CLATSKANIE— Friday nights matchup at Clatskanie High School was a battle of two top three teams in the OSAA 3A Classification. The Lady Tigers were able to capitalize on the opportunity to get a significant victory, beating Willamina 43-21.

#1 Clatskanie entered the contest with a record of 15-2, 4-1 in league. #3 Willamina entered the game with a record of 17-4, 6-0 in league. The Lady Tigers suffered a 39-40 loss at Willamina on January 21st; they wanted to leave no stone unturned tonight.
In the first quarter, both sides established a press that made the buckets hard to come by. Each team was playing tight defense, forcing both parties into a handful of turnovers. After the end of the 1st quarter, Clatskanie would lead 7-3.

In the second quarter, buckets were equally as hard to come by. The defensive efforts continued for Clatskanie, which resulted in them leading 17-10 at the break.
In a postgame discussion, head coach John Blodgett attested the strong defense to “a solid and energetic week of practice.”
At the half, Clatskanie Junior Shelby Blodgett and Willamina’s Kaya McLean led all scorers with 6 points apiece.

Willamina’s offense continued to turn the ball over throughout the 3rd period. The Lady Tigers held them to under 5 points in a quarter for the second time and stretched their lead out to the largest of the night at 15.

Clatskanie would continue to build their lead en route to a 43-21 victory over #3 Willamina.

Clatskanie (16-2) was lead by Blodgett, who scored 13 points.

Following the victory, the Junior said: “We just had to be focused and ready to come out and play our game. We had a little bit of a chip on our shoulder. It’s a great win for us and one that we needed. “
Willamina (17-5) was lead by Kaya McLean, who scored 12 points.

BIG PICTURE: The two sides are slated to face off again on February 22nd, with the district and league title on the line. The game will take place at 5 pm at McMinnville High School.