Colfax girls will need speed, D to wage cage campaign

Colfax basketball season marked a sharing start Tuesday when the Bulldogs, Colton, and Lakeside rambled through a hoop jamboree at Colfax. Each team came out of it with a 1-1 mark in the 10-minute matchups.

Colton posted their win over the Eagles, and Colfax took their win over Colton with Amelie Bruya hitting a barrage of three-pointers.

Colfax girls resume action after being stopped by Lake Roosevelt in the regional round last year at University High. Senior grads off last year’s team were Brooke Webber, Shaina Simonson and Raven Elkins.

Coach Corey Baerlocher said overall team size will be down this year and that will mean more speed and tougher defense will be needed.

Colfax will start the season next Thursday at Lakeside and open the home court season against Freeman Friday. The Scotties had been scheduled here this Friday but the matchup was scratched because most of the Colfax boys team had yet to convert from a football mode.

Back in the varsity lineup this year are Bruya, Misty Skelton, Hannah Harazin, Taylor Larsen, Rachel Robinson and Elizabeth Hatley.

Harazin, Skelton and Hatley will be the seniors on the club. Bruya, and Robinson are juniors, and Larsen is a sophomore.

Nicole Sheer, a 6-0 sophomore who missed volleyball season with an injury, has been cleared to return to the court Dec. 8. Coach Baerlocher plans to have Sheer gradually work up to speed before she gets into any game pressure situations.

He hopes to have her in lineup for the SunDome Shootout dates during the Christmas break.

In addition to the returnees, Baerlocher will move Scoops Hahn and Bailey Mackleit up to the varsity. Both are sophomores.

Colfax girls basketball, like volleyball, will have to contend with a team of Reardan veterans during the coming campaign. Liz Flowers, Kelsey Moos, Lauren Schulz and Chantel Heath will also be back on the circuit.

Reardan went into the tourney rounds last year with an 18-2 record. The two loses at that point were to Colville and Almira-Coulee-Hartline.

Colfax came closest to stopping the Chiefs in league play when they came within a point of the league champs, 43-44 in the second round.

Coach Baerlocher noted Colfax hoop grad Natalie Shaw will help on the bench this year along with Travis Cocking. Long-time assistant Tom Fowler plans to reduce his role on the bench this year.