Colfax girls top Dragons, face Gorillas for title

Colfax girls scratched out a four-point win over St. Georges’s Tuesday night in the semi-final round of the NE league tournament at West Valley. The win advances the Bulldogs to Saturday’s title game when the Bulldogs will face the Davenport Gorillas, top qualifier on the north side of the NE.

The Gorillas defeated Liberty 46-39 on Tuesday in the NE’s other semi-final.

In addition to the title game ticket, Tuesday’s win carries a guarantee that Colfax will be in the state 2B tournament because the title game will award tickets to both entrants.

Colfax Tuesday took the semi round with a 51-47 win over the Dragons. The four-point margin was one of the largest for a game which saw multiple ties and lead changes.

Colfax nailed the win when Carmen Gfeller iced two toss shots with six seconds left on the clock.

Gfeller finished with 23 points, and 13 of those were off foul shots.

The final sequence started with the game tied at 46-46 with more than two minutes left on the clock. Abbie Miller hit the last Colfax bucket and Piper Cai picked up one of two toss shots to put Colfax in front.

St. George’s last point came on a toss shot. They missed a bucket in the last seconds, and Cai wrapped up the rebound. She was tied up, but the jump call went to the Bulldogs who led 49-47.

Cai threw the ball in to Gfeller who was immediately fouled. She went to the toss line and hit both shots to leave the Dragons facing an impossible two possession gap.

Colfax guard Skylre Sakamoto-Howell hit a threebie at the end of the third quarter and Shyah Antoine hit a toss shot for a 39-37 lead after the third quarter.

The Dragons came back for a 43-40 lead, but Miller hit another trey to tie it, again, at 43 all.

The last tie came at 46-46 before Colfax had the final run.

The close semi-final game picked up the theme from the first battle between the two teams when St. George’s pegged a one-point win.

Colfax Saturday will face a Davenport team which defeated them 48-40 in the lone league matchup. That Gorilla win ended an early five-game win string for the Bulldogs.,

Colfax advanced to Tuesday’s battle after hammering Asotin 49-12 in the Thursday’s quarterfinal game. The Panthers managed to score just one point in the first quarter and hit zero in the last quarter.

Gfeller also hit 24 in the quarterfinal round which again saw the Colfax bench log a lot of court time.

Colfax 49-Asotin 12: 8-/1 15/8 15/5 11/0; Skylre Sakamoto-Howell 2 (3pt) 0-0 5, Shyah Antoine 0 1-2 1, Abbie Miller 1 (3pt) 0-0 3, Piper Cai 2 0-0 4, Carmen Gfeller 11 (2 3pt) 0-0 24, Greta Geier 0 1-2 1, Kaitlyn Cornish 0 1-2 1, Kierstyn York 0 1-2 1, Sydney Berquist 1 1-2 3. Total 19 6-11 f-13 49. Asotin Andrienne Washington 2 (3pt) 0 0-0 5, Kinsle Miller 1 0-2 2, Myka Lee 1 (3 pt) 1-2 4, Cassie Clovis 0 1-3 1. Total 4 2-7 f-13 12.

Colfax 51-St George’s 47 10-14 18/9 11/14 12/10: S. Sakamoto-Howell 1 (3pt) 0-0 3, Antoine 1 (3pt) 1-2 4, Cai 3 1-2 7, Miller 2 (3pt) 0-0 5, Taylre Sakamoto-Howell 1 (3pt) 1-2 4, Gfeller 5 13-17 23 , Geier 1 1-2 3, Rachel Brown 1 0-0 2. Total 15 17-25 f-18 51. St. George’s Lydia Berquist 2 2-2 6, Ceci Berquist 5 (3 3pt) 2-2 14, Mia Smith 3 6-7 12, Izzy Boring 2 0-0 4, Cambrie Rickard 1 2-3 4, Shayla Melendez 1 0-0 2, Daysha Melendez 2 1-2 5. Total 16 13-16 f-20 47.