Wildcat girls hit the shots needed to shut off Warriors

So there they were under the Spokane Arena spotlights before Saturday’s title game. Colton and Almira-Coulee-Hartline girls. The announcer read off their names, but the players didn’t need any introductions.

A week earlier, the ACH Warriors tripped Colton girls by two points in the regional round at Walla Walla. That collision was a rematch of the state title game last year when Colton won their second straight 1B title at Yakima with a 30-point margin.

The Spokane Arena lights returned and the Wildcats and Warriors battled for four quarters. When it was over Colton had a 50-40 win and their third straight 1B title.

“It just seemed like every time we needed somebody to step up and hit a basket, somebody did it,” Coach Clark Vining said.

Colton's Wildcats girls celebrate before their fans Saturday afternoon after out-pacing Almira-Coulee-Hartline in the 1B championship game at the Spokane Arena. The Wildcats rolled into the championship game after defeating Sunnyside Christian in a semi-final battle Friday. Their title win over ACH followed a loss to the Warrior the previous week in the regional round at Walla Walla.

Sticking to the approach which sent the Wildcats roaring through the SE season, Colton combined a tight defense with solid shooting to take a lead and keep it.

At Walla Walla last week, the Warriors worked at fencing off Colton’s power players, seniors Mollie Kramer and McKenzie Heaslet.

Friday, Vining put some different matchups on the floor. Colton cranked up the speed and went for more outside shots.

Wildcat senior Mollie Kramer deals with the media after Colton's threepeat title win. The TV interviews accompanied a net cutting ceremony.

“I think they got a little confused, especially when we had four guards on the floor at one time,” Vining noted.

Colton’s defense held the Warriors to four points in the first quarter. They had a 22-14 lead at the half, lost a little ground in the third quarter but finished strong.

Kramer topped Colton with 16, but Haley Moser and Kaitlin Druffel each finished with double digits, and Jenna Moser hit nine.

Haley Moser hit all three of her treys in the second quarter.

“We really needed that right at that point,” Coach Vining said.

Topped by a three-pointer from Allison Fox, the Warrior erased Coltons first-quarter lead and knotted a 12-12 tie with 3:50 left in the half. Haley hit two more threebies, the last one with 45 seconds left in the half.

After the break, the Warriors charged again with Fox and Nikki Osborne hitting treys to get within a point, 32-33.

The Wildcats then ran seven straight with Jenna Moser hitting a trey for a 40-32 edge with 4:15 left. The Wildcats kept the edge down to the finish with Kramer advancing the lead to 10 points, 44-34 with 2:25 left.

Colton finished with six-three pointers and just short of 35 percent shooting. Osborne led the Warriors with a game-high 19, 12 off the toss line.

Colton booked the last step to title night after fighting off Sunnyside Christian 40-35 Friday afternoon. The semi win came after the Wildcat offense switched off in the last quarter. Colton scored just four points in the final frame, but their defense held the Knights to just eight points.

“It was a tough game. We had an 11-point lead in the third quarter, and we just stopped scoring from the field,” Coach Vining noted.

Sunnyside matched up well against the Wildcats’ power players, but Colton’s outside shooters again made up the difference. Haley Moser led Colton with 12.

The ‘cats also finished Friday with six three-point shots; the Knights hit one.

The Knights out-boarded Colton 41-29, but they had 22 turnovers against Colton’s defense. Kaitlin Druffel booked three steals to top Colton’s tally of nine thefts.

The Wildcats advanced to the semi-round after roaring past Neah Bay 67-34 in Thursday’s opening round of the revised three-day tourney which was moved to Spokane this year from Yakima’s SunDome.

Heaslet hit 17 against the Red Devils, and Kramer hit 14 in the runaway win. The Wildcats scrambled for a 16-14 lead after the first quarter, but they rolled out 37 points in the next two frames to take control of the first-round game.

Colton finished the title year with a 25-2 mark. Their only other loss was to a Grangeville team in their opener.

The tourney run ended with seniors Kramer, Heaslet and Mikayla Nygreen, the ‘cats veteran point guard, holding the big 1B globe which traveled back to Colton for a third year.

Coach Vining noted the departure of the three seniors will mark a change in Colton hoops for next season. The senior trio was a big part of the three-title years when Colton rolled up a 74-3 record.

However, the Wildcats had three juniors, five sophomores and a freshman on their state roster this year. Also during a season which saw Colton roll up all those big wins in the SE campaign, the Wildcat reserves built up playing time which should serve them well when the action starts against next December.

Saturday Trophy Round

Colton 67-Neah Bay 34 16/14 33/5 14/7 14/8: Kaden Dahmen 1 (3pt) 0-0 3, Grace Druffel 1 1-3 3, Kaitlin Druffel 1 (3pt) 0-0 3, McKenzie Heaslet 7 3-7 17, Mollie Kramer 6 (2-3pt) 0-0 14, Payton Meyer 2 0-2 4, Haley Moser 3 (2-3pt) 3-4 11, Jena Moser 2 0-0 4, RayLynn Smith 1 0-0 2, Paige Vincent 1 2-2 4, Erin Weber 1 -0 2. Total: 26 9-17 f-14 67. Neah Bay: Cherish Moss 3 (3pt) 1-2 8, Merissa Murner 3 1-2 7, Rebecca Thompson 3 (2-3pt) 3-6 11, Courtney Winck 2 4-4 8. Total: 11 9-16 f-14 34.

Friday Semifinal

Colton 40-Sunnyside Christian 35 9/’5 10/8 17/14 4/8: Jena Moser 2 (2 -3pt) 2-2 8, Haley Moser 3 (2-3pt) 4-6 12, McKenzie Heaslet 4 2-2 10, Grace Druffel 0 1-2 1, Kaitlin Druffel 2 (2-3pt) 1-2 7, Mollie Kramer 1 0-1 2. Total 12 10-16 f-16 40. Sunnyside Christian: Alyssa Haazk 2 0-1 4, Analisa VanOstrum 3 4-4 10, Katie Long 3 (3pt) 0-0 7, Kara DenHoed 0 2-2 2, Marisa Boersma 3 3-4 9, Stormee VanBelle 0 1-2 1. Total: 12 10-14 f-15 35.

Thursday Quarterfinal

Colton 50-Almira Coulee Hartline 40: 9/4 13/10 9/13 19/13: Jenna Moser 3 (3pt) 1-5 9, Haley Moser 3 (all 3pt) 2-3 11, McKenzie Heaslet 1 0-0 2, Grace Druffel 0 2-4 2, Kaitlin Druffel 3 4-5 10, Mollie Kramer 5 (2-3pt) 4-5 16. Total: 15 14-22 f-23 50. Almira-Coulee-Hartline: Madeline Isaak 1 5-7 7, Allison Fox 3 (2-3pt) 0-0 8, Kodi Noggles 3 0-0 6, Nikki Osborne 3 (3pt) 12-17 19. Total: 10 17-25 f-21 40.