Colton goes "wild" against St. John-Endicott

COLTON - The Colton Wildcats hosted the St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse Eagles on Jan. 13 and dominated, winning by a final margin of 79-15 to improve to 10-1 on the season and 4-0 in league competition.

Head coach Clark Vining and his Wildcats started the game with an emphatic showing and took a 13-2 just three minutes into the opening quarter.

Head coach Jeff Gates and his Eagles team did a good job in the opening stages, limiting shot opportunities from inside the paint for the Wildcats – normally a strength for Colton.

This defensive effort from St. John-Endicott did not phase the Wildcats and Grace Kuhle hit multiple 3-pointers in the early stages of the 1B Southeast contest.

Colton ended the opening eight-minute frame with a 30-2 advantage over the visiting Eagles.

"I thought we played a real solid ball game," Vining said. "We've been trying to really work on getting more consistent. And I thought tonight was as close as we've gotten so far on playing four complete quarters. Overall, just played a good game. All eight players did some really good stuff out there tonight."

Consistency for the Wildcats continued through the end of the first half, with Colton owning a 49-7 lead going into halftime.

"Just short-handed," Gates said. "We were starting three players down the depth chart just to get a (starting five), which is tough. Injuries, a player gone, people sick, and yeah. (Colton's) not a team you want to have that against because they'll just eat you up. And they do what they do and we knew what to expect and they executed and we didn't."

Colton continued its dominance into the third frame with a 7-0 opening run before the Eagles' Dakota Fox interrupted the seemingly-uninterruptible scoring of the Wildcats.

Those were the only points St. John-Endicott scored for the rest of the quarter and Colton led 73-9 going into the final eight minutes of the game.

The Eagles put up their best quarter of the contest in the fourth, holding pace with the Wildcats for a 6-6 frame, but Colton ultimately came out with the 64-point decision.

Kuhle accounted for 40 of Colton's 79 points. 24 of Kuhle's points came from eight made 3-pointers on 13 attempts.

Ella Nollmeyer added 13 points and Kyndra Stout provided 11.

Oliva Kjack paced the St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse with five points. Four other Eagles added two points apiece to round out the 13-point total.

St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse played Yakama Nation Tribal on Jan. 14, losing 62-34.

Kenzie Stanley paced the team with 14 points in the loss.

Colton beat Touchet 69-24 on Jan. 14. The Wildcats were led by Stout, who tallied 25 points and Kuhle, who added 22.

St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse played against Wilbur-Creston-Keller on Jan. 17 in St. John. Results were unavailable at press time.

ST. JOHN-ENDICOTT/LACROSSE (4-5, 1-5)

Catalina Torres 1 0-0 2, Dakota Fox 1 0-0 2, Olivia Danielson 0 0-0 0, Bailey Brown 1 0-2 2, Oliva Kjack 2 1-2 5, Kenzie Stanley 1 0-0 2, Sophia Anderson 0 0-0 0, Avery Fleming 1 0-0 2, Sarah Quigly 0 0-0 0. Totals 7 1-4 15.

COLTON (11-1, 4-0)

Grace Kuhle 15 2-4 40, Holly Heitstuman 1 1-3 3, Rori Weber 1 0-0 2, Kyndra Stout 5 0-0 11, Ella Nollmeyer 6 0-0 13, Kaydee Heitstuman 2 0-0 4, Clair Moehrle 3 0-2 6, Sidni Whitcomb 0 0-0 0.

SJEL 2 5 2 6–15

Colton 30 19 19 11–79

3-point goals – Kuhle 8, Stout, Nollmeyer.