Colfax boys survive while girls dominate district semifinals

COLFAX – For one of the very few times during the 2023-24 basketball season, the Colfax Bulldogs boys team were in trouble of losing their first game of the season.

The game was played against the Northwest Christian (Colbert) Crusaders, and was the district semifinal match, played on Wednesday, Feb. 7, in West Valley.

Colfax seemingly had the game wrapped up through the first half, however, a massive comeback from the Crusaders, along with a buzzer-beating shot, forced the game into overtime.

The Bulldogs re-grouped, and dominated the overtime period, winning the game 76-70, and advancing to the district championship match.

At the end of the first quarter the Bulldogs would lead 19-12. Both teams made three-point shots to end the quarter.

Seth Lustig and Jayce Kelly both scored five in the first quarter, and JP Wigen had four.

Colfax used their first quarter lead to their advantage, out-scoring Northwest Christian 17-10 in the second to lead 36-22 at half.

Kelly would takeover in the third for Colfax, he scored 11 points alone. Colfax would score 14 total in the third as the Crusaders made a late push to cut the lead to eight with a quarter left.

In the fourth, the Bulldogs struggled to close the game, and forced costly turnovers as Northwest Christian would tie the game on a last-second three, forcing overtime.

In overtime, Northwest Christian missed four foul shots early, and the Bulldogs would make seven as they would earn the six-point victory.

Kelly finished the game with a team-high 31 points. Lustig finished with 11, and WIgen had 13, including five free throws in overtime.

On the girls side, Colfax was much more dominant, scoring double-digit points in each o the four quarters, while holding their opponent, the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos to five in the third as Colfax would win 62-41.

The game was also played on Wednesday, Feb. 7, in West Valley.

Zoe Galbreath would start the game on fire for the Broncos, scoring eight points in the first alone. Colfax responded with 15 points in the first, however, to lead by two.

In the second quarter, Brynn McGaughy came alive, scoring seven points to lead Colfax. Hailey Demler also had four in the quarter as the Bulldogs would lead by five at half.

Both Demler and McGaughy proved too powerful in the third, combining for 14 points while holding the Broncos to just five, closing the game out.

For good measure, Colfax scored 13 points in the fourth, led by eight from Demler as the Bulldogs earned the 21-point victory.

Demler led the way with 27 points and seven rebounds. McGaughy had 17 points and three rebounds, and Brenna Gilchrist had six points.

Both the Bulldog boys and girls basketball teams will compete for the district title. Both teams will play at West Valley on Saturday, Feb. 10. The boys game will be at 5 p.m. against St George's, and the girls will play at 6:45 p.m. against 6:45 p.m. against Davenport.