Lady Mules win 2, move to semifinal

The Wahkiakum Lady Mules opened the SW Washington Class 2B basketball tournament with two wins and moved into a semifinal game against Napavine last night (Wednesday) after The Eagle had gone to press.

The loser of that semifinal game plays tonight (Thursday), 8 p.m., in Rochester against the winner of the Mossyrock-Pe Ell game played Wednesday night. The winner of that game advances to the state tournament and plays Saturday, 10 a.m., Chehalis, for third and fourth places.

The winner of the semifinal advances to state and plays the winner of the Toutle Lake-NW Christian semifinal for first and second places at 2 p.m. in Chehalis.

The Mules opened district play with a 51-42 win over the White Pass Panthers on February 15.

The teams played evenly for three quarters, with the Mules leading 37-36 at the end of the third quarter. They outscored the Panthers 14-6 in the final period.

"It was a great way to start district," said Mule Coach Tiffany Niemeyer. "Shelby Felton played a great defensive game tonight. She had to guard their toughest player and she did a great job.

"Brianne Helms came off the bench and gave us great minutes offensively and defensively; she was able to give Shelby a breather, and we didn't lose anything defensively."

Halie Boyce led the Mule scoring with 14 points. Jordyn Wirkkala scored 12, Evelyn Clark eight, B. Helms five, Ashley Helms four, Brieanna Olsen three, Felton and Rebecka Patching two each and Blaine Land one.

Clark had 12 rebounds, Wirkkala and A. Helms 11 each, Land seven, Boyce six and Felton four. Clark made four steals; A. Helms had three, and Wirkkala and Boyce two each. Felton made three assists, and Boyce, A. Helms, Olsen and Wirkkala each made two.

The Mules made 21 of 68 shots, 31 percent, and five of 10 free throws, 50 percent.

Mikel Elliott led the Panthers with 18 points. The Panthers made 13 of 51 shots, 25 percent, and 12 of 19 free throws, 63 percent.

The Mules followed with a 53-51 win over the Raymond Gulls last Thursday.

The Mules led 28-24 at halftime and 40-34 at the end of three quarters. The Gulls rallied in the fourth quarter, but the Mules were able to withstand the assault and preserve the win.

"This was a very intense game for us and a big win," Niemeyer commented. "The girls never gave up and showed composure down the stretch.

"Felton had a great game for us and led in rebounds, steals and assists. Olsen came off the bench and shot with confidence and contributed 10 points to the game.

"We still have room for improvement, of course, but it was nice to get win number two in districts."

Boyce led the scoring with 18 points. Wirkkala had 12, Olsen 10, Clark and Land four each, Felton three and A. Helms two.

Felton had eight rebounds; Wirkkala and Clark each had six ; Land and A. Helms each had five, and Boyce had four. Wirkkala made three steals; Olsen had two. Felton and A. Helms each had four assists, and B. Helms had two.

The Mules made 19 of 59 shots, 32 percent, and 11 of 21 free throws, 52 percent.

Raymond made18 of 49 shots, 37 percent, and 10 of 15 free throws, 67 percent.