10A • December 24, 2015 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com
SignalSports
Gulls toS Astoria iQ +oliday &lassiF ¿Qal
By Gary Henley
EO Media Group
The Seaside Gulls were
just tuning up Saturday night,
'eF , Rn their hRPe ÀRRr
Tuning up their game,
tuning up for the Cowapa
League season, and tuning
up for whatever team pic-
ture they may be posing for
March 12.
Because from the looks of
it, the Gulls could be reach-
ing some lofty heights come
state tournament time.
It’s still early in the season,
but Seaside was hitting on all
cylinders late Saturday, in a
61-40 win over Astoria in the
boys’ title game of the annual
Seaside Holiday Classic.
The Fishermen are expect-
ed to be the main challenger
for the Gulls once Cowapa
League play begins, Jan. 19.
“All our kids played
well,” said Seaside coach
Bill Westerholm. “Astoria
is going to be one of the top
contenders in the state. They
got off to a good start, and
they were ready to play.”
And Astoria held an early
14-8 lead, following a three-
point play by Kyle Strange.
Morgan Fruiht scored six of
his team-high 14 points in the
opening quarter to help the
Fishermen to a 16-15 lead.
But the Gulls quick-
ly found their quick game,
quickened the pace and out-
scored Astoria 20-4 in the
second period. Attikin Babb
drained a pair of 3-pointers,
and Jackson Januik added a
third to highlight the rally.
Jaxson Smith scored 10
of his game-high 18 points in
the ¿rst half.
The Gulls were knocking
down shots from inside and
outside (20-for-42 overall),
from the 3-point line (5-of-
12) and from the free throw
line (16-for-21), as they
maintained a 15- to 20-point
lead for most of the second
half.
JEFF TER HAR/EO MEDIA GROUP
JEFF TER HAR/EO MEDIA GROUP
The Seaside boys basketball team shows off the tournament bracket following Saturday’s championship in the Holiday Classic.
Januik and Smith shared
the tournament’s MVP award.
It was Seaside’s defense,
however, that earned Wester-
holm’s praise.
“We just did a good job de-
fensively,” he said. “(Fruiht)
is a tough guy to defend, and
Austin Eagon did a nice job
defending him. And Zach
Marston did well in getting
out and defending Astoria’s
pick and roll stuff. It was our
best defensive effort we’ve
had all season.”
The victory came almost
one year to the day that the
Gulls lost the championship
game of the 2014 tourna-
ment, when Madras rallied
for a 45-41 win.
“Our kids are more ma-
ture and they respond to ad-
versity a lot better,” Wester-
holm said.
And despite having two
more league games with As-
toria, the Gulls weren’t hold-
ing anything back.
“What you saw from us is
just what you’re going to get,”
he said. “We like to full-court
press and speed up the game.”
In Friday’s semi¿nal
round, the Gulls trailed Sis-
ters 15-11 early in the second
quarter, then caught ¿re and
led 25-17 at halftime.
Sisters put up a brief ral-
ly in the third period, pulling
to within 30-24, but Hunter
Thompson drilled a 3-pointer
at the buzzer to end the third,
and the Gulls ¿nished the
game with a 21-8 run.
Januik had 15 points and
Smith added 12.
Astoria defeated Newport
54-38 in the other semi¿nal.
Lady Gulls
take third
The shocker of the tour-
nament came Friday night in
the girls’ semi¿nals, where
Class 2A Lost River held on
for a 30-28 upset win over
Seaside, ending the Gulls’
hopes for a third-straight
Classic title.
Seaside bounced back,
however, in Saturday’s third-
place game, where the Gulls
pounded Newport 63-25.
After a poor shooting
night in Friday’s loss, Sea-
side came out hot against the
Cubs and led 27-6 after one
quarter.
A 10-2 run in the second
period had the Gulls ahead
37-8 at halftime.
Seaside was 25-for-48 on
two-point ¿eld goals. Tour-
nament MVP Maddi Utti
was 11-of-15 from the ¿eld
and ¿nished with 25 points,
to go with six assists, four re-
bounds and four steals.
The Gulls provided plen-
ty of support with balanced
scoring from Jetta Ideue and
Sydney Villegas (eight points
each), with seven points and
¿ve assists from Whitney
Westerholm. Seaside had 14
team steals.
Madras 65,
Astoria 58
Call it a “hard-fought
loss” for the Astoria girls
basketball team Saturday af-
ternoon.
The Lady Fishermen are
vastly improved and played
well enough to win Satur-
day’s consolation ¿nal in
the Seaside Holiday Classic
… but “vastly improved”
doesn’t always show up in
the win column.
Madras rallied from a
15-point, third quarter de¿cit
to beat Astoria, 65-58, to take
¿fth place in the Classic.
The Lady Fishermen
looked great and played great,
but a 16-0 run by the White
Buffaloes midway through
the second half — coupled
with 17 second-half turn-
overs by Astoria — helped
Madras score the victory.
The Lady Fish were run-
nin’ and gunnin’ in the ¿rst
half, forcing turnovers and
hitting shot after shot (11-for-
14 in the ¿rst quarter) to build
a 23-11 lead.
Chloee Hunt highlight-
ed a 13-0 Astoria run with a
3-pointer and two mid-range
jump shots. Teammate Taylor
Mickle scored all 10 of her
points in the ¿rst half, which
ended with Astoria holding a
35-24 lead.
Astoria’s largest lead was
39-24, following scores by
Hunt and Alexis Wallace to
open the second half.
Seaside’s Jaxson Smith,
who shared tournament
MVP honors with teammate
Jackson Januik, goes up
and under for two points in
Saturday’s win.
Madras senior Leah Sup-
pah — scoreless in the ¿rst
half — caught ¿re in the third
quarter, hitting ¿ve 3-point-
ers. Sophomore teammate
Lynden Harry ¿nished with
23 points, 14 in the second
half.
Despite sitting for much
of the second half in foul
trouble, Hunt poured in 27
points, with 12 rebounds.
Wallace added 15 points and
11 boards.
With the Lady Fisher-
men leading 50-49 midway
through the fourth quarter,
Madras scored on a steal and
layup by Harry, and another
score by Kaliyah Iverson for
a 53-50 lead.
With 1:44 left, Astoria was
called for a foul, followed by
a technical foul, and Madras
pushed the lead to 55-50.
Astoria
outrebounded
Madras 35-24, with Hunt
pulling down 12 rebounds,
Astoria bounced back
from an opening round loss
to Elma with a 61-37 win
over Corbett in Friday morn-
ing’s consolation game.
May God’s love surround you
with good health and great joy,
now and throughout the coming year.
On Dec. 6, 1856, five Sisters of Providence crossed the stormy waters of the Columbia River bar into the Pacific Northwest
to answer a call for help from a new pioneer community. They found many communities in need of service. With dedication
to their Mission and collaboration with like-minded partners, their ministry grew. Today Providence Health & Services serves
communities in five states.
Providence Seaside Hospital and our clinics continue a tradition of caring that the Sisters of Providence began 159 years ago.
During this season of grace and giving, we extend our blessings of faith, hope and love.
www.providence.org/northcoast