Tietje, Hornet girls thwart Kittitas

Kittitas strategy against the Oroville girls basketball team was to not allow Lily Hilderbrand to beat them.

So Katie Tietje did.

Tietje scored a seasons-high 17 points as the Hornets opened their Central Washington League season with a 43-37 victory over South Division rival Kittitas.

Oroville led 18-14 at the half.

Kittitas limited Hilderbrand to six points with a box-and-one defense, though they weren’t able to keep the sophomore from grabbing 16 rebounds.

Tietje added eight rebounds and three steals while Brittany Jewett added eight points, also a season-high.

The Hornets actually played better overall than the score indicates as they struggled at the free throw line, hitting just 8-of 22. Kittitas, though, was unable to take advantage as the Coyotes shot 6-of-15.

Oroville improved to 5-5 (1-0 CWL) with the victory.