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Pirate point guard Heidi Heytvelt (4) keeps any eye on her Sunnyside Christian counterpart, also number 4, Madi Candanoza, while teammates Keely Maves defends down low. Heytvelt's defense was worth it: Candanoza scored just two points.
Pomeroy Head Coach Tai Bye's job is to keep the Lady Pirates' well-oiled machine working smoothly and efficiently as the state's number one 1B team hits the home stretch of the 2019-2020 season and prepares for tournament play. Senior forward Sydney Watko and Alyssa Wolf listen in.
Lady Pirate Maddy Dixon, Pomeroy's 6-1 forward, scored 11 in the Sunnyside Christian game, while being guarded by 5-11 junior Jenna Andringa (44). Dixon won the battle of the big forwards as Andringa was held scoreless.
Sunnyside Christian struggled against the Lady Pirate defense, scoring a single bucket in each of the first two quarters as the Lady Buccaneers steadily pulled away from the Lady Knights, holding a 22-4 halftime lead and winning the non-league contest 41-17.
LACROSSE–It was a full-speed scrimmage, with officials, a pep band and rooting fans, and the Lady Pirates, still ranked first in the 1B RPI, counted an impressive 62-34 win over the SJEL Eagles Saturday and a non-league 41-17 win over Sunnyside Christian Friday in Pomeroy.
Four of the top seven teams in the WIAA RPI are from the Southeast B League. The Lady Buccaneers have the best RPI at .76383, followed by Inchelium, Oakesdale and Clallam Bay. Perennial foes Colton are in sixth with Garfield-Palouse in seventh.
Dayton-Waitsburg visited last Tuesday and Oakesdale will play this season's rubber match on Friday, with a trip to Colton the following night in the next-to-last weekend of play.
The Lady Buccaneers exerted their dominance over the Eagles. "We played our best game as a team tonight," said Head Coach Tai Bye. "Everything was in sync on offense and everything we've been working hard on in practice was done to near perfection. We controlled the pace of the game and the tempo on offense, which allowed us to take the shots we wanted to take.
Pomeroy boosted their high-scoring game by making "the extra pass" and then "finishing our shots," Bye said.
Maddy Dixon was again a team leader, scoring 19 points and grabbing six rebounds. Keely Maves finished with 10 points and four boards.
Bye praised Syndey Watko for playing "one of the best games of her career." Watko scored eight, rebounded four, made seven assists and stole four. "I was really proud of her effort and her selfless play tonight," Bye said.
Against RPI ninth-ranked Sunnyside Christian Friday, Pomeroy capitalized with their energy and momentum "and never let up," Bye said.
The game marked a turning point for the team as the season winds down and post-season play looms. "We have been down the last few games so tonight was a great emotional and mental showing for us, mostly because we limited our turnovers to only eight," Bye said. "We were controlled and disciplined the entire game on offense and it allowed us to shoot the shots we wanted to."
Sunnyside Christian couldn't match Pirate rebounding. "We ended with 46 team rebounds, 21 of those being offensive," she said.
Dixon finished with 11 points and 16 rebounds, and Heidi Heytvelt finished with 10 points, four boards, and three assists. Bye was happy with (5-6 junior guard) McKenzie Watko's defense.
Pomeroy 62, SJEL 34
SJEL 6 11 5 12-34
Pom 18 15 15 14-62
Pomeroy (62) Maddy Dixon 8-18 2-2 19, Sydney Watko 4-10 0-1 8, Alyssa Wolf 3-5 0-0 8, Heidi Heytvelt 3-11 1-4 8, Keely Maves 3-12 4-6 10, Jillian Herres 2-2 0-0 4, McKenzie Watko 1-2 0-0 3, Chase Caruso 1-2 0-1 2.
St. John (34) Colby Swannack 0-3 0-0 0, Hailey Marty 0-1 0-0 0, Brooklyn Bailey 4-14 0-0 10, Zoe Bailey 0-2 0-0 0, Olivia Kjack 5-8 0-1 13, Drew Brewer 5-15 1-3 11.
3 Point Goals --St. John: B. Bailey 2, Kjack 2 Pomeroy: Heytvelt, Dixon, Wolf 2, M. Watko Fouls: St. John (13), Pomeroy (6) Fouled Out: None Technical Fouls: None Rebounds: Heytvelt (8) Pomeroy Rebounds: Team (33) Turnovers: Pomeroy (9) Assists: Pomeroy (21).
Pomeroy 41, Sunnyside Christian 17
SSC 2 2 7 10-17
Pom 7 15 10 11-41
Pomeroy (41) Maddy Dixon 4-10 3-5 11, Sydney Watko 2-12 0-0 4, Alyssa Wolf 4-9 0-0 9, Heidi Heytvelt 4-15 0-0 10, Keely Maves 10-1 0-0 0, Jillian Herres 0-6 0-0 0, McKenzie Watko 1-3 0-0 2, Jaden Steele 0-1 0-0 0, Chase Caruso 2-2 0-0 5.
Sunnyside (17) Madi Candanoza 0-7 2-2 2, Syndey Banks 1-7 2-2 4, Kelli Candanoza 1-9 0-0 3, Ella Alseth 0-2 0-0 0, Sophie Halma 3-7 2-4 8, Jenna Adringa 0-5 0-0 0, Haylie Walters 0-2 0-0 0
3 Point Goals --Sunnyside: K. Candanoza Pomeroy: Heytvelt 2, Wolf 1, Caruso 1. Fouls: Sunnyside (9), Pomeroy (10) Fouled Out: None. Technical Fouls: None. Rebounds: Dixon (16) Pomeroy Rebounds: Team (46) Turnovers: Pomeroy (8) Assists: Pomeroy (12).
