Lady Mules beat Winlock, Napavine

The Wahkiakum Lady Mules traveled to Winlock for a league game last Wednesday, and despite poor shooting and a slow start, were able to pull ahead of the Cardinals in the fourth quarter and come home with a 50-40 win.

Baylee Olsen led scorers with 19 points, six rebounds, four steals and one assist. Sam Boyce added nine points, five rebounds, two steals and three assists. Tori Wegdahl had eight points, 13 rebounds, two steals and three assists. Kaylee Bryant also had eight points, 10 rebounds and one assist. Jessica Thomas added three points and three rebounds. Maya Stanley had two points, five rebounds, three steals and three assists, Tyra Elliott had one point and two rebounds.

“As far as our team goes, we didn’t play good team defense in the first half and offensively we were rushing too often instead of relying on one another,” Coach Rob Garrett said. “I thought the girls did a good job of adjusting these things in the second half. We passed the ball better and played much better defense.

"Midway through the fourth quarter it was still a close game, and we put the full court press on and got three straight steals. I was really proud of how well the girls executed, especially this early in the season. After we took a respectable lead, the girls made smart decisions and used the clock to our advantage. Baylee Olsen and Tori Wegdahl both had really big games to help us to our first league win. Not the prettiest, but we will take it."

On Friday, the Lady Mules faced Napavine at home and won 52-35.

Olsen had a double double by half time, ultimately scoring 22 and pulling down 16 rebounds. She also had three assists and seven blocks.

Bryant also had a double double with 12 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, five steals and four blocks. Boyce had eight points, three rebounds, six assists and one steal. Wegdahl scored eight and pulled down 10 rebounds. Souvenir added two points, two rebounds and one steal. Thomas had one rebound and one steal. Elliott had two rebounds and Marissa Longtain had one rebound and two assists. The Mules shot 57 percent at the line.

“I was worried coming into the game because we were short a couple people and Napavine put up 70 points against Mossyrock,” Garrett said. “However, I was impressed with all the girls. We’re a much smarter team this year. We had some really nice passes tonight and they were working as a team really well. By no means was it a perfect game, but there were a lot of good things tonight. It was fun to watch and I’m really happy.”

The Mules Entertain Morton/White Pass on Friday and head to Onalaska Saturday for an afternoon game. Junior varsity girls will play at 2:30 p.m.; JV boys at 4:30 p.m.; varsity girls at 5:45 p.m. and varsity boys at 7 p.m.

They play in a tournament in Napavine December 27 and 28.