Imbler, Joseph girls head to championship

Top-seeded and top-ranked Imbler and Joseph advanced to the championship game of the District 7-1A girls basketball tournament Friday at Baker High School.

Imbler had an easy time with Wallowa 59-26, and Joseph upset Pine-Eagle 48-40.

Joseph stuns Spartans

Joseph’s Anna Bird let Pine-Eagle know what to expect early, hitting a trio of three-point baskets in the first quarter.

Bird’s long-range bombs helped the Eagles take a 14-5 lead at the break.

Joseph’s Mariah Warnock then added six second-quarter points to help the Eagles maintain a 25-17 halftime lead.

Joseph increased its lead to as many as 11 points in the third period before Pie-Eagle closed the gap to 35-29 entering the fourth quarter.

Bird then connected on another three-pointer with 1:55 left to pull Joseph up 42-35.

Three points by Pine-Eagle’s Ce’Aira Marks and a pair of free throws by Chelsie Gulick again pulled the Spartans within three points, 43-40, with 40.8 seconds.

Joseph then hit 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win.

Bird led all scorers with 18 points. Warnock added 12 points.

Marks led Pine-Eagle with 11 points.

Joseph    14    11    10    13    — 48

Pine-Eagle    5    12    12    11    — 40

Joseph (48) — Jo. Kohlhepp 2 3-4 7, Bird 5 3-4 18, Warnock 5 2-3 12, Je. Kohlhepp 1 2-5 5, Howerton, DeLury 2 2-5 6, Doss, Hunting, Gross. Totals 15 12-21 48.

Pine-Eagle (40) — Gulick 2 2-5 6, Bell 2 0-0 4, B. Thatcher 2 1-2 5, Holmstead 3 0-1 6, Marks 5 1-2 11, Koski, Butler, M. Thatcher, Coombes, Marlow 3 2-3 8. Totals 17 6-13 40.

Three-point goals — Bird 5, Je. Kohlhepp. Fouled out — Warnock, Holmstead, Marks. Total fouls — Joseph 17, Pine-Eagle 20. Technicals — none.

Imbler rolls on

Imbler scored the first 14 points of the game Friday and never looked back.

Reva West and Sarah Bowers-Ott each tallied four points, and Demetria Thompson and Chelsea Poe three each.

The Panthers led 21-6 after one period and 35-13 at halftime.

Poe led Imbler with 15 points. Bowers-Ott added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Bekah Jamerson and Skylar Waters each scored nine for Wallowa.

Wallowa    6    7    7    6    — 26

Imbler    21    14    17    7    — 59

Wallowa (26) — Miller 1 0-0 2, McKenzie 2 0-0 4, Waters 4 1-1 9, Gollar, M. Shelton, Wallace 0 0-2 0, Sa. Chrisman 0 2-2 2, Sh. Chrisman, B. Shelton, Zollman, Jamerson 3 3-4 9. Totals 10 6-9 26.

Imbler (59) — Anthony 1 2-2 4, West 3 1-2 8, Thompson 3 2-4 8, Bowers-Ott 2 6-6 10, C. Poe 3 9-11 15, K. Poe 1 0-0 3, Bingaman 1 0-0 2, Wiley, Olson, Tally 3 1-3 7, Crow, Pierce 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 21-28 59.

Three-point goals — West, K. Poe. Fouled out — Bingaman. Total fouls — Wallowa 17, Imbler 15. Technicals — none.