PENDLETON — It was a banner day for Kayla Monkus.
The Stanfield junior eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for her career, and the Tigers beat second-ranked Weston-McEwen 46-31 in the Blue Mountain Conference district title game Saturday at the Pendleton Convention Center.
“Really proud of how we responded all weekend,” Stanfield coach Dan Sharp said. “The girls came out aggressive and handled the runs Weston made. They are a great team and a tough matchup.”
The loss was just the second of the year for the TigerScots (22-2), who also lost to 1A power Imbler on Dec. 20. Saturday’s loss broke a 14-game win streak.
“We struggled to get into our rhythm on nearly every aspect of our game,” Weston-McEwen coach Jeremy Wolf said. “Credit Stanfield for their play. They took it to us and deserved it for sure. We’re not going to hang our heads.”
No. 7 Stanfield (17-6) and Weston-McEwen now await the 2A state pairings.
“We’re looking forward to putting in the work to give a better showing for all those we represent next week,” Wolf said. “Extra proud of our program earning the district Sportsmanship Award.”
The Tigers had the upper hand most of the night, taking a 9-6 lead in the first quarter and stretching their lead to 23-13 at the half.
Weston-McEwen got six points from Charlotte Hansell in the third quarter as the TigerScots grid to pull back into the game.
Stanfield finished the game with a 9-7 run in the fourth quarter, getting a pair of 3s from Kahleigha Haney for good measure.
“Kahleigha played a smart game for us and hit tough shots,” Sharp said. “I thought the whole group had great energy this weekend and played together.”
Monkus, who started the game with 996 points, hit 1,000 with a free throw in the first quarter and finished the game with 12 points, seven rebounds, four steals and four assists. Haney also had 12 points, four steals, and two assists, and Taylor Sperr added 11 points and 13 rebounds. Hansell led the TigerScots with 10 points, while Reagan Pickard and Addy Hall each had five, and Evie Hodgson chipped in four.
