A legend etched at eight

Garth Meyer, Gazette Reporter | Mar 08, 20170

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Colton girls, ACH rebound

THE SPOILERS – Almira/Coulee/Hartline sophomore Gabi Isaak secures a rebound in the first half of the Warriors’ state semifinal win over Colton as the Wildcats’ Abby Kelly looks on.

Was it the two-point third quarter?

Was it 16 Colton fouls called to nine for Almira/Coulee/Hartline?

Was it two Mosers enrolled at University of Washington and none at Colton High School?

Was it no one to drive the lane when their three-pointers were not falling?

Was it just a strange afternoon in Spokane?

The Colton girls' record streak of eight-straight 1B state basketball championships ended at Spokane Arena last Friday.

On Saturday, they routed Sunnyside Christian to take third for 2017.

The state semifinal against Almira/Coulee/Hartline started like so many others. Disciplined Colton took the floor all in the same shoes, the same socks, and an opening three-pointer from Meghan Devorak put Colton up 5-1, followed by a Warriors pass from sophomore post Gabi Isaak to Berlyn Hunt that went through her hands. A drive by Hunt followed with a stumble and travel.

After a corner three-pointer from Devorak it was 8-1. Then another drive from Hunt, collision with Colton's Georgia Meyer, foul on Hunt.

Devorak passed to Abby Kelly for a two-footer under the basket, 10-1. Guard Jordyn Moehrle drove the lane for a five-footer for 12-4.

But the Warriors stayed in the game, cutting as close to 26-22 at halftime. Moehrle finished the half on the bench with three fouls.

In the third quarter, with Colton missing from outside, a three-pointer from Hunt put the Warriors up 36-28 with :50 left.

ACH's Isaak drove, got fouled and finished with a desperate scoop shot that dropped in for 38-28.

With 11 seconds still left in the third, Colton's Kendyl Druffel drove and flipped the ball to sophomore Emily Schultheis for a corner three-pointer. No – off the far side of the far rim.

“Warrior Power! Warrior Power!” chanted the Almira/Coulee/ Hartline fans.

Opening the fourth quarter, Hunt – the lone senior on the ACH roster –drove, scored and was fouled for 40-28.

Could they hold onto this?

Colton took the ball up the floor, worked it to Patchen for three – off, she got the rebound and drove, off again. The Wildcats' 1-for-14 cold streak of the third quarter continued.

Druffel soon hit a corner three-pointer to cut the lead to nine.

ACH took posession again, and after four offensive rebounds, Hunt downed a three-pointer from the top of the key, 43-31.

Under six minutes left, and Patchen missed from three and Devorak drove and was fouled.

She made the free throw for 43-34.

ACH scored again, and again, when sophomore Mikayla Rushton drove and hit a four-footer with contact – no whistle.

The Warriors led 47-36 with 3:28 left in the game.

“Why isn't Jordan in?” Devorak called to Druffel.

“She fouled out,” Druffel answered.

Druffel, another senior, worked the ball and threw to Kelly for a basket underneath. Colton trapped Isaak into a travel: Wildcats ball.

Druffel passed to Devorak for three: 47-41.

On Colton's next posession, a Druffel three-point attempt skimmed the bottom of the backboard.

Isaak then scored off an assist from ACH point guard Tiffany Boutain – who had two rods inserted into her back in June from scoliosis surgery.

After a Wildcats' steal by Kelly, Colton scored to make it 49-43 with 1:00 remaining.

Patchen hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to five, and Colton fouled sophomore Boutain at :54. She missed the first of the one-and-one.

Patchen drove for 49-46.

Colton fouled Hunt.

She went to the line and missed.

Colton rushed the ball up the floor and called timeout with six seconds remaining.

Out of the timeout, Druffel inbounded to Patchen, who had no room to move. Coach Clark Vining yelled timeout again; three seconds left in the game.

At the next whistle, Druffel passed to Patchen at the top of the key, who took the contested three-point shot.

If it fell, the game would go to overtime and Colton's streak would stay alive, for a chance to win in overtime and advance to the final.

Colton had cured its third-quarter cold. The game's momentum had shifted. It seemed likely the Wildcats would win in overtime, perhaps going away.

Patchen's shot bounced off the front of the rim.

In the scuffle for the ball ACH's Bradshaw was fouled, went to the line and made one free throw for the final score of 50-46.

“We started rolling a little too late,” said Devorak.

The senior guard led her team with 14 points while Druffel and Patchen each had 10 and Kelly eight.

Hunt led the Warriors with 24 points while Boutain scored 13.

FOURTH-YEAR

“I think what changed in the (second, third quarter) we weren't attacking the way we should have,” Devorak said. “...We were trying to be a little more outside. 'If you drive, they won't foul,' (Vining) said to us. That's where it was really key to have a player like Zoe Moser.”

