the first half before the Saints battled back to take a 38-36 halftime lead. The Saints then built an 11 point lead of their own in the second half before a 15-2 run gave SFU a 58-56 lead with 8:14 left.
Wiedeman came up huge in the final minutes of the game. After a pair of free throws by Erin Chambers gave Simon Fraser a 69-66 lead with 1:22 left, Krista Stabler missed a jumper for from the top of the key and SFU’s Katie Lowen pulled down the rebound but Wiedeman stepped in and took the ball away from Lowen to give the Saints a second chance. She then got the offensive rebound on a missed shot by Angela Gelhar, put it straight back up, hit the bucket and got hammered to draw the foul. She buried the and-one free throw to tie the game at 69.
On the next possession, Simon Fraser got the ball into Chambers on the post. With Mackenzie Taylor on Chambers’ back, Wiedeman came over on the double team and caught Chambers by surprise, stripping the GNAC’s leading scorer of the basketball and drew a foul in the scramble for the ball. She calmly stepped to the line and buried a pair of free throws to give the Saints a 71-69 lead with 42 seconds left, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Gelhar scored 17 points to lead SMU including the clinching points from the charity stripe with 15 seconds left. She went 8-for-8 and the team went 27-of-29 from the free throw line. Jordyn Richardson and Liz Mills each chipped in eight points while Brooke Paulson added seven points and four assists.
Chambers scored 25 points for Simon Fraser and Katie Lowen went for 15. The Clan hit nine 3-pointers while the Saints attempted just six and hit two.
Video from Saint Martin’s athletics
Boys basketball
| Aberdeen 55, Capital 42 | |||||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital (2-3 2A EvCo) | 9 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 42 |
| Aberdeen (1-5 2A EvCo) | 15 | 10 | 12 | 18 | 55 |
| Wishkah Valley 66, Pope John Paul II 23 |
Girls basketball
| Wishkah Valley 31, Pope John Paul II 12 |
Today (1/16): Saints Battle The Clan With First Place on the Line
Women’s basketball
Saint Martin’s vs. Simon Fraser – Marcus Pavilion – 7:00 PM
The first place Saint Martin’s women face their biggest test of the season so far when they host Simon Fraser tonight and Western Washington on Saturday. The Saints are coming off an Alaska split last weekend. They fell in a bit of a head scratcher to Alaska-Fairbanks on Thursday night but bounced back behind Angela Gelhar’s 36 points to knock off Alaska-Anchorage 85-78 and reclaimed sole possession of the GNAC’s top spot at 4-1.
Tonight, Simon Fraser rolls into Marcus Pavilion sitting just one game behind the Saints at 3-2. The Clan lost maybe the best player in GNAC history, Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe, to graduation but Erin Chambers has picked up the slack and is leading the GNAC with 22.5 points per game. They are 9-4 overall and are just outside of the top 25 in NCAA Division II with 48 votes.
Live video can be seen and heard here with me, Brandon Sparks, on the call beginning at 7:00 PM.
PHOTO GALLERY: Blazers Roll Past Crosstown Rival Rams
Timberline and North Thurston came into the game separated by just a half game in the 3A Narrows League standings but after the tip, it was obvious that they were light years apart.
The Blazers opened up a 16-3 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Behind hot shooting and relentless defense, they extended their lead to 32-7 with 3:12 left in the second quarter, continued to pour it on in the third quarter before finally putting it on cruise control en route to a 59-23 victory.
Callan Russell and Sara Bowen each scored 14 points in the win. Freshman Juliana Salanoa chipped in eight points and Linae Myhand added seven. Emma Baldwin led the way with five points for the Rams.
Timberline moved to 4-1 in the 3A Narrows League and are tied with Lincoln for second place, one game behind 5-0 Wilson. The Abes and Blazers meet at Timberline on Friday night.
The Rams fell to 3-3 in league and will host South Kitsap in non-league action on Friday.
Wednesday Scores: Blazers Boys Nip Rams, Blazers Girls Roll Rams; Oly Tops Central K
Callan Russell scored 14 points in Timberline’s win
Men’s basketball
| Centralia 70, SPSCC 62 – Box score | |||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centralia (2-3 NWAACC West, 2-11 overall) | 28 | 42 | 70 |
| SPSCC (1-5 NWAACC West, 1-13 overall) | 25 | 37 | 62 |
| SPSCC leader: Brian Tyson – 18 points |
Once again SPSCC played just six players – five played more than 39 minutes – but fought and stayed with a full squad only to run out of gas at the end in a 70-62 loss to Centralia at the SPSCC Gym. Brian Tyson scored 18 points with eight rebounds to lead the Clippers in the loss.
Tyson, Keegan Liebelt and Brandon McGurkin each played 40 minutes and Jonathan Roberts got just a seven second break. Slanblaytee Kaye played 39 1/2 minutes but fouled out late in the game. Brandon Logan replaced him and played 39 seconds total. Roberts scored 14 points and Kaye scored 17 with eight boards and seven assists a game after his triple-double against Grays Harbor.
