Othello knocks off Ellensburg in clash of CWAC titans

Girls basketball recaps

OTHELLO - The Othello girls basketball team has 11 consecutive victories, but none were bigger than Saturday night's.

The Lady Huskies moved within a game of first place in the Central Washington Athletic Conference standings, downing No. 1 Ellensburg 65-60 at P.J. Taggares Gymnasium.

Othello (13-2 overall, 10-2 CWAC) got a monster performance from junior Allison Walker in overcoming a 51-46 deficit after three quarters. Walker finished with 17 points and 24 rebounds, and six of her points came in the fourth quarter.

Ellensburg (12-2, 11-1) got balanced offense as Deira Gordon, Kristen Wyatt and Kayla Standish all scored 13 points each. But the Huskies' sister combination of Courtney Kirkwood (21 points) and Christine Kirkwood (13 points) made the difference.

Ellensburg won the teams' previous meeting on Dec. 15, 65-59, but Othello has won eight straight conference games since its 2-2 start. The Huskies look to keep their win streak alive on Tuesday when they go to Selah at 6 p.m.

Quincy 62, Toppenish 54

TOPPENISH - The Lady Jackrabbits got their fourth win of the CWAC season, using a 22-10 second-period run to scurry past the Wildcats.

Quincy (4-10 overall, 4-8 CWAC) got 20 points from Tashia Zamarron, 18 from Taylor Kunkel and nine from Dayanna Lopez to win. The Jacks overcame the strong game from Toppenish's A.J. Yarlott, who had game-highs of 21 points and 17 rebounds.

Quincy hosts Ephrata on Friday at 6 p.m.

Selah 59, Ephrata 44

EPHRATA - The Lady Tigers had problems with Selah's Sasha Valdez, the CWAC's leading scorers, who tallied a game-high 25 points.

Ephrata (1-13, 1-11) trailed 13-5 early on before getting within 22-18 at the break. But the Vikings took control in the fourth quarter with a 21-12 edge.

Justine Hintz led the Tigers with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Greer Monson added nine points. However, two of Ephrata's key players - BreAnne Duff and Abby Smith - were held scoreless.

Ephrata goes to Quincy on Friday at 6 p.m.

Friday

Othello 73, Grandview 57

GRANDVIEW - The Huskies limited the Greyhounds to 34 percent shooting to win their CWAC showdown.

Othello led 40-22 at halftime as three players finished in double-digit scoring. Christine Kirkwood led the way with 19 points, Courtney Kirkwood had 18 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals, and Allison Walker chipped in 16 points.

Kinzi Poteet paced Grandview with 22 points, and Anna George added 17 points, nine rebounds and three steals.

Soap Lake 57, Oroville 21

SOAP LAKE - The Lady Eagles won for the 10th time in 12 outings, routing the visiting Hornets in North Central League action.

Soap Lake never left any doubt in the final result, going up 20-4 after one quarter and limiting Oroville to single digits in all four periods.

Mercedes Franks led all scorers with 13 points. Michelle Marthini scored 12, while Tanya Babak and Ariel Wernex had 11 points apiece.

The Eagles head to Kittitas on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Lind-Ritzville 55, Liberty 35

SPANGLE - The Lady Broncos limited the Lancers to 11 second-half points and cruised to a Bi-County League win.

Lind-Ritzville (16-3 overall, 13-2 league) locked up the league's No. 2 seed to the district tournament. The Broncos got 10 points from Emmy Bouwman, nine from Kelsey Arlt and eight apiece from Devon Killian and Cassie Cole.

Lind-Ritzville finishes the regular season on Tuesday, hosting league champion Northwest Christian at 6 p.m.

Moses Lake Christian 64, Wilson Creek 38

MOSES LAKE - The Lady Lions were in total control of their North Central League meeting with the Devils, using big games from Heidi Sandberg, Esther Timofeyev and Kristina Firouzi.

Sandberg recorded her second triple-double in two weeks, scoring 11 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and collecting 12 steals. Timofeyev had 16 points, nine rebounds, seven steals and was 8 for 8 on free throws. Firouzi had 13 points, three rebounds and five steals.

"We are coming together at the right time," Lions head coach Emerson Ferguson said via e-mail. "Hopefully we can put together a big win streak heading into the postseason. With the way we are playing now, I don't see any reason why we can't."

Holly Wilson had 14 points to lead Wilson Creek and Ksenja Fredere added nine points.

Moses Lake Christian travels to Sunnyside Christian on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

ACH 46, Odessa 39

ODESSA - The Lady Tigers went on an 11-4 run to close the game, but couldn't catch the Lady Warriors in a Bi-County League contest.

ACH led 31-20 at halftime and 42-28 after three quarters before Odessa rallied. The Warriors got a game-high 16 points from Sarah Gloyn, and Niki Osborne and Niki Porterfield had eight points apiece.

Odessa's Mariah Davison scored 12 points and Jordan Frederick chipped in 11.

Wapato 49, Quincy 44

QUINCY - Tashia Zamarron had a terrific all-around game of 14 points, 10 rebounds and six steals, but the Lady Jackrabbits fell to the Wolves in CWAC play.

Quincy led 14-9 early on and 22-17 at the half before Wapato countered behind Hayley Strom, who poured in a game-high 16 points. Lesa Hearst scored 10 points for Quincy and Taylor Kunkel added nine points.

Ellensburg 77, Ephrata 25

ELLENSBURG - The Lady Tigers fell short on both ends of the court, losing to the Bulldogs in a CWAC contest.

Ellensburg led 43-14 at halftime and kept Ephrata to single digits in three of four quarters. Kayla Standish paced the Bulldogs with 21 points, while Casey Kelleher and Deaira Gordon added 10 points apiece. Margaret Eisen was Ephrata's high scorer with six.