Lady Mules maintain unbeaten streak

The Wahkiakum Mules girls basketball team won three more games and found themselves in first place in the WIAA ranking system for 2B teams this week.

Last Wednesday, the Lady Mules beat a high energy Adna team that struggled to score 70-31.

Paige Mace led scorers with 16 points. She also had five steals. Macie Elliott added 13 points, 10 rebounds, and five steals. Ellie Leitz scored 13 points. Jansi Merz had nine points and seven rebounds. Eighth grader Miya Kerstetter contributed five points. Kimberlee Watkins had four points and eight rebounds. Arrow Rose and Mckensi Fluckiger added three points apiece, and Charlie Ashe and Emmie Niemela had two each. Ashe also had five assists.

Adna 8 7 11 5 --31

Lady Mules 24 12 16 18 --70

The team continued their winning streak in Morton White Pass, beating the Timberwolves 74-40.

"Defensively, early, we struggled a bit," Coach Rob Garrett said. "We came out a little casual, a little flat. We adjusted well in the second half. They are doing a good job of moving the ball."

Elliott led the team with 21 points, six assists and five steals. Merz had a double double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Ashe scored 11 points. Fluckiger added seven. Mace had six points and five assists. Leitz contributed six points. K. Watkins had four and E. Niemela had three.

Lady Mules 24 21 24 5 --74

Timberwolves 13 8 6 13 --40

At home on Saturday, playing in the John C. Thomas Middle School gym, the Lady Mules remained unchallenged, beating Rainier 82-46.

"I thought it was an awesome all around game," Coach Garrett said. "A lot of people are doing really cool things right now, being super unselfish. Paige had a lot of great passes. Charlie had a phenomenal game, going to the basket and being under control. Jansi had another great game, finished really well, really nice to see her get there. Ellie was sky high for rebounds. Macie's shot was on point tonight. It looked really smooth. Everybody is buying into doing 'my job,' and not doing too much. It's not 'on me' it's 'on us.' It showed tonight. They are getting that concept."

"We adjusted well throughout the game," he added. "I thought we got better and better throughout the game, defensively, on what we wanted to do. That's a coach's dream, to get better every game, throughout the game."

Merz and E. Leitz both scored 17 points and pulled down nine boards. Elliott had 16 points. Ashe added 14 points and six assists. K. Watkins had four points and nine rebounds. Niemela, Kerstetter, Mace and Fluckiger had three points each, and Destiny Curl sank a shot for two more.

Mountaineers 4 14 13 15 --46

Lady Mules 19 16 26 21 --82

"They are just rankings," Coach Garrett said about the ranking. "It's early, we've got a long way to go. It doesn't guarantee a gold ball. We'll be in that top four ranking most likely if we do what we should do. It's just about getting over there and taking care of business."