Clatskanie girls compete for playoff seeding

The Clatskanie varsity girls basketball team found itself with its longest losing streak of the season at two games after falling 44-41 at Nestucca on Tuesday, Feb. 3. Though jumping out to a 10-3 lead to end the first quarter, the Tigers were outscored 13-6 by the Bobcats in the second and entered halftime tied at 16. Clatskanie would outscore Nestucca 19-16 in the third, but a strong fourth had the Bobcats outscoring the Tigers 12-6 to close out the game and secure the win. Clatskanie's 26 turnovers proved to be the clincher for Nestucca, as the Bobcats were able to score 16 points, compared with 10 points for the Tigers off of 12 Bobcat turnovers. The Tigers were led in all scoring categories by senior Joey Sizemore, who had 13 points, 19 rebounds, five blocks, five assists, and two steals. Juniors Olivia George and McKinsey Doyle, as well as senior Mya Jensen, all had two steals to co-lead with Sizemore. George and Jensen also had 10 points apiece in the loss.

Clatskanie would end the two-game skid three days later via a 46-32 victory over visiting Faith Bible Christian. Leading 18-15 going into halftime, the Tigers blew open the game by outscoring Faith Bible Christian 20-8 in the third quarter. Clatskanie scored 18 points off 27 Faith Bible Christian turnovers and outscored their opponent 9-2 in transition. Sizemore led the team in all categories once again, scoring 16 points, grabbing 12 rebounds, swiping six steals, and dishing out four assists. Junior Lacey Willis contributed 12 points in the victory, followed by George's nine points.

The Tigers ran their win streak to two games last Tuesday, Feb. 10, beating 49-29 at home. Gaston outscored Clatskanie 8-7 in the first quarter, but the Tigers put up 22 points to Gaston's six in the second quarter to take a comfortable 29-14 lead at halftime. Clatskanie would outscore Gaston in both the third and fourth quarters to arrive at the 20-point win. Though Gaston had 14 points off of 19 Clatskanie turnovers, the Tigers had 16 points in the paint to the Greyhounds' 10 and 10 second-chance points to Gaston's seven. Sizemore and George each scored 18 points to lead Clatskanie, and George led the team in rebounds with 16 to complete the double-double.Doyle led the team with three steals, while Sizemore led in assists with three. Sizemore and Jensen had a block apiece to lead the team, and Willis contributed 12 points in the win.

The two-game win streak would come to an end the following day courtesy of a 44-26 victory by visiting Banks. With 12 transition points to zero for its host, Banks also took advantage of 28 Clatskanie turnovers, scoring 22 points. The Tigers were only able to muster five points from 17 turnovers committed by Banks. The Braves also had 26 points in the paint to the Tigers' 12. Willis led Clatskanie in both points and rebounds with nine each, while Sizemore had a team-high seven blocks and two steals to go along with eight points and eight rebounds. George led the team in steals with three and scored seven points in the team's loss.

The Tigers would close out their regular season with a narrow 42-40 victory over Knappa at home on senior night. Though the Loggers jumped out to an 8-3 lead going into the second quarter, the Tigers outscored their guests 17-13 to trail by only one going into halftime. Knappa would outscore Clatskanie 9-8 in the third to extend its lead to two, but the Tigers would have the last laugh, outsourcing the Loggers 14-10 in the fourth to escape with the two-point victory. Knappa forced 20 Clatskanie turnovers, outscored the Tigers 18-12 in the paint, had nine second-chance points to four from Clatskanie, and had three more transition points. However, Clatskanie made seven more free throws than Knappa, and that proved to be the stat that mattered the most. Sizemore's 11 points and 11 rebounds gave the senior yet another double-double, as she, along with Jensen, co-led the team in scoring and, along with George, co-led the team in rebounds. Sizemore also had a team high two blocks, while Jense led the team in steals with two and Willis led the team in assists with four.

Clatskanie (16-8) played Knappa again on Wednesday, Feb. 18, but the results of the game were not available at the time of press, but a win by Clatskanie would have guaranteed them a first or second seed to state, while a loss would have them playing for the third seed. Following Wednesday's game, the seeding games will be played Saturday, Feb. 21, in Vernonia. The results of Wednesday and Saturday's games will appear in next week's edition of the Wahkiakum County Eagle.