Leaping Colton hurdle, ACH girls advance to quarterfinals

WALLA WALLA - Last year you could honestly say that one of the

best teams in the Class 1B - the Almira/Coulee-Hartline Lady

Warriors - thought their season a disappointment.

This would be only due to their 64-34 loss to Class 1B heavies

Colton in the state title game.

WALLA WALLA - Last year you could honestly say that one of the best teams in the Class 1B - the Almira/Coulee-Hartline Lady Warriors - thought their season a disappointment.

This would be only due to their 64-34 loss to Class 1B heavies Colton in the state title game.

After another solid campaign this year, the Lady Warriors had a chance for some early redemption prior to a hoped-for spot at the state finals in Spokane this coming weekend.

In the Lady Warriors' state regional round final against Colton on Friday night at Walla Walla High School, ACH could finally wipe some of that nightmarish game in Yakima partially out of their collective memory.

At least for a few days

The Lady Warriors claimed the top seed to Spokane out of the region with a big 45-43 win over Colton to give them that boost of confidence needed to maybe win that elusive state title.

"What I told the girls was that mentally it might mean something but overall it just got us to state," ACH head coach Mike Correia said. "Yeah we beat Colton and got the monkey off their back and it means a great deal to beat them because how good that team is. But, maybe at the same time you wake a giant up a little bit. In the short term it gives us the boost of confidence for sure, but success is never final. You beat one team to only have to play another and we may have to play them again."

Thursday, ACH (22-2) takes on Selkirk in a Class 1B quarterfinal at 2 p.m. in the Spokane Arena. On the other half of their bracket is old nemesis Columbia (Hunters) and unregarded Lopez High School.

"Selkirk comes out of our district and we have seen them play a lot of times," Correia said. "They are very athletic and believe they can be a dangerous team. Just because they were fourth out of our district doesn't mean anything. You just hope they don't put it all together and we don't."

ACH led 6-5 after the first quarter against Colton.

"There was no score three minutes into the game with both teams showing some early nerves." Correia said. "We were both feeling each other out and seeing what they other team could do."

Colton edged out to a 22-19 lead by halftime as they started getting hot from the perimeter while ACH committed 20 turnovers.

ACH kept things interesting after the intermission as they closed the gap to 30-29 after three quarters.

"Sarah Gloyn had a very good quarter offensively and defensively," Correia said. "We had to sit her about 10 minutes in the first half because she had been called for two fouls early."

In the fourth quarter the Lady Warriors overtook the two-time defending champions behind an overall team effort as five different players scored.

They also took advantage of Colton foul trouble and ACH post Nikki Osborne got going.

"It was an inside, out attack," Correia said. "We talked about going strong to the basket and getting to the foul line."

Osborne's put back with about a minute left gave ACH the lead for good at 41-40.

ACH's Madeline Isaak hit two free throws after a team defensive stop to bump the lead to 43-40.

After a Colton turnover the Lady Warriors were fouled again.

ACH went to the line 10 times in the quarter and put the game away on two Allison Fox free throws with six seconds left to make the score 45-40.

"We showed great composure late and improved on our turnovers with only six in the second half," Correia said. "At halftime the girls were fired up and knew they were in the game. We were still down three points but our girls are the types where when they get to the point they believe they can beat someone they know it's coming."

Osborne finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds, Isaak added 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Gloyn finished with 11 points as she hit three three-pointers.

Now they are three wins from adding to their state volleyball title the girls captured back in November.

"Obviously we need to stay out of foul trouble and in our bracket especially we have to save legs as much as possible," Correia said. "To win a state title you have to have a little luck too and have things go right for you."