The Clippers fell to 1-5 in the NWAACC West and 1-13 overall. Centralia improved to 2-11.
Women’s basketball
| Centralia 71, SPSCC 64 – Box score | |||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centralia (4-1 NWAACC West, 8-7 overall) | 23 | 48 | 71 |
| SPSCC (2-4 NWAACC West, 3-12 overall) | 28 | 36 | 64 |
| SPSCC leader: LaKeisha Anger – 15 points |
LaKeisha Anger scored 15 points with 13 rebounds and Maria Jesse and Wakeena De La Cruz each chipped in 14 points but Centralia hit seven 3-pointers in the second half to erase a five point halftime deficit and take home a 71-64 win.
Ashley Stancil added 13 points for the Clippers in the loss. Karina Gee scored 25 points on 7-of-10 shooting from behind the arc for the Trailblazers.
The Clippers fell to 2-4 in the NWAACC West and 3-12 overall.
Boys basketball
| Olympia 61, Central Kitsap 54 | |||||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Kitsap | 15 | 14 | 11 | 14 | 54 |
| Olympia | 11 | 22 | 15 | 13 | 61 |
| OLY leader: Mitch Fettig – 16 points |
| Timberline 45, North Thurston 42 | |||||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Timberline | 8 | 16 | 11 | 9 | 45 |
| North Thurston | 11 | 6 | 13 | 12 | 42 |
| TIM leader: Donaven Dorsey – 16 points NT leader: David Marrero – 13 points |
Girls basketball
| Central Kitsap 59, Olympia 52 | |||||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Kitsap | 11 | 19 | 12 | 10 | 52 |
| Olympia | 23 | 9 | 15 | 12 | 59 |
| OLY leader: Laura Snodgrass – 15 points |
| Timberline 59, N. Thurston 23 – Photos | |||||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Thurston | 5 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 23 |
| Timberline | 18 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 59 |
| NT leader: Emma Baldwin – 5 points TIM leader: Russell, Bowen – 14 points |
Today (1/15): Rams Battle Blazers, Oly Hosts Central Kitsap; SPSCC Doubleheader
Oly’s Khalil Matheney
Boys basketball
Timberline @ North Thurston – North Thurston HS – 7:00 PM
Olympia vs. Central Kitsap – Olympia HS – 7:00 PM
The crosstown Lacey rivalry heats up tonight when Timberline travels to North Thurston for a 3A Narrows League matchup. Though the two teams seem like they are on different levels, the two teams are actually separated by just a half game in the league standings and are fighting for third or fourth place in league.
Olympia and Central Kitsap each have just one 4A Narrows League win and are both coming off of games against Bellarmine. Last Wednesday, Central Kitsap picked up their first win of the league season with a 52-41 win over the Lions while the Bears got spanked by the Lions 54-35 on Friday.
Girls basketball
North Thurston @ Timberline – Timberline HS – 7:00 PM
North Thurston heads to Mullen Road to take on Timberline tonight with just a half game separating the two teams in the 3A Narrows League standings. The Blazers are 3-1 and tied with Lincoln for second place while the Rams are just behind them at 3-2.
Men’s and women’s basketball
Women: SPSCC vs. Centralia – SPSCC Gym – 6:00 PM
Men: SPSCC vs. Centralia – SPSCC Gym – 8:00 PM
The South Puget Sound basketball teams continue their busy week when they host Centralia in doubleheader action at the SPSCC Gym.
The South Puget Sound women knocked off Grays Harbor on Monday night to move to 2-3 in the NWAACC West thanks to double-digit scoring from four Clippers. Meanwhile, the Centralia women come into the game at 3-1 in the NWAACC West and are coming off of their first league loss, a 55-48 defeat at Highline on Monday.
It has been a struggle for both the SPSCC and Centralia men this season with just two wins between the two programs. The Clippers are 1-4 in the NWAACC West while Centralia is 1-3. Northwest Christian’s Zach Carras is on the Centralia roster, but has played in only five games and not since January 2nd. He is averaging 18 points in the games that he played.
Tuesday Scores: Cougs Upset Bearcats; Hawks Sweep T-Birds; Navs, Eagles Earn Wins
Boys basketball
| Capital 65, WF West 61 | |||||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WF West (4-1 2A EvCo) | 17 | 17 | 8 | 19 | 61 |
| Capital (2-3 2A EvCo) | 11 | 23 | 15 | 16 | 65 |
| CAP leader: Travis Miller – 28 points |
| Northwest Christian 60 (3-3 2B Pacific), Raymond 31 (3-3 2B Pacific) |
| NWC leader: Austin Koukal – 27 points |
| River Ridge 61, Tumwater 54 |
| RR: 4-2 2A EvCo – TUM: 2-3 2A EvCo |
| Pope John Paul II 47, Firm Foundation 39 |
Girls basketball
| River Ridge 68, Tumwater 32 | |||||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tumwater (1-4 2A EvCo) | 6 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 32 |
| River Ridge (4-2 2A EvCo) | 23 | 16 | 23 | 6 | 68 |
| TUM leader: Alyssa Gilchrist – 13 points RR leader: Schultz, McGill – 18 points |
| WF West 68, Capital 17 |
| WFW: 5-0 2A EvCo – CAP: 1-4 2A EvCo |
Today (1/14): Hawks Travel to Tumwater With Third Place on the Line
Boys basketball
Pope John Paul II vs. Firm Foundation – St. Michael’s – 7:00 PM
Capital vs. WF West – Capital HS – 7:30 PM
River Ridge @ Tumwater – Tumwater HS – 7:30 PM
A pair of 2A EvCo games highlight the schedule tonight when Capital hosts WF West and River Ridge travels to Tumwater.
