Tigers, Jacks hoops doubleheader highlights busy weekend

EPHRATA — Two schools, four coaches, and approximately four dozen basketball athletes are set to clash in Ephrata on Saturday and hundreds of fans are expected to follow.

Those loyal to Quincy and Ephrata high schools or the casual fan could show up Saturday night at the Tigers’ gym starting at 5:45 p.m. to take in what promises to be a girls/boys basketball doubleheader between two school separated by 17 miles and united by a long history.

All four teams — the girls and boys varsity squads for Ephrata and Quincy — will wrap up their weekend of Central Washington Athletic Conference action against one another. Both games promise interesting storylines for their intended viewers.

On the boys’ side, the Tigers (8-0, 6-0) are ranked No. 2 in Class 2A and take on a Quincy team coming off their first win off the season on Saturday and looking to continue its newfound momentum,

The girls’ contest features locked up in the middle of the CWAC pack with both owning feelings that a district playoff bid could be in their future.

What it all boils down to is 64 minutes of pure passion stemming more from geography than records. But a little extra drama never hurts.

“These seniors have always embraced this rivalry,” Tigers’ boys coach Brandon Evenson said. “They do practice with a little more intensity during this week. But they understand that we have Othello first on Friday.”

Quincy (1-7, 1-5) went to the Class 2A quarterfinals last year and lost a large number of that roster only to see this season start off slow before finally breaking into the win column with their win over Othello.

“We are coming off our first win of the year and our players continue to improve each day and they are learning our system and becoming more confident,” Quincy coach Wade Petersen said. “We are looking to play to our full potential every game we play. Our goal is to make it into districts. A win would go a long ways toward that goal.”

Despite the disparity in records Evenson’s Tigers enter the contest fully aware of the task at hand.

“Quincy is a well coached bunch of good kids,” Evenson said. “Jay Cedergreen has played on varsity forever it seems and is a true basketball player in ever sense of the word. Luke Grigg I have know for a long time and he is a super kid and also a good player. They come off a big win against Othello where it might spring board them to more wins. We have to be ready to play. Everyone had us written off last year and both games came down to the wire. It will be a fun game to watch.”

Ephrata has been led by Washington State Cougars signee Patrick Simon and the consistent play of Ross Buchert, Randall Tupling, and Mark Novik.

“Ephrata is a very solid team,” Petersen said. “Most people know of Simon and Buchert who are both excellent players but they have other players who are very good also. Tupling, Novik, and the Prescod twins (Tyrone and Jerome) are very solid also. They have good depth as a team and are a tough matchup for anybody.”

The girls’ contest features a Quincy team (5-3, 3-3) which has surpassed last year’s win total already by virtue of a number of narrow, clutch wins.

Ephrata’s Lady Tigers (4-4, 3-3) have been an up-and-down team that features unquestionable youthful talent.

Both hope they can escape the weekend closer to a coveted district spot.

“Our team is playing pretty good basketball right now,” Quincy Lady Jacks coach Cully Donovan said. “We need to find a consistent level of play every night. We are battling through some injuries and will be on the road for both games this weekend. The players always get excited to play Ephrata, but are keeping pretty level-headed about it. They understand that we have a game Friday (at Wapato) that we need to concentrate on first.”

Quincy has been led by the play of seniors Dayanna and Marisol Lopez, Taylor Kunkel, and Kayla Horning along with sophomore Cassidee Davis.

“The kids are very familiar with each other,” Lady Tigers’ coach Aaron Ross said. “Some know each other off the court and we play them in the summer quite a bit so the kids get very excited to play Quincy. We try to keep things in perspective regardless of the outcome knowing that it is a long season and we have many games left. But certainly the Quincy game is one you look at that you would like to play well and win.”

The Ephrata ladies have seen solid contributions all season from sophomores Kelsey Yenney and Maddie Lotz, junior Abby Smith, and seniors Mallory Lotz and Alex DeHoog.

“We’ve had great practices this week and improved in some of the areas we need to,” Ross said. “Quincy is always well coached and prepared. They have athletic, experienced kids this year. We expect an extremely competitive game from team that is playing very well right now.”

Donovan says his squad will take the rivalry game in stride since a long season still remains ahead of them.

“We try to approach this game like all the other league games,” Donovan said. “The girls do a good job of moving on, so I don’t think it will have a huge effect win or lose.”

Still regardless of all four coaches try to put the importance of the big picture over the immediate intensity of a rivalry the pending result could still cast good or bad momentum on any of them once the dust settles.

“I think that this game can help a struggling team but it really is only two games in the regular season and the team will take that approach,” Evenson said. “Losses only affect you negatively if you let them.”