Girls basketball: Prairie 46, Hudson’s Bay 36

Hudson’s Bay gave Prairie all it had.

The Falcons responded accordingly.

Prairie beat the Eagles 46-36 at Hudson’s Bay on Tuesday, marking its first legitimate 3A Greater St. Helens League test on Tuesday at Hudson’s Bay High School.

It was Prairie’s closest margin of victory in a league win since Jan. 15, 2015.

“A win is a win man,” Prairie coach Hala Corral said. “Sometimes you’re not going to have good shooting nights, I don’t think we’ve ever shot that bad before, but it happens. … the second half we turned it up and they turned the ball over.”

Before Tuesday, the Falcons’ smallest margin of victory in a league game this season was a 35-point win, but they found themselves leading by just two at half.

When its 3-point shots were not falling (season-low 1 for 32), Prairie turned to its inside presence and defensive prowess to force turnovers and take a 10-point lead after three quarters — a lead it would not relinquish, despite a well-rounded Bay attack.

Brooke Walling had 10 points to lead a balanced scoring effort for Prairie.

“They played really hard,” Falcons guard Cassidy Gardner said. “I think we’ll come back (next time) and play better than we did tonight.”

Bay freshman Aniyah Hampton and sophomore Jaydia Martin had 12 points apiece and Kamelai Powell added 10.

Bay coach Michael Rainville called it a “good loss.”

PRAIRIE 46, HUDSON’S BAY 36

PRAIRIE — Dayna Vera 0, Meri Dunford 9, Alli Corral 2, Kendyl Carson 8, Brooke Walling 10, Mallory Williams 3, Cassidy Gardner 8, Haley Reed 7. Totals 17 (1) 11-15 46 .

HUDSON’S BAY — Gabriela Garcia 0, Shelby DeLong 0, Maria Mendez 0, Jaydia Martin 12, Mae Carse 0, Aniyah Hampton 12, Kamelai Powell 10, Anastacia Mikaele 2. Totals 15 (4) 2-9 36.

Prairie 9 11 17 9–46
Hud. Bay 13 5 9 9–36