WF West is tied with Centralia for first place in the conference at 4-0 while Capital has struggled and sits at 1-3. Meanwhile, Tumwater (2-2) is a half game back of River Ridge (3-2) for third place. Both games tip at 7:30 PM.
Girls basketball
Tumwater @ River Ridge – River Ridge HS – 7:30 PM
Monday Scores: Clippers Women Eek One Out; Kaye Posts Triple-Double; Wolves Whomp Climbers
Women’s basketball
| SPSCC 61, Grays Harbor 57 – Box score | |||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grays Harbor (0-4 NWAACC West, 2-10 overall) | 31 | 26 | 57 |
| SPSCC (2-3 NWAACC West, 3-11 overall) | 33 | 28 | 61 |
| SPSCC leader: Maria Jesse – 17 points |
LaKeisha Anger and Sofia Guerra each notched double-doubles and Maria Jesse scored a game high 17 points to lead SPSCC to a 61-57 win over Grays Harbor at the SPSCC Gym. Guerra scored 14 points with 13 rebounds and Anger added 14 points and 12 boards.
Two points separated the two teams as late as 51 seconds left but SPSCC scored extended their lead to 61-55 with 14 seconds left to close out the game. South Puget Sound shot 48% in the second half and held Grays Harbor to just 29% shooting in the final 20 minutes to pick up the win.
The Clippers moved to 2-3 in the NWAACC West and 3-11 overall while Grays Harbor dropped to 0-4 in the West and have lost eight straight games.
Men’s basketball
| Grays Harbor 77, SPSCC 75 – Box score | |||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grays Harbor | 37 | 40 | 77 |
| SPSCC | 31 | 44 | 75 |
| SPSCC leader: Slanblaytee Kaye – 23 points |
Slanblaytee Kaye scored 23 points, pulled down 14 rebounds and dished out 13 assists but his triple-double wasn’t enough to lead vastly undermanned SPSCC to a win, falling 77-75 to Grays Harbor.
According to the box score, the Clippers played just six players. Four of them went all 40 minutes, Brandon McGurkin played 39 1/2 minutes and Brandon Logan played 30 seconds. Despite five of their players playing all but 30 seconds of the game, the Clippers played stronger in the second half scoring 44 points with seven 3-pointers. But they were killed by their free throw shooting knocking down just 13-of-29 attempts.
Keegan Liebelt scored 18 points on six 3-pointers, River Ridge grad Jonathan Roberts added 13 points and Brian Tyson notched a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The Clippers fell to 1-4 in the NWAACC West and 1-11 overall.
Girls basketball
| Black Hills 72, Shelton 21 | |||||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Hills (11-2 overall) | 21 | 29 | 12 | 10 | 72 |
| Shelton (2-7 overall) | 3 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 21 |
| BH leader: T. Sauls, Smothers – 15 points |
Today (1/13): Clippers Host Chokers in Monday Doubleheader
Men’s and women’s basketball
SPSCC women vs. Grays Harbor – SPSCC Gym – 6:00 PM
SPSCC men vs. Grays Harbor – SPSCC Gym – 8:00 PM
It has been a struggle for the South Puget Sound basketball teams this season with just three wins between the two programs, but the women are much improved over the last couple seasons and the men have played hard despite defections and injuries and both teams have a good chance at wins tonight when they host Grays Harbor in doubleheader action beginning at 6:00 PM.
The SPSCC women are just 2-11 this season but have been competitive and have found a couple of solid players. Maria Jesse, a transfer from Saint Martin’s, leads the Clippers with 14.2 points per game and pulls down 7.2 rebounds per game including a 23 point, 16 rebound outburst in a win over Green River last Saturday. Sofia Guerra, a 2010 graduate of College Park High School in Pleasant Hills, California, is chipping in 12.2 points per game in her freshman season and Tumwater’s LaKeisha Anger is putting up 12 points and eight rebounds per game.
The men have just one win to their credit this season and head coach Aaron Landon is having to deal with a lot of adversity in his first season in Olympia. The Clippers lost guard Austin Bonds for the season when he broke his wrist on Saturday night. Unfortunately, the Clippers have played just seven players over their last three games and without Bonds, they might be limited to just six players tonight. Brian Tyson leads the Clippers with 15 points per game.
The women and men face Grays Harbor programs that haven’t fared much better this season. The Chokers are a combined 0-6 in the NWAACC West this season.
Oly Sports 