State 2B girls: St. George’s crushes Walla Walla valley to advance to quarters

The St. George’s Dragons relied on their veteran leader to advance to the second round of the girls State 2B tournament.

Senior Hailey Higashi poured in 22 points and made 6 of 12 3-pointers to lead the Dragons to a dominating 48-20 victory over the Walla Walla Valley Academy Knights.

The Dragons will play fifth-seeded Ilwaco today at 3:45 p.m. in the quarterfinals.

The Dragons opened the game up in the second quarter, outscoring the Knights 13-5.

The Knights had a rough day shooting the ball, making just eight total field goals for the game and just two in the second half. The Knights missed all six of their 3-point attempts.

The Dragons, meanwhile, shot 41.9 percent from the field and made seven of their 21 3-point attempts.

Higashi was the only Dragon to score in double figures. Shayla Melendez chipped in nine points.

The cold night of shooting meant no player for the Knights scored in double figures. Titi Graham’s eight points made her the team leader.

Davenport 46 Napavine 31: The Gorillas used tight defense in a turnover-plagued game to comfortably beat the Tigers.

The Gorillas advanced to the quarterfinals, where they will face the eighth-ranked Colfax Bulldogs today at 5:30 p.m. The Gorillas dropped a 68-46 decision to Colfax on Jan. 14.

Davenport had lost its previous two games and seemingly backed into the state tournament.

But a double-double from Madison Abbott paced the seventh-ranked Gorillas. Abbott finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Eleven of her rebounds came on defense.

Sydney Abbott finished with a team-high 13 points, while Emma Johnson had 11 for Davenport.

The sloppy game featured 21 turnovers from both sides. Davenport’s Sydney Abbott committed ten of her team’s turnovers.

White Swan 61 Raymond 54: The Cougars benefitted from a hot start and held off the Gulls. The Cougars will play Kalama tonight in the quarterfinals at 7:15 p.m.

The Cougars scored the game’s first nine points and held a 14-2 lead thanks in large part to its defense. The Cougars pressed the Gulls at halfcourt, frustrating the Raymond offense.

But the Gulls woke up and trailed just 16-14 toward the end of the first quarter. They trailed 26-24 in the second quarter before White Swan scored the last ten points of the half to take a 36-24 lead into the break.

Raymond kept pace and got within three points in the fourth quarter. They trailed by four late but a 3-pointer by Jessica Cheney sealed it for White Swan.

Cheney led the way for White Swan with 23 points. Ashley Anderson chipped in 16.

Mikayla Collins had a game-high 27 points for Raymond. Collins also grabbed 23 rebounds.

Dayton 39 Mabton 36: In the late game, the Bulldogs used an inspired fourth quarter and finally solved the Vikings’ aggressive defense for a come-from-behind win.

The top-ranked Bulldogs move on to play Wahkiakum in tonight’s 9:00 p.m. quarterfinal.

Mabton frustrated Dayton throughout the game and held a commanding 32-22 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

But the Bulldogs decided to beat the Vikings at their own game and turned up the heat on defense, outscoring the Vikings 17-4 in the final quarter.

Jenna Phillips led the way for Dayton with 17 points. Sidney Andrews had 16.