FORKS — The Forks girls basketball team capped off its senior night with a playground-rules 54-30 besting of the visiting Clallam Bay Bruins.
The Spartans were predictably led in scoring by sophomore Skyler DeMatties, who netted a game-high 19 points, but it was a rowdy team effort Monday that brought the house down on the Bruins.
That free-spirited effort by Forks saw 10 players log significant minutes, with seven reaching the scoring column and three attaining double digits.
Vee Goodlance and Alex Henderson backed up DeMatties’ effort with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
“She had some really nice crossovers tonight,” Forks coach Al Scheibner said of DeMatties, his pint-sized guard.
“She’s getting a lot better at dishing it off, but tonight her shot was just falling so there wasn’t as much need for that.”
Throughout the game, the Spartans continuously wore down the short-staffed Bruins with a combination of reckless all-American hustle and schoolyard stand-your-ground defense.
Those efforts were reflected on the scoreboard in both points and fouls for each team.
“Feisty would be my adjective of choice,” Clallam Bay coach Kathleen Winter quipped.
Whatever the adjective, the results were unquestionable, as Forks established an eight-point lead over the final three minutes of the first quarter.
The Spartans went cold from the field in the second quarter, but their feisty defense allowed just five points in the quarter, setting up a monstrous third frame in which they outpaced the Bruins 18-4.
When that hardwood dust settled the Spartans were huddled atop of a 43-17 lead.
For their part, Forks did not shy away from the colorful description of their collective on-court mentality.
“They get after it and really like to box out hard, if not, in fact, hack,” Scheibner said.
“I don’t allow any of that bad stuff, but they definitely like to get after it.”
Scheibner even noted the play of sophomore post Brittney Woodruff who netted four points after being called up from JV recently, saying, “She’s not afraid to bump around.”
For a while, though, it looked like the Bruins’ ever-smiling Molly McCoy was going to be able to keep the Class 1B Bruins close in their road game versus 1A Forks all by her lonesome.
The slick-shooting center finished the game with a double-double, netting a team-high in both points (12) and rebounds (11).
McCoy’s efforts were stymied by a sprained ankle that forced her to depart the raucous affair early.
Her smile remained unshakeable even as she hobbled off the court.
“That’s our third ankle injury in three games, so that’s the joke there,” Winter said as she tallied the stats.
Postgame, Scheibner was eager to heap praise on his two senior players, Veronica Banks (two points) and Henderson.
“They’re two really great kids. They help the young kids and they work really, really hard. I’ve never had to get on them about that,” Scheibner said.
“That sort of thing rubs off on the younger kids. Despite our lack of success this year, they will be a part of something down the road because of the example they set.”
Henderson was reluctant to self-righteously proclaim her leadership qualities, even when pressed to do so.
Instead she said, “I just want to lead by example. I’ve never wanted to be the kind of leader that people have to follow around. I just want to lead by that example.
“Even though we kind of struggled this year, I think the thing the girls should take away is the passion for the game.
“It’s more than just one person that makes a team. It takes everybody in it to make it a family.”
Asked for her parting thoughts on her team’s feisty reputation, Henderson recalled her years as a varsity underclassmen when she was a self-aware technical machine with a penchant for attention-catching fouls.
Now a veteran of the hardwood, Henderson prides herself on her self-appraised even-handedness.
When questioned about her team’s hard fought reputation she coyly demurred and said, “We’re a little handsy.”
Clallam Bay plays at Crescent today.
Forks (0-13, 3-15) concludes its season with an Evergreen League matchup Friday at undefeated Montesano (12-0, 18-0).
Forks 54, Clallam Bay 30
Clallam Bay 8 5 4 13— 30
Forks 16 9 18 11— 54
Individual scoring
Clallam Bay (30)
McCoy 12, Herndon 8, Maines 6, Erickson 4.
Forks (54)
DeMatties 19, Goodlance 11, Henderson 10, Kratzer 4, Henry 4, Woodruff 4, Banks 2.
