Asotin’s boys and girls basketball teams enjoyed some home cooking Saturday.
The girls started with a 41-35 win against nonleague opponent Garfield-Palouse.
“They showed a ton of heart and dug deep,” Asotin coach Kaitlin Whitmore said. “We were down four players tonight and we really had some girls step up tonight.”
The boys routed the Vikings 60-33 in the nightcap, using an early 13-3 first-quarter lead to cruise to the victory.
“The girls played really well and got the crowd excited before us,” Asotin coach Perry Black said. “We have so much support. Asotin is so unbelievable and our community is great.”
Here are some takeaways:
Comeback kids
The Gar-Pal girls used an 18-4 first-quarter run to race out to an early lead.
The Panthers (1-2) got off to a good start as Carli Ball notched the first field goal of the game one minute in. After that, Asotin was just 1-for-10 from the field the rest of the quarter.
The Vikings (0-2) were led by Morgan Lentz’s 10 points in the quarter, and the freshman finished with a game-high 20.
The Panthers cut the deficit to 22-16, ending the first half on a 5-1 run. Asotin outscored Garfield-Palouse 37-17 in the final two periods.
The Panthers switched defenses, going from man to zone to focus on shutting down Lentz.
“When they weren’t able to get the ball to her, I think that threw them through a loop,” Whitmore said. “We just didn’t let her get the ball. I just told Kelsey (Thummel) to seal her for three quarters and she did a great job.”
Ball (can) ball
Ball hit an easy layup to bring the Panthers within 31-30 with 6:35 left in regulation. On Garfield-Palouse’s next possession, Ball got a steal, sent a pass to Thummel in transition, then Ball got it back on a give-and-go inside for another easy basket to put the Panthers up for the first time since the opening score.
Ball scored again two minutes later to put Asotin by three and it was on its way. The senior forward finished with a team-high 16 points.
“She really stepped up,” Whitmore said. “We talked about going into their players because they were really tall and she did that. She didn’t shy away from contact.”
Aggressive defense and effort prevent points
The Panther boys scored the first 13 points of their game, and seemingly, the rout was on. Landon Orr, who paced the Vikings (0-2) with 13 points, hit a free throw with 33 seconds left for Gar-Pal’s first point of the contest.
The Vikings didn’t have any answer for the Panthers’ press defense. Asotin (2-1) had at least 10 turnovers in the game.
“We played really hard and that was a big bounce back for us,” Black said. “This is the second time in the last two games that we’ve held our opponent to under 35 points.”
The two that made it happen
Everyone who saw playing time for Asotin scored, but two players stood out above the rest, sophomore forward AJ Olerich and junior guard Gavin Ells.
Ells finished with eight points, four rebounds, and five assists. He’s had to step up as the Panthers’ ball handler because of an injury to brother Cody Ells.
“He’s a leader for us,” Black said. “Not necessarily a vocal leader, but the things that he does are so fundamental, and we really feed off that and we use him for a lot of teaching moments.”
Most of Ells’ assists came down low to Olerich, whose 6-foot-7 frame towered above every Garfield-Palouse defender. He finished with a game-high 22 points and 10 boards.
“The good thing about (Olerich) is that he’s big, but he’s also an athlete,” Black said. “He’s really good in transition. Our goal for him is to get him in space and outwork everyone else because he’s so fast and athletic for being so big.”
BOYS
GARFIELD-PALOUSE (0-2)
Bryce Pfaff 2 3-6 7, Lane Collier 1 6-8 8, Macent Rardon 0 0-0 0, Brendan Snekvik 1 1-5 3, Kieran Snekvik 1 1-3 3, Landon Orr 5 2-3 12. Totals 10 13-25 33.
ASOTIN (2-1)
Cooper Biery 4 0-0 9, Rueben Eggleston 2 0-0 4, Kamea Kauhi 1 0-0 2, Gavin Ells 4 0-0 8, Brady Moore 1 0-0 2, Justin Boyea 1 0-0 2, AJ Olerich 10 2-3 22, Sawyer Biery 1 0-0 3, Dylan Finney 4 0-0 8. Totals 28 2-3 60.
Garfield-Palouse 3 12 10 8—33
Asotin 13 20 17 10—60
3-point goals — C. Biery, S. Biery.
GIRLS
GARFIELD-PALOUSE (0-2)
Zoe Laughary 3 1-1 9, Kara Blomgren 0 0-0 0, Kennedy Cook 1 0-0 3, Elena Flansburg 1 1-8 3, Morgan Lentz 8 4-6 20, Ella Cuellar 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 6-15 35.
ASOTIN (1-2)
Kelsey Thummel 3 0-0 6, Sadie Thummel 1 0-0 2, Cady Browne 1 4-12 7, Lily Denham 1 1-5 3, Carlie Ball 6 4-9 16, Emily Elskamp 2 3-5 7. Totals 14 12-31 41.
Garfield-Palouse 18 4 9 4—35
Asotin 4 12 10 15—41
3-point goals — Laughary 2, Cook, Browne.
Pixley may be contacted at (208) 848-2290, tpixley@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @TreebTalks.
