After a Dec. 1 matchup against the Spanaway Lake Sentinels was postponed, the Yelm Tornados girls basketball team officially began its season on Wednesday, Dec. 7 in a South Sound Conference matchup with the Gig Harbor Tides.
With two games under their belt, Yelm has a 0-2 record as the team geared up for three consecutive road games this week.
Yelm finished its 2021-22 campaign with an 11-8 overall record, which included an 8-6 record in South Sound Conference matchups, while the Tides finished last season with an overall record of 16-6 and 13-1 in SSC play.
Gig Harbor advanced to the 3A state regional round last year, where they were eliminated by Bonney Lake High School in a 61-58 loss. Yelm was also eliminated by Bonney Lake High School last season during a district matchup game where the Tornados lost 65-49.
As the Tornados and the Tides took to the court for their 7 p.m. tip off on Wednesday, Dec. 7, Gig Harbor’s offense put together an impressive outing. The Tides combined for 65 total points on the night. Defensively, Gig Harbor limited Yelm’s shot selection.
Yelm was defeated in the game, 65-35.
In their next matchup, the Tornados continued their South Sound Conference play, this time hosting rival Timberline on Friday, Dec. 9.
Timberline finished the 2021-22 season with a record of 4-7, with several games being canceled throughout the season. Their record was good enough to punch their ticket to the district playoffs, where they lost to Prairie High School, 51-42.
The Tornados’ offense was able to produce more during the matchup with the Blazers, scoring 48 points in the outing, but defensively Yelm couldn’t come up with an answer for a trio of Blazers who dominated throughout the contest. Timberline Freshman Shayla Cordis scored 31 points on the evening for the Blazers on 15 of 26 shooting. She also collected nine steals defensively.
Aside from Cordis, the Tornados had issues limiting the Blazers duo of seniors offensively. Danielle Smith scored 16 points on six of 10 shooting, and Azaria Landry collected 13 points of her own. The duo combined for 13 rebounds and four steals.
The Tornados lost to Timberline, 72-48, dropping to 0-2 in South Sound Conference standings.
Up next, Yelm will have a series of away games as they travel to Peninsula High School to face the Seahawks on Wednesday, Dec. 14, and then travel to Capital High School to face the Capital Cougars on Friday, Dec. 16. That will be followed with a game in Rainier on Friday, Dec. 30. All of the matchups begin at 7 p.m.
