By Matt Maizel
Coach Gianella and his Lady Bobcats handed a beatdown to 2A private Northwest League foe Mannahouse Academy their last game of the regular season, 50-31, in Portland to ensure a higher state playoff seeding last Saturday. Not only did the Lady Bobcats secure the school’s first league title since 2000, they also went undefeated in Northwest League play (14-0) – a rare feat that certainly deserves celebrating. “The girls have been playing well,” said the Coach.
On Saturday Feb. 18th, Nestucca played at Vernonia in the district seeding game at 7:00 pm against Knappa. The Bobcat girls weren’t able to complete that perfect season, with Knappa taking the win in overtime, which secured home-court for Knappa.
On Friday, February 24th, Nestucca (#10) will be on the road and play at Colton (#7).
A big congratulations from the Tillamook County Pioneer and your community for the stellar play and coaching of the Nestucca Girls Basketball Program this season!
Here is a list of the all-Northwest League awards the Bobcats received Feb. 18th:
Jr. #1 Hailee Knight – 1st Team All-league
Jr. #15 Makayla Webber – 2nd Team All-league AND Defensive Player of the Year
Jr. #5 Kyla Hurliman – 3rd Team All-league
Sr. #11 Lyndie Hurliman – 3rd Team All-league
Jr. #31 Chloe Love – Honorable Mention All-league
Coach Gianella – Northwest League Coach of the Year
Hailee Knight led the team averaging 12.2 ppg, followed by Makayla Webber at 11.5 ppg.
Lyndie Hurliman led the Bobcats making 40 three pointers on the year. The Bobcats finished their regular season 19-5, losing only to mainly larger 3A schools in the preseason. If their 14-0 league record wasn’t awe-inspiring enough, four of those times the Lady Bobcats doubled up on their opponent; not including a mauling of the Perrydale Pirates – holding that team to only 5 points while Nestucca scored a whopping 57 on 12/27/22.
Stay tuned for more updates on playoff seedings and coverage with the Pioneer.