LONGVIEW — The Hockinson Hawks had their chances Monday night, but now they have no room to spare in their attempt to reach the Class 2A state regional round of 16.
Mark Morris got the edge down the stretch in the 2A District 4 girls basketball semifinals, topping the Hawks 55-50 in a game that had 11 lead changes.
The Monarchs (15-7) are going back to the district title game and have clinched a berth to state.
The Hawks (12-10) must win two in a row in the consolation bracket to finish third and go to state.
“It was all on us not executing,” Hockinson coach Eirik Huset said. “We stopped executing. We turned the ball over. Our energy was down.”
Hockinson will face Centralia next in an elimination game.
“We’ve been playing good basketball,” Huset said. “Tonight was not good basketball.”
While the Hawks are disappointed, the Monarchs are thrilled. The program won the state championship last year before graduating most of that team. This Mark Morris squad had unknown expectations outside of its own locker room.
“This is just the best experience. No one thought we could do this,” Zsaleh Parvas, a junior who scored 10 points, said. “We had no support. No one thought we could do this but we pulled it off.”
Mark Morris will face Black Hills in the district championship game Saturday. Both teams are guaranteed a spot in the state’s round of 16.
Parvas’ bucket at the midway point of the final quarter was the final lead change at 46-45, but the Hawks would eventually tie the game at 47 on a basket from Payton Wangler.
The Monarchs would get the next four free throws to go down — from Parvas and Madison Mosier — to take a four-point lead. A Hockinson free throw and another basket from Wangler made it 51-50 in the final minutes.
Brooke Walling, who led the Monarchs with 17 points made two free throws with 24 seconds left. The Hawks missed a 3-pointer, and the Monarchs made a couple free throws to secure the victory.
Hannah Neibauer led Hockinson with 14 points. Brittany McGuire added 11, and Wangler finished with nine.
Hockinson will face Centralia in an elimination game Wednesday.
MARK MORRIS 55, HOCKINSON 50
HOCKINSON — Keely Nordberg 3, Hannah Neibauer 14, Payton Wangler 9, Brittany McGuire 11, Elle Tilkin 7, Lauren Ellensohn 2, Hailee Neibauer 0, Emma Dietel 4. Totals 18 (1) 13-18 50.
MARK MORRIS — Kaylee Johnson 4, Kalina Makaiwi 0, Gabby Bennett 0, Madison Mosier 8, Brooke Walling 17, Zsaleh Parvas 10, Alexis Troy 5, Libby Bartleson 11. Totals 18 (2) 17-24 55.
Hockinson 15 8 18 9–50
Mark Morris 13 16 11 15–55
