Clatskanie girls tune up for playoffs

Following its 41-27 loss on the road to Knappa on Feb. 11, the Clatskanie High School girls basketball team leveled Aloha’s Faith Bible Christian 53-21 last Saturday, Feb. 15. Clatskanie took a sizeable 24-12 lead going into halftime and put the game out of reach in the third quarter, outscoring Faith Bible Christian 21-7. The Tigers were led by sophomore Lacey Willis, who scored 18 points on 8 of 13 shooting from the field. Willis also led the Tigers in deflections and steals with seven each. While scoring 15 points, junior Joey Sizemore led the team with 10 assists and had the only two blocks of the game for Clatskanie.

The Tigers had their final regular season game Monday, defeating Portland’s Columbia Christian 52-22 at home. Leading by only four points going into the locker room at halftime, the Tigers came out firing in the third quarter, blanking the Knights and extending the lead to 19 entering the fourth quarter. Sizemore achieved a rare “five-stat sweep” for Clatskanie, leading the team in points with 19, rebounds with nine, assists with six, blocks with five, and steals with five. Junior Mya Jensen added 14 points and four steals for Clatskanie, while Willis scored 11 points, sophomore Payton Taylor added four points and sophomore Olivia George contributed four points while co-leading the team with Sizemore in steals with five. Clatskanie (19-5) finished its regular season with a 12-2 record in 2A Northwest League play. The girls’ postseason begins Thursday, Feb. 20 at 6 p.m. inside the Clatskanie High School gym, where they will take on Nestucca of Cloverdale. “This is a league play off game,” said Coach Dawn Warren. “We are currently seeded #2 in (the) league. If we win against Nestucca, we play Knappa for the #1 and #2 seed to state. If we lose, we play the winner of the #4 and #5 game to see who gets (the) third seed to state.”