Colfax girls finish sweep, start playoffs

Colfax girls finished their 14-game league sweep over the weekend with a hard-fought win at Reardan Friday night and a second round win at Colfax on their home court over Tekoa/Rosalia Saturday afternoon.

The wins matched the 14-0 Bulldogs against Wilbur/Creston Wildcats in the first round of the four-day NE tournament in Reardan Wednesday afternoon.

Top four teams on the south and north sides of the NE were matched in inverse order. Wilbur/Creston defeated Kettle Falls in 68-61 in a Monday playoff game to break a tie. The NE this year went to an overall points count to break ties, but the Wildcats-K-dog playoff was allowed because the last playoff entry was on the line.

The playoff loss ended the hoop year for the Kettle Falls girls. Springdale, last place on the north side, is also out.

Also done for the year is Tekoa/Rosalia which dropped down the standings two weeks ago with a loss to Liberty on the Lancers’ court. The win put the Lancers in the number four slot.

Colfax started the playoffs opposite Northwest Christian, a team which tangled with the Bulldogs in a spectacular way last year on the playoff trail. The Crusaders topped the north side of the league and posted a 19-1 record overall for the season. Their lone loss came at the hands of Colfax in the one league collision. Colfax topped the Crusader veterans 56-37 after moving to a big lead early in the game.

Northwest Christian, like Colfax, has several players who were on the campaign trail last year.

After Wednesday’s first round, the NE semi-finals will be Saturday at Readan with the winners of the four opening games pairing off.

If the two league leaders avoid derailments in the first and second rounds at Reardan they will collide next Thursday in the NE championship game.

Last Friday at Ritzville, the Bulldogs pegged a seven-point lead over the Broncos in the first quarter, played near even ball for the next two quarters and then added five beans to the deficit in the last quarter for the 50-43 win.

“It’s always a tough place to play up there,” Colfax Coach Corey Baerlocher said.

He credited the Bulldog girls with tightening up the defense in the right places. Toward the end of the season, Colfax defenders have been able to clamp down of top scorers from previous clashes.

Colfax also hit a steady 35 percent mark on shooting. The Bulldogs made the trip to Reardan with a three -game cushion for the top slot in the league, but their aim was to finish out the league sweep.

Saturday afternoon on the home court Colfax pegged a 23-6 edge over the Timberwolves in the first quarter on the way to a 64-36 run. Coach Baerlocher again rationed out the game time with a final home appearance by seniors Amara Huber, Andra Hamilton and Kori Goodwin in the last quarter.

Huber finished with 17 and Hamilton and Goodwin each hit nine for the home signoff.

The game marked the last hoop court action for six Tekoa/Rosalia seniors: Melissa Groom, Maddie Bogenreif, Olivia Pakootas, Maggie Hereford, Rayna Charles and Kimberly Groom.

Colfax 50-Lind/Ritzville/Sprague 43: 14/7 8/10 13/10 15/10: Amara Huber 6(3pt) 3-3 16, Kori Goodwin 0 2-2 2, Ashtyn Aune 2(3pt) 0-0 5, Scout Cai 3 2-4 8, Olivia Mellor 1 0-0 2 Carmen Gfeller 1 2-5 4, Sidney Sheer 1 2-2 4, Taylor Garcia 3(3pt) 2-4 9. Total: 17 13-22 13-22 f-22 50. Lind/Ritzville/Sprague: Jenna Bennett 0 9-14 9, Payton Curtis 2(3pt) 5-6 10, Tessa Jantz 2 0-0 4, Madi Harder 1 2-4 4, Mallory Kessler 2(3pt) 0-0 5, Tommi Swannak 4 3-3 11. Total: 11 19-27 f-19 43.

Colfax 64-Tekoa/Rosalia 36: 23/8 18/14 18/8 7/6: Amara Huber 5(3pt) 6-6 17, Andra Hamilton 3 3pt ) 2-3 9, Kori Goodwin 3 3-4 9, Ashtyn Aune 1(3pt) 2-2 5, Scout Cai 2 2-2 6, Olivia Mellor 1 0-0 2, Carmen Gfeller 3(3pt) 2-2 9, Sidney Sheer 1(3pt) 0-0 3, Taylor Garcia 2 0-0 4. Total; 21 17-19 f-16 64, Tekoa/Rosalia: Hannah Beach (3pt) 1-3 8, Maddie Bogenreif 1 (3pt) 0-2 3, Olivia Pakootas 3 (2-3pt) 0-0 8, Rayna Charles 0 6-6 6, Kimberly Groom 1(3pt) 2-2 5, Maggie Hereford 1 0-0 2, Logan Dempsey 2 0-0 4. Total: 11 9-12 f-15 36,