Panther girls obtain first league win

Bumps, bruises and weary legs turned into two hard fought victories for the Washougal High School girls basketball team. The Panthers kicked off league play by beating Ridgefield 58-43 Friday, in Washougal. RaeAnn Allen netted 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Alyssa Blankenship added 15 points, five rebounds and four steals. Megan Sharp racked up 12 steals to go with eight points. “It was a commanding win for us. Our girls are starting to get back in the groove and confidence is on the rise,” said head coach Brian Oberg. “I still feel like the second and third seeds in our league are wide open. Getting an early win like this is very helpful in the big picture. We still need to keep working hard every day, but this was a great way to get league started.” Allen and Haley Briggs took turns defending Ridgefield’s Shannon Boyle, who scored 21 points for the Spudders. At one point, Briggs drew a charge against Boyle that really energized the Panther jungle gym. Briggs also scored seven points. “Not many people are willing to step into [Boyle] with her size and strength coming at you,” Oberg said. The coach said Allen had her best performance of the season, so far. She was elevating and hitting her mid-range jumpers, which opened up the perimeter for the Panthers. Crystal Chase contributed nine points from passes back to the outside. The Washougal girls went right back to work Saturday, and defeated Mountain View 61-40. Blankenship led with 13 points and Chase added 11. Allen and Briggs earned seven, Sharp scored six, Brooke Croeni, Mackenzie Pfeifer and Jolynn Wenick netted five, and Sierra Carroll had two. “Every player scored for us,” Oberg said. “That was huge on a night where anytime we could have run out of gas.” Pfeifer came off the bench to re-energize the Panthers when they started to look a bit tired. She scored five points and grabbed six rebounds. Blankenship added nine rebounds. The Washougal girls host defending state champion Mark Morris Friday. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. The Monarchs suffered their first loss in 28 games to Skyview last week, but bounced back by beating Hockinson by 46 points. “Needless to say, we have our work cut out for us this week to what looks to be a rejuvenated Monarch team,” Oberg said. Washougal boys succeed in Chehalis An offensive outburst propelled the Panther boys team to a 66-52 victory Jan. 7 at W.F. West High School, in Chehalis. Noah Prangley delivered 23 points and Austin Tran added 17. Patrick Jones scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds. Ryan Taylor earned seven points and four rebounds. Spencer Adams had six points and five rebounds. “Best game of the year for us,” said head coach Malcolm Estes. “We led from start to finish.” Washougal outscored W.F. West 37-28 in the second half. The Panthers led by as many as 20 points in the fourth quarter. The Washougal boys couldn’t keep the momentum going at Ridgefield Friday. The Spudders utilized a 26-10 fourth quarter to beat the Panthers 64-52. Tran scored 19 points for Washougal, Prangley added 10 and Jones and Adams each netted nine. Prangley and Jones both grabbed six rebounds. The Washougal boys play at Mark Morris Thursday. The game starts at 7 p.m.

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