Lady Mules win three straight games

The Wahkiakum Lady Mules won two of three games as they closed out the regular season this past week.

The Mules travelled to Mossyrock on January 29 and beat the Vikings, 46-44, with some solid shooting from the line in the final moments of the game.

Baylee Olsen scored 20 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Hailey Quigley followed with seven points. Tori Wegdahl, Haylee Budd and Sam Boyce all scored four, Maya Stanley had three and Kaylee Bryant and Rachel Patching each had two. Haylee Budd had six rebounds and Kaylee Bryant pulled down five.

“The girls did a good job of staying positive and motivated throughout the game,” said Coach Rob Garrett. “Although we struggled from the line for most of the game, Baylee Olsen was able hit two for two to tie it up with about 1:30 to go and then Haylee Budd stepped up and went two for two from the line as well with just under a minute to go to put us up two. Maya Stanley did a good job of handling the pressure and taking care of the ball for us. Haylee Budd had some nice plays and rebounded well for us. Hailey Quigley added seven points off the bench as well as four rebounds. Baylee Olsen really showed what she could do for us tonight. It was great to see her come out of her shell and not be scared of contact. She was driving to the bucket and working for rebounds. It seemed like every time we really needed a basket, we could get her the ball and she was able to score or get to the line and put it in from there. Overall it was a big win for us and it’s great to see the girls perform in the tight games.”

In a close game in Toutle Lake on Thursday, the Ducks managed to outscore the Lady Mules 29-23 at the half. However, the Mules gained the momentum they needed in the last eight minutes to win 52-50.

Olsen scored 16 points, Stanley had 10 and Budd scored nine. Boyce and Wegdahl each scored seven and Quigley contributed three. Wegdahl led the team in rebounds with 10, Budd pulled down five and Boyce had six rebounds as well as five assists.

“It was a really exciting game,” said Garrett. “We came out planning to shut down Woodley and then take away the inside game from everyone else, and Toutle hit their first four three pointers. So we had to quickly come out of that defense. Bailey Hockett and Sam Woodley both played great games for Toutle. I was really proud of our girls’ ability to make in-game adjustments and still execute effectively. We played a really good game overall, but our girls really turned it on in the fourth quarter. Budd had all nine of her points in the fourth. Olsen hit a deep three to put us up with one with one minute to go and then came down on the next possession and took it to the basket to put us ahead three with 40 seconds to go. We out rebounded TL by seven in the second half with Wegdahl leading the way with ten rebounds. Wegdahl hit one of two free throws with 10 seconds to go to put us up 52-50. TL went down and missed the shot and the rebound was tied up for a jump ball. It was our possession and we inbounded the ball with two seconds to go and secured the win.”

The Mules closed out the regular season Saturday with a 49-40 win over visiting Adna.

Olsen scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds. Budd tallied 10 points and seven rebounds; Boyce had eight points and five rebounds, Stanley had eight assists and five rebounds; Wegdahl grabbed 11 boards and Kaylee Bryant had five.