Onalaska Wins District 4 1A Championship in the 4th Quarter

The Onalaska girls hold up the District IV trophy after a 55-30 victory over Toledo on Saturday night.

There is something about the number four that is working for the Onlalaska Lady Loggers of late. The fourth seed from the Evergreen Conference have earned improbable wins in the last four games with two wins over league champion Toledo, one over Trico League champion La Center and one over nemesis Rainier.

On Saturday night, the Loggers polished off Toledo for the second time inside of the last four weeks with a 25-6 4th quarter to win the SWWA 1A District Championship going away 55-38.

The Loggers have been very special lately; Making great comebacks and picking themselves up after falling on their face early in each game.

Saturday night was no exception as The Lady Indians were up by six points late in the second quarter after making a methodical 10-0 run and seemed on the verge of stomping any thoughts of another Ony upset.

Onalaska's Hailey Givens (#3 left) and Mandy Reynoldson (#23 right) double team Toledo's Haley Hellem.

“That was our talk at halftime when we were down 25-20,” said Logger Head Coach Doug Ashmore. “I told them that we needed to stay calm and play our game”. He then allowed the girls to suggest what they need to do and they suggested running their patented full-court press against one of the quickest teams in the District.

“Can you handle (the physicality) it” he asked them. His team’s reply was an emphatic yes.

“I listen to my girls and they knew what we needed to do, they know how to run our system. They did what they needed to do,” he continued as he watched his girls cutting down the nets.

The Lady Loggers outscored Toledo in the 3rd quarter to narrow the gap to 32-30 and in the 4th, the Toledo wheels came off.

With both teams consistently pressing, loose balls were the rule of the day. Here players from both teams scramble for the advantage of possessing the ball.

Indian sharpshooter Tiffany Tornow gathered in 6 points by bombing a three in both the 1st and 2 quarters. Largely though, Logger defender Samantha Gordon was tasked with keeping the lid on the Evergreen MVP candidate and she was very effective. Tornow’s last basket came with 5:32 to go in the 4th . She finished with just 8 points.

Meanwhile, Onalaska’s Amber Durand was everywhere. She hit four treys in the first quarter, but was largely shut down in the second as Toledo made a serious run. With 12 seconds to go in the 3rd, she began a personal tear that lasted three minutes into the 4th as she personally outscored the Indians 11-4. Meanwhile, Ony went on an 18-4 run until Toledo scored their last basket with 3:20 left in the game to bring the score to 46-38 in favor of the Loggers.

Durand completed the game with 29 points and the Loggers finished the game on a 9-0 run.

Mandy Reynoldson and and Kalie Richey finished with nine points a piece for Ony. Toledo had balanced scoring with Tornow at 8, Haley Hellem and Cadi Zion both at 7 points each.

Toledo held a huge advantage in rebounding, Haley Hellem the games leading rebounder at 9 grabs.



Both teams are headed to state this week, but Onalaska won't be the 4th seed from District 4 and may carry the title of the hottest team to enter the tournament.

Loggers 55 Indians 38

ONALASKA (55) Amber Durand 29, Mandy Reynoldson 9, Kalie Ritchey 9, Hailey Givens 4, Samantha Gordon 4, Sarah Barnes 0, Erin Wrzesinski 0, Regan Givens 0, Amie Working 0.

TOLEDO (38) Tiffany Tornow 8, Haley Hellem 7, Candi Zion 7, Ashlee Coffey 5, Brianna Vowtow 5, Brittany Hope 4, Lia Lucas 2, Sara Buswell 0, Lacey Scott 0, Nicole Ewers 0, Kelsey Stone 0.

Onalaska 14 6 10 25-55
Toledo 11 14 7 6-38