By Tyler Hergert
There were three games on Saturday to determine future seedings for Regionals and for the fifth and final team out of District 4 to clinch a spot in State. Toutle Lake and Raymond would square off in the first game of the day in a battle for the fifth spot. Later in the afternoon, Rainier and Forks would play for 3rd place, which is crucial in determining the seeding for Regionals. In the evening, Napavine and Adna would go head to head for the second time this year to see who would be crowned District 4 champs.
Toutle Lake Ducks vs Raymond Seagulls
After being one win away from the District 4 championship, Toutle Lake suddenly found themselves in the 5th place game after suffering two consecutive losses to Adna and Forks. Raymond also lost to Adna, had won three straight games, and was playing their sixth postseason game in 14 days.
In the first half, Raymond’s Kyndal Koski was on fire, making four threes in the quarter to lead Raymond to an 18-12 first-quarter lead. Koski would continue her wonderful first half with 19 points in the first half to give Raymond a 29-21 lead. The Seagulls’ defense found its rhythm in the second quarter as they held Toutle Lake to just nine points in the second. Lainey Dean led Toutle Lake with 8 first-half points.
In the second half, Raymond and Toutle Lake cracked down on defense. There was a total of 11 points scored between the two sides in the third quarter but Raymond held a 37-24 lead. In the fourth quarter, Raymond continued to hold Toutle Lake to another single-digit quarter as the Ducks were only able to manage nine points. Raymond would punch their ticket to State with a 49-33 win, despite sophomore sensation, Karsyn Freeman being held to under 10 points for the second straight game.
Kyndal Koski was our MVP as she finished with seven threes and 25 points to help Raymond defeat Toutle Lake.
Rainier Mountaineers vs Forks Spartans
Rainier was about as close as you can get to making the District 4 championship game on Tuesday but couldn’t get a shot off with 1.4 seconds left against Napavine. Rainier bounced back nicely with a 45-29 win over Raymond despite being held to just one point in the second quarter to secure a spot in State. Forks lost to Rainier 11 days ago in the quarterfinals 58-52 but won three straight games by double digits to secure their spot in State.
In the first half, Rainier had their offense going nicely as the Mountaineers had a pair of 18-point quarters to give them a comfortable 36-22 lead at the halftime break. Rainier’s Bryn Beckman had three threes in the first half while her sophomore teammate Angelica Askey had 13 points to lead the Mountaineers in scoring. Forks were led by junior, Keira Johnson who also had 13 points in the first half.
In the second half, Rainier’s defense continued to play well as they held Forks to 10 third-quarter points while scoring 10 themselves. In the fourth quarter, Rainier would outscore Forks in the fourth quarter again as they would get 3rd place in the district with a 64-47 win.
Our MVP was Bryn Beckman as she had five threes for Rainier and her excellent 17-point performance was the margin of victory for the Mountaineers.
Napavine Tigers vs Adna Pirates District 4 Girls Championship Game
For the second time this season at a neutral site, C2BL foes would go at it for the District 4 championship game on Saturday night. The atmosphere was electric and the game lived up to the hype. Napavine was riding a 20-game win streak while Adna hasn’t lost since Napavine defeated them on MLK Day at Lower Columbia College.
In the first half, Napavine took a 10-7 lead after the first quarter but both teams would use their press to create turnovers and fluster the offenses. In the second quarter, both offenses found their rhythm in the quarter with both teams getting over double digits. Napavine’s freshman star, Hayden Kaut had nine points to lead the Tigers to a 23-18 lead while Adna’s star, Karlee VonMoos had 10 in the half to lead all scorers.
In the second half, Adna would claw their way back to within two points at the end of the third quarter with Danika Hollum scoring eight points. Napavine held a 35-33 lead heading to the final stanza. Both teams went back and forth, trading baskets and the lead as the time ticked off the scoreboard. Adna would build a 43-39 lead but Napavine would take a 44-43 lead with under a minute to go as Danielle Tupuola grabbed the offensive rebound and banked it in from underneath. Adna went down the other way and found Karlee VonMoos in the post as she banked in a shot of her own to give Adna a 45-44 lead with under 30 seconds left. Napavine drove to the basket but two shots wouldn’t fall and the ball was deflected out of bounds with 9.0 seconds left giving Napavine one last chance to win the District. The Tigers had no timeouts left as they inbounded to Kaut, she drove to the free-throw line, found Morgan Hamilton behind her who split the Adna defense, and put up a floater in the lane that hit the back of the rim and fell in. The Napavine student section went into a frenzy as they thought the time had expired but Adna had called timeout. With the help of the PA announcer, Napavine coaches, and the referees, the floor was quickly cleared as the refs determined there were .6 seconds left on the clock for Adna to have one final shot. Adna’s last-second heave wouldn’t go as the Napavine fans would then be able to celebrate.
Our MVP was Hayden Kaut as her stellar play and key assist helped set up Napavine’s first District 4 title since 2011.
You can watch the entire game on the NFHS Network on-demand. Subscriptions are $11.99 per month and gives you access to the entire NFHS Network all across the country to watch the live broadcasts or any on-demand games. Go to https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/affiliates/eli-sports-network to sign-up if you don’t have a subscription or to find the on-demand replay of this game.
