Girls Hoops: Adna Beats Napavine, Creates Three-Way Tie Atop C2BL

1/11/24

Napavine 11 10 11 19 51
Adna 21 9 10 14 54

(Adna, WA) The gauntlet continued atop the Central 2B League for girls basketball on Thursday night as freshly off a win over Rainier, the Napavine Tigers looked to take control of the C2BL with a win over their rivals in the Adna Pirates. After a stumble a little earlier this season in a loss to Rainier, Adna was able to take control of their own destiny, but to keep control they would have to become the first 2B team to defeat Napavine this season.

Neither side could buy a basket in the opening minutes of the game despite some good looks. Finally, Adna’s offense came to life in a big way. The Pirates began to knock down numerous three-pointers with Gaby Guard leading the initial surge. It wasn’t just Guard however, as Karsyn Freeman, Danika Hallom, and Kendall Humphrey also added to the three-point barrage. Napavine was able to get their own offense going a bit with some bank shots. Dakota Hamilton knocked down a couple of jumpers as Hayden Kaut also got going. After a quarter it would be Adna leading 21-11.

Quarter number 2 was where Napavine began to make their move. Adna cooled down shooting a little bit while Napavine stayed consistent and knew what they wanted to do. The Tigers were looking to get Hayden Kaut and Keira O’Neill one-on-one opportunities in the paint while their guards stayed ready to catch and shoot. The only problem with that plan was Bailey Chapman. The Pirate sophomore was very strong defensively in the paint and was dominant on the boards as well. That made it more difficult for the Tigers to work their gameplan but they still cut the deficit down to six. However, a deep three at the buzzer from Karsyn Freeman not only earned the Adna junior the Better Homes and Gardens Takin’ it to the House Play of the Game, but it also inflated the Adna lead to nine as the Pirates led 30-21 at halftime.

To start the second half, it became Karsyn Freeman taking over for Adna while Hayden Kaut caught fire for Napavine. Those two matched baskets as we went to the 4th quarter with Adna leading 40-32. That was when the game got very interesting. Adna had all the momentum on their side as Danika Hallom began to heat up while Chapman continued to control the paint. Some turnovers however allowed Napavine to go on a big run and after a Kaut three, cut the deficit down to just three. Keira O’Neill also began to find some success in the paint for the Tigers. Adna would fight through the adversity and forced some turnovers themselves. A massive three for Karsyn Freeman and some clutch free throws for Danika Hallom was enough as Adna fended off the late surge to defeat Napavine 54-51.

Our Thorbeckes MVP of the game went to Bailey Chapman from Adna. The 6’0″ sophomore was tremendous down in the paint on both ends of the floor. Chapman helped Adna control the boards on offense and defense and was consistently affecting the Tiger shots down in the paint. Defensive dominance to go along with seven points on offense was the difference maker in a close game and Chapman was the standout on defense which earned her the MVP honors.

Karsyn Freeman would lead the Adna Pirate scoring efforts with 18 points while Danika Hallom wasn’t too far behind her with 13. Gaby Guard scored nine, all from behind the arc, while Kendall Humphrey had five and Ashlee VonMoos scored two.

For the Napavine Tigers it was a game-high 21 points for Hayden Kaut who led the way for Napavine once again. Keira O’Neill had another strong game with 13 points. Dakota Hamilton added nine for the Tigers while Jessie McCoy and Taylen Evander each scored three and Grace Gall added two.

With the win Adna moves to 14-1 and 8-1 in league play while moving into a three-way tie with Napavine and Rainier atop the C2BL. Next up for the Pirates, they will hit the road to take on the Rainier Mountaineers in what might be a league title game on Tuesday at 7pm. For Napavine, they drop to 14-2 and 7-1 in league play with a chance to get their eighth league win on Friday at 5:45pm when the Tigers host Winlock.

For more on the game check out the ESN postgame show below with our video highlights. To watch the full game replay, you can do so on the following link to the NFHS Network. (Subscription service) Watch full game replay on this link