Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Oakesdale girls
Oakesdale junior forward Anne Hockett scores against Evergreen Lutheran in a state seeding game. For more pictures, see Weekly Pages: March 2.
Two teams, both from Whitman County, both from the Southeast 1B league, carry the honor of the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the state 1B tournament this week in Spokane.
Colton, No. 1, is in a familiar spot as the eight-time defending state champions. Oakesdale won the state 1B volleyball championship in November, but for basketball they have not made an appearance at Spokane Arena since the Tekoa/Oakesdale co-op lost to Colton in the 2014 state final.
Oakesdale's seniors were freshmen on that team.
Now, in 2017, Oakesdale is known as the team that beat Colton; the first 1B team to do it in recent memory.
The Nighthawks won in overtime in January at Colton. On Feb. 4, the Wildcats routed Oakesdale in its gym.
The two could meet next at Spokane Arena. If it happens, it would be in the state championship game.
Colton will open the tournament Thursday at 10:30 a.m. against the winner of No. 10-seed Neah Bay vs. No. 7 Evergreen Lutheran.
Oakesdale opens at state Thursday at 2 p.m. against the first-round winner of No. 8 Selkirk or No. 9 Sunnyside Christian.
Colton 54
Selkirk 26
Playing at Cheney High School last Friday for a regional game, Colton (21-2) opened the road to state with a win over Selkirk. Jordyn Moehrle led with 18 points while Dakota Patchen scored 13. Abby Kelly delivered six points and seven rebounds.
“We played really good defense, in a good overall game,” said Colton coach Clark Vining.
In the new state tournament format, the game was not an elimination game.
Colton earned a first-round bye in Spokane this week while Selkirk went to a do-or-die opening round Wednesday at state.
“It's been a good year, we played a really tough schedule and we're prepared for the tournament,” said Vining. “We're playing our best basketball at the end of the season.”
The Colton team and coaches left school at mid-day Wednesday with a send-off from the community.
The Wildcats' 2017 state team has many players who contributed significant minutes to the 2016 championship. This year's starting five of Kendyl Druffel, Dakota Patchen, Jordyn Moehrle, Meghan Devorak and Georgia Meyer all played key roles last year. Druffel and Devorak are seniors while Meyer is a junior and Moerhle and Patchen are sophomores.
“We're excited to get back to the Arena,” Vining said.
OAKESDALE
As the Colton girls wound down their victory Friday over Selkirk, behind them in the bleachers in street clothes was the state's No. 2 overall seed.
The Nighthawk girls watched two teams they may meet this week in Spokane, after Oakesdale beat Evergreen Lutheran Saturday to advance to a first-round bye.
“Each step will take you to a tougher team,” said Oakesdale coach Ken Lindgren, who will act as a basketball coach at state for the first time since serving as an assistant on the Tekoa/Oakesdale boys staff in the early '90s. He took over the Oakesdale girls team two years ago.
Lindgren is also a WIAA executive – the man in a green jacket who presents gold ball trophies to state champions.
This year, someone may need to fill in for one of the ceremonies.
Oakesdale is the first 1B team to beat Colton since today's players were in grade school. The two local teams are now two wins away from meeting each other in a state final.
“You get to this time of year, you've got a lot of teams that can win ballgames,” Lindgren said.
What about Colton? Does he think about it, does he encourage or discourage the team from thinking about it?
“One at a time,” he said. “You cannot get to Colton unless you get through the other teams first.”
Oakesdale will arrive at the Arena Wednesday to scout its next opponent. Then it will be back on the bus for home and back to Spokane Thursday morning.
Earlier in the week, the Nighthawks were named 1B girls academic state champions.
Lindgren had a message for his team after practice Tuesday night.
“Enjoy this journey,” he said. “You may get to state another time but it won't be the same. The people will be different, the situation will be different. Every chance you get to experience this is special.”
Oakesdale 69
Evergreen Lutheran 23
Jacey Johnson's 17 points led Oakesdale (20-5) over Evergreen Lutheran (17-7) of Tacoma in a 1B regional game at Cheney Feb. 25.
“We moved the ball really well as a team,” Lindgren said.
Oakesdale led 22-5 after the first quarter and 31-16 at halftime.
“This is a great group of girls,” Lindgren said. “They don't complain. They just work.”
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
Reader Comments(0)