Oakesdale girls drop tough opening state match-up

OAKESDALE — After the Oakesdale Nighthawks won the girls state championship in volleyball during this past fall sports season, many of the girls on that team are hungry for another state championship, this time on the hardwood.

The Nighthawks entered the basketball tournament as the number six overall seed, however, they faced a strong opponent in their opening round match.

Oakesdale faced the number three seed Waterville-Mansfield, who took down Oakesdale, 56-33.

The game was played on Saturday, Feb. 24, in Wenatchee.

“Waterville was tough, definitely deserved their number three seed,” said Oakesdale head coach Heidi Perry.

Perry said that the Nighthawks struggled on the offensive end in the first half, where as Waterville shot 15/22 in the first half, good for 68%.

After the halftime break, the Nighthawks would come alive and make a strong run, however, the first-half gap was too great, and Oakesdale fell by 23 points.

“I’m proud of how we responded after halftime; we ended up having a good third quarter and won the second half, said Perry.

Payton Davis led the way with 10 points, and Grace Perry had seven for Oakesdale.

The Nighthawks played their round of 12 match on Wednesday, Feb, 28, in the Spokane Arena. The game was played against the number 11 seed Lummi Nation. Look for the results from the game on the Whitman County Gazette website Thursday, Feb. 29.

If Oakesdale won their game Wednesday, they will play in the quarterfinals on Thursday Feb. 29, at 3:45 p.m., against the number four seed Crosspoint. If Oakesdale lost Wednesday, their season ends.

Oakesdale will need to lean on senior leadership from Davis and Brieyn Henley if they want to advance to the quarterfinals.