Lady Huskies clear first 'speed bump'

OTHELLO - For a program that's one win away from its first-ever state tournament berth, there's not much urgency surrounding the Othello Lady Huskies basketball team right now.

That probably has to do with the Huskies' confidence, which reached a new stratosphere last weekend when they wrapped up a first-ever Central Washington Athletic Conference title. Othello stretched its winning streak to 18 games with a punishing 74-50 win over Quincy on Thursday, and plays for a spot in the 2A state tournament on Saturday against the Prosser Mustangs.

But Othello coach Doug Boyer exuded very little emotion after the win, calling the CWAC playoff opener just another "speed bump" on the road to a possible district title.

"We don't even talk about going to state," Boyer said. "That's how we looked at the whole season was, 'OK, are we going to go slow over these speed bumps, or are we going to take these speed bumps out?'"

Top-seeded Othello (20-2 overall) plays No. 4 Prosser at East Valley High School in Yakima on Saturday at 8 p.m. The Mustangs were 65-58 winners over No. 5 Wapato on Thursday.

Meanwhile, eighth seed Quincy (5-16 overall) faces a loser-out situation on Saturday at 8 p.m. The Jackrabbits will be back at Othello's P.J. Taggares Gymnasium to play Wapato, and coach Cully Donovan feels good about his team's chances at extending its season.

"We've played well against them, especially the second time around," Donovan said. "Hopefully we can get an upset Saturday and keep going."

Quincy played extremely well in the first quarter on Thursday, taking an early 8-4 lead on easy baskets from forwards Marisol Lopez and Colleen Knodell. Othello responded with its patented low-post game, and freshman guard Christine Kirkwood sank a late 3-pointer that gave the Huskies a 20-15 lead entering the second period.

The Huskies began a big surge at that point, growing their lead to 13 points with 2:26 remaining on Kylee Mollotte's putback. Junior Allison Walker, Othello's 6-foot-1 gazelle, had 15 of her game-high 20 points by halftime as Othello led comfortably, 39-24.

"Othello's just a real athletic team," Donovan said. "They wore us out on the glass. First quarter, we rebounded really well. We just couldn't keep up with them after that."

Christine Kirkwood nailed a pair of treys en route to 18 points, while senior Courtney Kirkwood scored 12 points, eight in the first quarter. Othello's size was overwhelming at times, as the Huskies controlled the boards and discouraged the Jacks from physical play inside - something evidenced by Quincy shooting only three free throws.

"Only three free throws? That's surprising," Donovan said. "When we play well, that's what we do - we usually shoot a lot of free throws."

Boyer said Othello focused specifically on keeping Quincy stars Tashia Zamarron and Dayanna Lopez in check. Zamarron scored 15 and Lopez added 12.

"We just told them we had to get Quincy off the offensive boards," he said, "and we needed to push the ball and force turnovers."

The Jacks made a final push early in the third period after Othello had taken a 45-26 lead. Zamarron scored back-to-baskets, including a 3-point play, and Taylor Kunkel's putback drew Quincy within 10 points at the 2:24 mark.

Othello's defense was obviously lacking in that quarter, and Boyer made wholesale changes by bringing his entire starting five off the court.

"The girls weren't talking," he said. "That was one of our key points at halftime, 'We need to talk and call out the weakside (attacker).

"You get things going when you talk," Boyer added. "Eighty percent of basketball is mental, if not higher."

The Huskies went on an 8-0 run to close the third, getting a pair of fast-break layups from Christine Kirkwood to lead 58-40. The Jacks never challenged again, and Courtney Kirkwood's 3-pointer with 4:45 left put the win on ice.

Donovan complimented Othello's effort instead of criticizing his own players.

"Our girls have nothing to be upset about," he said. "They played hard the whole game, and I'm proud of them for it."

Othello's next challenge comes in the form of Prosser's dynamic duo, Jordan Brown and Tamara Jones. But the Huskies are confident after sweeping the Mustangs during conference play, and hard work has solidified an already athletic group into a possible state title contender.

"The players that I have are great," Boyer said. "These girls, every summer, put in 50 to 60 games, and they come in and play almost seven days a week."