Lady Mules dump Vikes, lose to Ducks

The Lady Mules were ready to rumble Friday night in Cathlamet. With a solid team effort, they sent Mossyrock home with a loss in what was a very physical game. The Vikings had a slim lead at the half, but the Mules came out of the locker room at the break focused and ready to win. They outscored Mossyrock 25-14 in the final 16 minutes, ultimately winning the game 43-33.

“I thought the girls did a good job,” said Coach Rob Garrett. “In the first half, Mossyrock played a better game. Our girls did a good job staying relaxed, keeping it close so we could make adjustments in the second half. We put a lot more pressure on Autumn Moorcroft. She had most of their points at half time. We double-teamed her front and back. Really shut her down in the second half, which was awesome. Tonight the girls showed that they are able to start pushing the ball up the court and make good decisions. Hit the open person if it’s there and if it’s not, bring it back out and set it up.”

Several players contributed to the score. Sam Boyce scored nine, Kaylee Bryant scored eight, Tori Wegdahl scored seven, Baylee Olsen and Haylee Budd each contributed six, Maya Stanley had five and Hailey Quigley scored two. Hayley Budd had nine rebounds, Sam Boyce pulled down seven and Tori Wegdahl had six.

The coach couldn’t say enough about their hard work tonight. “Proud of their focus. Everybody knew exactly where they needed to be. Really proud of their focus. All around great team effort. Great game for us, great win in league."

The Lady Mules fell to Toutle Lake in a disappointing loss, 47-27, Saturday night at home.

The Ducks had a minor lead at the half, 18-13; the Mules staying close, implementing their full court press. Despite their defensive efforts, it was simply a tough night at the rim. Only one in four shots went in and they were outrebounded 33-22.

“Makes it hard to win when you are shooting 23 percent and have only five assists,” said Coach Garrett. “Toutle had a good game. We didn’t come out to play. We didn’t have any intensity, any passion. You don’t always know the nights where you’re going to shoot well. But if that’s happening you got to be able to learn to take it to the rack and create contact and be able to go to the line. Nine free throws are not enough. We are scared of contact and we don’t want to get hit. Makes it tough to win a game when you play with that much lack of intensity.”

Olsen led the scoring with 11 points. Wegdahl, Boyce and Bryant all had four, Quigley scored two and Jessica Thomas and Stanley had one each.

Above: Mule Baylee Olsen puts up a jump shot over the Mossyrock defense. Below: A Mossyrock player gives a hip check to Mule Maya Stanley. Photos by Diana Zimmerman.