Wahluke girls defeat River View

MATTAWA - Wahluke High won one of three girls basketball game last week and missed on another after a near-miracle comeback.

The Warriors defeated River View, 52-47, and fell to Kiona-Benton, 65-26, and Warden, 52-50.

The Warden game was nearly a miracle win. The Warriors were down by 20 points with 3:30 to play and caught fire.

"The girls decided that they had given Warden enough of a head start, and we started to play," coach Jeff Ahmann said.

The Warriors doubled their effort on the full court press, causing Warden to get flustered into turnovers and missed shots. The Warriors turned those missed shots and turnovers into scores.

A missed free throw by Warden and a quick timeout after a Warrior rebound left Wahluke down by two points with six seconds to go. Wahluke was unable to score, and the ball went to Warden with one second on the clock.

Marleny Garcia led the scoring with 19 points, and Lily Ramirez scored 15. Maripas Olivares had 6, Tanya Mendez 4 and Chabely Diaz 6.

"After our comeback on Tuesday, the coaches were hoping that the girls were understanding what it takes to play our best, and after the first half at Ki-Be, it looked like we did," Ahmann said.

Ki-Be led 19-15.

It was a completely different game in the second half. Ki-Be's leading scorer, Bailey Schroeder, scored 18 points, and Wahluke went dead.

Garcia had eight points, Olivares and Lilly Ramirez six each.

The River View game stayed as close as it could in the first half, with both teams playing solid defense and holding each other to a 17-17 tie.

Wahluke maintained a slim lead in the fourth quarter. River View failed to convert late free throws, and Wahluke did to hold on.

Garcia led all scorers with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Maripas Olivares added 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Lily Ramirez had 13 point.