Moser, a two-year starter at point guard, graduated in 2016 as the last of four Moser sisters who starred for the Wildcats, stretching to the beginning of the streak in 2009. Jenna Moser is now on the roster at University of Washington.

“I think the huge difference was rebounding,” Devorak said of the ACH loss. “It was rebounding.”

If they played them again, who would win?

“I think it would be us, it would be no question,” said Devorak. “That was not our best. It didn't end the we wanted it to, but I'm proud of my team. And how many teams don't even get to the state tournament. It's an incredible place to play.”

Devorak, from Uniontown, has spent her entire school years at Colton.

“I've been practically raised in that gym,” she said.

As a fourth-grader, Devorak listened on the radio as the first Colton girls team won state in 2009.

On that Monday, a school assembly was held and she and the other children got to touch the gold ball trophy.

“You watch those girls, that's all you want to be,” she said. “You can't wait until you get to be them... I see little girls now as you pass by on the court, with a look on their face, I know exactly what's going through their minds.”

Almira/Coulee/ Hartline ended Colton's streak in the first year of a new state tournament format, which allowed higher-seeded teams to still advance to Spokane even if they lose in regionals.

If this was last year, the team that unseated Colton's eight-year streak would not have made it to Spokane. Almira/Coulee/Hartline lost to Republic – the eventual state champions – in a regional game March 3.

LEAD WARRIOR

Mike Correia, a 19-year Almira/Coulee/ Hartline coach in various capacities, also led the Warrior girls in the 2011 state final, Colton's fourth consecutive 1B championship.

This time it turned out differently.

“The thing that didn't go according to plan, we wanted to get inside to (Isaak), they double-teamed her and that opened up things for other people. ...” Correia said. “Crashing the boards. They double on Gabi, we've got someone free not getting boxed out.”

Bradshaw, a sophomore forward, guarded Patchen the whole game.

On the last play, she was on her, and two other defenders jumped from the screen to contest the shot.

ACH's starting post player, junior Caitlin O' Neill, went down with the flu three hours before tip-off for the semifinal. She did not play.

The Warriors used mainly five players in the game, with only two substitutes in for a minute and a half.

“As a coach, when you get something working, you're scared to change it,” said Correia, who called several timeouts just to rest his players.

In the third quarter, as the game shifted in ACH's favor, Correira braced for a shift back.

“There were times I wondered why they didn't drive more, but our girls were doing a good job of jumping screens and stopping that drive,” he said. “...You just believe those threes are going to start hitting. But we needed every point to beat them.”

In Correia's game plan, Bradshaw was to stay on Patchen at all times.

When Moehrle or another Colton player drove to the basket, usually an ACH helper on defense would converge from the wing, leaving an open opportunity for Colton to pass to a three-point shooter.

“Don't leave Patchen,” Correia told Bradshaw. “We're not converging.”

It's what happened when Devorak hit the early three-pointers.

THE COACH

Clark Vining, the 12th-year Wildcats coach returned to Colton without a gold ball trophy for the first time since former president George W. Bush was two months out of office.

“It was a great tournament, it ended on a great note, beating Sunnyside Christian to take third,” Vining said. “It said a lot about our program as a whole, to come out again and win the way we did.

The third-place game was never close. Colton won 72-41.

“Honestly, it might have been the same result, no matter who we played,” said Vining. “We kind of had something to prove. To get up off the mat and get back to it.”

For the semifinal, the memory is sure to hold in state lore; who won the 1991 men's NCAA title? It was not UNLV, because Duke beat them in the national semifinal to end the defending champions' undefeated season.

“Rebounding definitely hurt us,” said Vining of last Friday in Spokane. “But we didn't play bad, even that third quarter. We had good looks, we were getting good shots. Our defense was solid. We could make up 10 points. I've seen us score pretty quickly over the years.”

To cut the score down to get to a chance to tie for overtime was a highlight.

“I thought we had a great comeback,” Vining said. “... It was kind of a weird night overall.”

The inbound plays at the end were both well-executed, he indicated.

When Moerhle fouled out 20 seconds into the fourth quarter, Colton drove less.

“Maybe that's why we got less fouls called,” said Vining.

Colton's streak of 10 straight district championships continues.

“Overall it was a great year. That one quarter doesn't define a season, for sure,” Vining said.

What was it like to regroup after the semifinal?

“It was tough,” said the coach. “We knew we had another game. You keep fighting, that's what you do.”

In the concluding win over Sunnyside Christian, Patchen hit seven three-pointers to score 24 points with six rebounds. Kelly added nine points and Moehrle delivered nine points, six assists and eight rebounds. Georgia Meyer added eight points and 12 rebounds.

Colton opened the tournament with a 75-31 win over Neah Bay.

Now that the unprecendented streak is etched in stone at eight, the mark is set for all to look to.

“It's an incredible accomplishment for our program,” Vining said. “We're hoping to start a new chapter. Hopefully we did that on Saturday.”