Prep roundup: North Thurston’s undefeated record was in jeopardy; Wilson raced past Stadium; freshman has another huge night for Annie Wright

BOYS BASKETBALL

Top Performer: Clayton Christian, North Thurston

Scored 31 points in 74-66 win over Peninsula

No. 6 North Thurston 74, Peninsula 66: Clay Christian scored a season-high 31 points on 12 of 16 shooting as the Rams pulled away in the second half to keep their record unblemished.

“It was a close game all the way through,” North Thurston coach Tim Brown said. “We started to pull away right at the end of the third quarter.”

Peninsula actually had a one-point lead at halftime in the 3A South Sound Conference matchup, with Elijah McLaughlin and Sam Miller leading the Seahawks (8-5), finishing with 15 points each.

But them Christian continued to work as North Thurston took a seven-point lead into the final period and held on from there to improve to 12-0.

“Tim TenKley did a really good job feeding the ball to Clay,” Brown said. “He really played an all-around good game.”

Jeremy Spencer added 17 points and Gunner Nielson scored 12 for North Thurston.

No. 3 Lincoln 75, Lakes 46: The Abes imposed their will on the Lancers to win their 13th game of the season and remain undefeated.

Emmett Linton led all scorers with 22 points for Lincoln, while Daeshawn Wayne led Lakes with 12.

“They’re undefeated for a reason,” Lakes coach Jordan Barnes said. “Aside from the talent, they are all just very smart with the basketball. For us, it’s a great opportunity to take in and take positives away from a state champion-caliber opponent like Lincoln.”

The Lancers actually held a one-point lead after the first quarter. But that didn’t last.

Lincoln outscored Lakes 21-11 in the second quarter and continued to pull away in the second half as Linton, Le'Zjon Bonds (18 points) and Willie Thomas (15 points) were too much.

No. 10 Spanaway Lake 81, Bethel 54: Jordan Garner scored 19 points, Isaiah Turner had 17 and Divante Mofitt added 15 and the Sentinels rebounded from back-to-back losses last week against Lincoln and Wilson to get back in the win column.

And they did it by fixing what went wrong in those two games: rebounding.

“We got to protect the ball a little better,” Bethel assistant coach Jack Murrey said. “We let them get too many offensive rebounds which ended up being the defining factor and let them stretch their lead.”

Spanaway Lake (10-2) jumped to a 23-14 lead after the first quarter and led by 17 at halftime. Ja’Ontay Foster scored 13 points.

Trenton Weseman led Bethel with 11 points and Alfese Sokimi scored 10.

No. 5 Wilson 90, Stadium 36: This one got out of hand in a hurry.

And for the second time this season, the Rams cruised past the Tigers, this time jumping all over Stadium in the first quarter (taking a 34-5 lead). Wilson led 58-13 at halftime.

UConn signee Emmitt Matthews Jr. led the way with 25 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots. Kiwanis Thomas III scored 14 points and Daniel Santana had 11 as Wilson (11-2) won its sixth consecutive game.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Top Performer: Julianna Walker, Annie Wright

Scored 43 points in 60-53 win over Overlake

Muckleshoot 48, Tacoma Baptist 44: When it came down to their last chance to come back in a close game the Crusaders struggled to convert as the Kings held on to win.

“With a minute left we were down by six,” Tacoma Baptist coach Jen Brooks said. “We still had a chance.”

The Kings had managed to build up that narrow lead by outscoring the Crusaders 11-8 in the first quarter and 15-14 in the third. The Crusaders put on a full court press to make up that lost ground but still came short.

“We were stealing, but we couldn’t got those points on offense,” Brooks said. “The game changer was converting on steals at the end.”

Annie Wright 60, Overlake 53: The Gators edged the Owls behind another stunning performance by Julianna Walker, who had a game high 43 points.

Annie Wright (9-2; 8-1) outscored Overlake 21-3 in the first quarter and never looked back.

Now Annie Wright just trails Seattle Academy (6-3; 6-0) in the 1A Emerald City League standings. It plays Bear Creek next before playing Seattle Academy on Jan. 23.

Tumwater 49, Rochester 45: The Thunderbirds are finding their momentum. They beat the Warriors for their third win their past four games.

Sophia Koelsch led them with 16 points, while Maddie Fields had 13. The Thunderbirds took the lead for good in the third quarter

“The girls are playing really hard,” Tumwater coach Robin Johnson said. “We had some girls hit some really good outside shots that gave us confidence, and we were able to get the win.”

Shelton 73, Yelm 54: The Highclimbers were able to edge the Tornados who struggled to keep up with the pace of the game.

“We didn’t really match their speed and intensity in that first quarter,” Yelm coach Russ Riches. “They hit us pretty hard in the transition game.”

That first quarter saw the Highclimbers (10-3; 5-2 3A SSC) outscore the Tornados 21-5.

“They were really streaky right away. They came out of the gates really hot and heavy,” Riches said. “Their post Kayla Gairnes scored all but two of her points in the first half.”

Gairnes would finish the game with a team-high 17 points that the Tornados had a hard time stopping.

“We really didn’t match up with her like we need to early on,” Riches said. “They definitely took control of the game. No matter what we were doing, they were scoring.”

Maddie Plevyak led Yelm (7-7; 3-5) with 18 points and Kaitlin Jewell had 16 points.

Gig Harbor 76, Capital 18: How have the Tides responded after losing three consecutive games?

Brynna Maxwell scored 21 points and Maddie Willett added 20 as Gig Harbor won its second straight in convincing fashion, taking a 42-6 lead at halftime.

Gig Harbor (8-4; 6-1 3A SSC) lost to 4A No. 3 Kentridge, 3A No. 5 Snohomish, 1A No. 1 Lynden Christian and then Timberline, but has bounced back with offense its past two games, scoring at least 75 for the second consecutive game.

It plays North Thurston on Friday before a matchup with 3A No. 10 Garfield on Saturday in the Assist for Life Fight Cancer Basketball Classic at Wilson High School.

This story was originally published January 11, 2018 at 5:15 AM with the headline "Prep roundup: North Thurston’s undefeated record was in jeopardy; Wilson raced past Stadium; freshman has another huge night for Annie Wright."