Panthers take a bite out of bigger GSHL schools

The Washougal High School boys and girls basketball teams showed no fear against three of the bigger schools in the Greater St. Helens League. What started with a buzzer beating 57-56 victory at Prairie Dec. 1, turned into a four-game sweep for the Panther boys. Washougal defeated Mountain View 61-41 at home Wednesday. Noah Prangley and Ryan Taylor each netted 14 points. Prangley added another 18 points and seven rebounds in a 64-22 victory for the Panthers Friday, at White Salmon. The Washougal senior racked up 23 more points Monday, to lead the Panthers to a 56-39 shredding at Heritage. "We're not intimidated by any team, no matter how big the school is," Prangley said. "We don't want to stop. We just want to keep getting better and working harder." Washougal hosts Centralia tonight and goes to Fort Vancouver Thursday. The Panthers then play their first league game Monday, at Hudson's Bay. All three games start at 7 p.m. "I don't think we are playing anywhere near as good as we can, but we are playing well," said head coach Malcolm Estes. "These guys are just working hard out there and trusting each other." The Washougal girls basketball squad knocked off three 4A GSHL teams during the first week of the season. The Panthers slashed Heritage 58-34 Monday on a 19-2 finish in the fourth quarter. Alyssa Blankenship scrambled for rebounds, steals and scored 22 points. RaeAnn Allen chipped in 13 points. After the Timberwolves cut Washougal's lead to seven points going into the fourth quarter, Jolynn Wenick delivered six points in a row off rebounds. She finished with eight points in the game. "I just try to fight for the ball and get the most points at the end," Wenick said. "Play hard, play together, share the ball and play as a team." The Panthers handled White Salmon 60-49 Friday. Allen notched 23 points, Blankenship added 14, Briggs earned 11 and Wenick netted 10. Washougal took care of Mountain View 70-49 at home Wednesday. Allen got hot in the second half and finished the game with 23 points and three blocked shots. Blankenship and Briggs filled up the stats sheet. Blankenship scored 14 points, grabbed eight rebounds and snagged six steals. Briggs added 11 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and four assists. The Panthers opened the season with a 55-46 victory Dec. 1, at Evergreen. Blankenship finished with 21 points, six rebounds and six steals. Wenick added seven points and eight rebounds. Brenna Vargo nailed two 3-pointers and went 4-for-6 from the foul line to wind up with 10 points. Washougal hosts La Center Thursday and Fort Vancouver Friday. Both games begin at 7 p.m.

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