Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Colton junior Taylor Thomas basks in the moment of victory March 2 at Spokane Arena. Colton came back from down 31-15 at halftime to beat Pomeroy for the 1B state title.
Abby Kelly, Jordyn Moehrle, Emily Schultheis, Rylee Vining and Dakota Patchen listen close in a second quarter timeout.
Not a word was said during the shootaround before the second half.
The Colton girls were down 31-15 to Pomeroy in the 1B state championship game at Spokane Arena.
The mission was set, the four senior starters, if not someone else, had to get them back in this game.
Emily Schultheis started it, on the first possession of the third quarter, with a three-point swish from the top of the key. Then it was Dakota Patchen for two and Schultheis again for three.
It was on. What Colton could not do in the first half – make shots – they could in the second and tied the game by the end of the quarter, going on to win their 10th state 1B championship in 11 years.
"16 minutes is an eternity in basketball," said Wildcats coach Clark Vining. "So we had plenty of time to right the ship. We just thought, keep doing what got us there and it'll turn for us."
Senior guard Jordyn Moehrle scored 20 points in the game while Schultheis added 16 and Dakota Patchen 11. Colton shot 3-for-10 for two feet in the first half. They outscored Pomeroy 20-4 in the third quarter.
It started all Pirates – a three from sophomore guard Emma Severs, a two-footer from Nikki Halbert, a Patchen pass out of bounds on a miscommunication with Abby Kelly, another Colton senior. Patchen from the corner, off.
Pomeroy led 18-4 at the end of the first quarter.
Maggi Pluid hit from outside, then Halbert denied a Colton shot under the basket from Josie Schultheis as the score held at 18-8 for a long stretch. A whistle, another double-dribble on Patchen.
Moerhle scored on a drive and foul to cut the lead to nine before Severs and Halbert put Pomeroy back up 14, nearing the half. The Wildcats' Rylee Vining shot for three, off the rim and backboard.
Pomeroy scored again, 31-15.
But the second half – the storm came, starting with Schultheis' shot.
"You could almost feel it in the arena, once Emily hit that first one," Vining said. "Like it was contagious in the building."
Moehrle switched to guard Severs on defense.
Another Moerhle drive to the basket cut the lead to seven, then a Schultheis block in the aftermath of a foul on Pomeroy's Maddy Dixon. Patchen drove, scored and yelled, the margin down to six again.
A pileup on the court, jump ball, possession Colton. Halbert guarded Schultheis, Patchen hit a three. Patchen threw to Schultheis for two, Halbert chasing, Colton trailed by a point.
At the end of a Pomeroy shot clock, Schultheis blocked a shot by Sydney Smith.
A free-throw by Patchen got the first tie at 33-33.
Before the inbound to start the fourth quarter, Patchen and Moehrle smiled and joked.
Dixon guarded Schultheis, the Pirates' Sydney Smith on Patchen and it kept up. Smith hit a three, Patchen did too. Smith scored inside, Dixon missed inside and Moehrle hit from the top of the key for 42-40 Colton.
Then a Schultheis three built the lead, 45-41.
Pomeroy started to imitate. Smith off from three. You can't win a three-point contest against Colton.
Time out on the floor.
"Blue and white! Blue and white!" chanted Colton fans.
"Orange and black! Orange and black!' answered Pomeroy.
Emma Severs back on Patchen, a baseline drive from Moehrle put Colton up five with 2:20 left.
A steal by Maggi Pluid helped seal it off.
Colton had done it. Their 10th championship in 11 years under coach Clark Vining, his daughter Rylee now a sophomore and second-year starter at guard.
The team gathered amidst screams and hugs to lift up the gold ball trophy. They lined up before the cameras.
"Hey, get a picture of us doing ten," Coach Vining called out to Jerry Morse, a longtime Colton baseball coach and Wildcats sports photographer. And Vining and the girls held up their open hands.
They finished the year 24-2. Pomeroy went 22-4, all four of its losses to Colton.
Colton's six seniors include Patchen, Schultheis, Moehrle, Pluid, Abby Kelly and Addison Kinzer.
"They're gonna be missed," said Vining. "Great kids, great people, along with great basketball players."
Pomeroy made three-two point baskets in the second half of the championship game and one-three-pointer: 4-for-18. Colton went 4-for-17 in the first quarter and 12-for-20 in the second half, including 6-for-8 three-pointers.
"I thought our defensive focus was a lot better in the second half," said Vining.
Colton's two losses on the year came to East Valley, which placed second in state in 2A and Davenport, which finished fourth in 2B.
At state, the Wildcats beat Selkirk and Neah Bay in blowouts on the way to the final.
Does the Colton School District need to expand its building again for a bigger trophy case?
"I got a sledgehammer," Vining said with a laugh. "The old one was pretty small, actually."
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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