Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Mule Esther Bouts takes a free throw. The Lady Mules had their highest scoring game of the season beating the Oakville Acorns 58-42. The Acorns out scored the Mules in the 3rd quarter and were within 6 points in the 4th quarter but the Lady Mules were able to hold the Acorns off and take the win
Naselle guard, Brianna Johnson, fights the Viking triple team as she heads toward the basket to attempt a lay-up in late first half action against Willapa Valley on Monday night in Naselle
Naselle junior forward Mylee Dunagan attempts to wrestle the ball from two Willapa Valley defenders in early first quarter action on Monday night in Naselle. Photo#2 Naselle captain Aubrey Katyryniuk gives a frustrated stare at the scoreboard late in the fourth quarter. The Comets would lose a tough, physical, defensive 1b Coastal league battle against the Vikings 44-29 at Naselle High School.Mylee Dunagan played stellar defense and scored five points for the Comets. Aubrey Katyryniuk led all Comets, scoring ten points in a losing effort to Willapa Valley
Comet forward, Brooke Davis breaks through the Viking defense as she attempts a lay-up in the first half on Monday night.
Junior Comet, Mallory Helvey, looks for an open Comet to pass to in the second half on Monday night at Naselle High School.
The girls basketball season is steaming along, and Wahkiakum and Naselle both have teams competing to try and make it to the 1B state playoffs this year.
Wahkiakum
The Mules have had mixed results this season but have more wins than losses, and their overall record currently stands at 8-6. Though the overall record is just above .500, the Mules have played some of their best basketball in their conference games.
Wahkiakum has a 6-1 conference record, sufficient to see them in second place in the 1B Columbia Valley Conference ahead of their Jan. 28 matchup with the Washington School for the Deaf (WSD). The result of that contest is not known at the time of press, but Wahkiakum did beat WSD 54-17 in their previous matchup on Dec. 19.
Despite a solid conference ranking, Wahkiakum is still in the middle of the pack in the state 1B rankings. Of the 70 teams in Washington Interscholastic Activities Association's (WIAA) 1B rankings, Wahkiakum is ranked 33rd. While climbing the rankings would be nice, the only way to do that is with results, and the Mules are building momentum on the back of a three-game win streak.
After a tough loss to conference-leading Pe Ell on Jan. 9, and losing to Morton-White Pass High School in a non-conference game Jan. 13, the Mules have rebounded. Wahkiakum got back to winning ways against Winlock on Jan. 17, and then dominated Three Rivers Christian in a 45-5 win on Jan. 21.
The third win in their win streak came against conference opponent Oakville, who they beat 58-42 in a home game on Jan. 23. It was a high-octane performance, with the Mules notching a season-high for points scored in the game. Not only was it the third win in a row for the Mules, but it also snapped an unsavory three-game home losing streak.
The Mules will look to keep the momentum going into their final slate of games.
The Comets will be looking to bounce back after a smarting 44-29 loss to Willapa Valley on Jan. 27. It was always going to be a tough matchup for Naselle, as the Vikings had beaten the Comets in their previous matchup this season 45-41 on Dec. 19.
More than a month later, the game proved just as challenging as the Comets were held to just three points in the opening quarter. Despite the sluggish start to the game, the Comets sprung to life in the second, with Aubrey Katyryniuk, Mylee Dunagan, Brianna Johnson, and Mallory Helvey all hitting threes en route to 14 points in the quarter for Naselle.
Naselle's captain, Katyryniuk, notched the most points in the game for the Comets, scoring 10. Seven of those points came in the fourth quarter, but unfortunately, shots weren't falling for the rest of the team, and those were the only points scored in the final period.
After the loss, Naselle is now the third-ranked team in the Coastal 1B League behind Willapa Valley and Taholah. Naselle has a league record of 5-3 and an overall record of 9-7, narrowly behind Willapa Valley, whose record in the league is slightly better at 5-2 but a worse overall record at 8-8. Both teams trail Taholah, who holds down the number one spot with a 6-1 league record, though the one loss was to Naselle on Dec. 13.
With only two games remaining on the schedule, the Comets will hope to end the regular season on a high note to give themselves the best chance at the postseason.
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