Bantams, Hounds split hoops doubleheader

For the final 20 minutes, it seemed that the Bantam girls simply couldn’t miss.

A torrential downpour of 3-pointers from Clarkston’s Ella Leavitt, Reese de Groot, Lexi Villavicencio, Jaelyn McCormack-Marks, Joslyn McCormack-Marks and Preslee Dempsey beginning midway through the second quarter was the difference as the Bantams flipped a one-score game into a 24-point win.

Jaelyn McCormack-Marks paced the Bantams (12-3, 5-1) with 19 points, Villavicencio sank four 3-pointers on her way to 16 points and Clarkston beat Pullman (9-6, 4-3) 68-47 in a 2A Greater Spokane League girls basketball clash on Friday in Clarkston.

The Greyhound boys (11-4, 6-1) beat the Bantams (6-9, 2-4) by a score of 73-53 in the early game of the regional rivalry doubleheader. A contest that also started close before the eventual victor ran away with it.

Here’s how the games went down:

Bantam girls unlock gameplan in second half

The first quarter of the girls game opened at a breakneck pace with more misses than makes. The Bantams and Greyhounds each made a point of crashing the boards, leading to plenty of second-chance scoring opportunities for both teams.

McCormack-Marks’ six points and a pair of 3s from Villavicencio gave Clarkston the slight 14-10 advantage after the first quarter.

Then freshman Joslyn McCormack-Marks — the younger sister of junior Jaelyn McCormack-Marks — provided a spark with a 3-point play the old fashioned way.

The freshman guard drove to the rim and forced Pullman to foul her, collecting the and-1. She sank the free throw to put Clarkston up 21-16 midway through the second quarter.

Jaelyn McCormack-Marks said watching her sister ball out as a freshman “is amazing.”

“I love how she hustles down and gets (offensive) boards and passes back out to the shooters and gets us more points every time she rebounds.”

Leavitt sank a 3 in the closing minute of the second quarter and the Bantams walked into halftime with a 10-point lead.

The Bantams emerged from the locker room with a crystal-clear vision and a sizzling sense of scoring as they opened the third quarter with a 14-3 run. The downpour of 3s commenced as de Groot, Villavicencio, Jaelyn McCormack-Marks, Joslyn McCormack-Marks and Dempsey each checked in from deep.

Clarkston coach Debbie Sobotta said that Dempsey’s three second half 3-pointers made a big difference off the bench, especially after she had missed several shots in the first quarter.

Sobotta said that Clarkston’s Aneysa Judy played a key role in sparking the Bantams’ 17-6 third quarter with her six steals.

With big-play creators off the bench in the second half, the Bantams played the level of defense that Sobotta said is instinctual on her team.

“They just came out and wanted to protect their house,” Sobotta said.

Kuhle leads resilient Greyhounds

Pullman junior guard Grace Kuhle led the Hounds with 21 points, sinking four 3-pointers and playing through foul trouble.

Taylor Darling was the second-highest Pullman scorer with seven points as the Bantams succeeded in stripping the ball and deflecting shots.

“(Clarkston’s) going to push, push and pressure to make you do things that maybe you wouldn’t normally do,” Pullman coach Angie Barbour said.

The Bantams and Hounds traded blows early on and both scored 23 points in the fourth quarter.

Barbour said that she was pleased with River Sykes’ rebounding ability and with Alexis Doumit’s 3-point shooting and steal toward the end of the game when Clarkston’s victory was all but official.

Kwon takes over for the Hound boys

The Greyhound and Bantam boys opened the game with five combined 3-pointers before Daniel Kwon and Cade Rogers broke the game open for the Hounds by crashing Clarkston passing lanes, getting steals and making fast-break layups.

Kwon’s early fast-break layup broke a 9-6 Clarkston advantage and Pullman led 19-13 after the first quarter.

The Hounds didn’t take their paws off the gas, posting 18, 15 and 21 points in the final three quarters.

Kwon finished with a game-high 24 points with 10 shots inside the arc.

Clarkston’s Isaiah Woods tallied 14 points and drilled four 3-pointers.

“It’s great to win a rivalry game against a team like Clarkston,” Kwon said. “We have a great team and, you know, we prepare well and things are clicking.”

Clarkston coach Justin Jones said that Kwon may be the best scorer in the league.

“I don’t know if it’s been fun watching him get better ... but boy, he sure has gotten better over the years,” Jones said. “The way that he can get two feet in the paint is impressive.”

Pullman coach Craig Brantner said Kwon's scoring prowess is complemented by an average of five or six assists per game.

“He's doing a great job of getting everybody involved,” Brantner said.

Bantams, Hounds have eyes on gold

After a third-place finish in the state tournament last year, Sobotta said the Bantams know what the postseason feels like.

With 64 schools in Clarkston’s division state-wide and only 12 that make State, the path to the postseason will not be easy.

“This is one of those years where we are really going to have to fight for it,” Sobotta said.

With the win over Clarkston, the Pullman boys improved to 11-4 and 6-1 in the GSL.

Kwon said he wants to help the Hounds win a state championship and that they won’t get there without “100% effort.”

“The goal is to win State,” Kwon said. “You know, it’s my senior year, and we’ve been working really hard for this.”

BOYS

PULLMAN (11-4, 6-1)

Gavyn Dealy 6 1-2 13, Cade Rogers 1 0-0 3, Daniel Kwon 10 4-5 24, Vaughn Holstad 7 1-2 18, Daniel Liaina 0 0-0 0, Brandon Brown 1 2-3 4, Owen Brannan 3 1-2 8, Ryan Ha 1 0-0 2, Evan Anderson 0 1-2 1. Totals 29 10-16 73.

CLARKSTON (6-9, 2-4)

Isaiah Woods 5 0-0 14, Lee Brown 0 0-0 0, Braxton Forsmann 4 0-0 12, Niko Ah Hi 1 0-0 2, Otis Phillips 0 0-0 0, Josh Hoffman 4 1-3 9, Chase Brown 1 0-0 2, Kendry Gimlin 3 0-0 6, Jason Rinard 3 0-0 8. Totals 21 1-3 53.

Pullman 19 18 15 21—73

Clarkston 13 10 18 12—53

3-point goals — Holstad 3, Rogers, Brennan, Woods 4, Forsmann 4, Rinard 2.

————

GIRLS

PULLMAN (9-6, 4-3)

Bri Rasmussen 2 0-0 6, Grace Kuhle 8 1-1 21, Olivia Whitworth 1 0-0 2, Taylor Darling 3 0-0 7, River Sykes 2 1-2 5, Taylor Cromie 0 0-0 0, Eloise Clark 0 0-2 0, Alexis Doumit 2 0-0 6. Totals 18 2-5 47.

CLARKSTON (12-3, 5-1)

Jaelyn McCormack-Marks 9 0-0 19, Preslee Dempsey 4 1-1 12, Reese de Groot 4 0-0 9, Aneysa Judy 1 0-2 2, Joslyn McCormack-Marks 1 1-1 3, Ryann Combs 2 0-0 4, Tatum Sevy 0 0-0 0, Ella Leavitt 1 0-0 3, Laney Augir 0 0-0 0, Lexi Villavicencio 5 2-2 16. Totals 27 4-6 68.

Pullman 10 5 9 23—47

Clarkston 14 14 17 23—68

3-point goals — Kuhle 4, Rasmussen 2, Doumit 2, Darling, Villavicencio 4, Dempsey 3, Ja. McCormack-Marks, Leavitt.

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @Sam_C_Taylor.