Hoops all-league honors announced in Columbia Basin
Matt Franz of the Moses Lake Chiefs was named First team All Big Nine this season.
COLUMBIA BASIN- With the all state basketball teams pending at certain levels, all of the Columbia Basin schools learned of the honors a handful of players earned from their respective leagues in recent weeks.
With all the announcements in hand, here is a comprehensive list of basketball players in the Columbia Basin who earned all league recognition for their play in 2010-2011.
BOYS BASKETBALL
MOSES LAKE
* Matt Franz, first team all Big Nine.
* Kyler Moats, All Big Nine defensive team.
Franz and Moats helped lead the Chiefs to a district playoff spot and an improved 7-14 season.
QUINCY
*Luke Grigg, second team All Central Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC).
*Braulio Flores, second team All CWAC
Both boys helped the Jacks with a late season push of wins that just ended short of a CWAC district playoff berth.
OTHELLO
*Drew Scott, honorable mention CWAC
With some fine play, Scott was key in helping Othello end their season on a high note with a win over Ephrata.
WARDEN
*Victor Flores, first team North Central Washington 2B South
*Ty Jesse, second team North Central Washington 2B South
*Garritt Marks, second team North Central Washington 2B South
Despite an 0-2 district playoff appearance, Warden had plenty to be proud of with the play of these three young men who keyed their run to the postseason.
SOAP LAKE
*David Coreas, first team North Central Washington 2B South
Too many times opponents failed to keep Coreas under 20 points and the Eagle made plenty of people pay for it.
MOSES LAKE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY
*Joe Timofeyev, MVP, first team North Central Washington 1B
*Connor Webb, second team North Central Washington 1B
Timofeyev won his second straight league MVP honor and some of that recognition came by way of the support of his running mate, Webb, who helped create a terrorizing backcourt for the opposition.
"Joe is probably the quickest guard in our league," Academy Lions coach Duke Wood said. "He has worked hard to become a better all around player, putting in lots of time in the off-season to make himself better.
"Connor led our team in rebounding this year at only 5-foot-8 and he is our sparkplug that ignites our team."
COLUMBIA BASIN SECONDARY
*Kayleb Jensen, second team North Central Washington 1B
Someone may want to ask why the league's and the Columbia Basin's top overall scorer was not picked by league coaches for the first team after helping a short-handed Phoenix team stay in games.
WILSON CREEK
*Jacob Treat, first team North Central Washington 1B
*Austin Reyes, second team North Central Washington 2B
Wilson Creek's turnaround was aided by the surprising point-power forward play of Treat who was Mr. Do Everything for the Devils, while Reyes dominated on the boards most of the season.
ALMIRA/COULEE-HARTLINE
*Derek Isaak, first team All Bi-County
*Thunder Wellhausen, first team All Bi-County
*Cody Jess, first team All Bi-County
Led by these three players and coach of the year in the Bi-County, Scott Isaak, the Warriors, were ranked number one most of the season and ended up third at the Class 1B state tournament.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
MOSES LAKE
*Jordan Loera, player of the year, defensive player of the year, first team All Big Nine
*Kayla Bernsen, second team All Big Nine, all defensive team
*Kyleigh Gamez, second team All Big Nine
The University of Oregon-bound Loera leaves Moses Lake with three state trips and a few more collectibles from this year's team to go into her treasure chest.
"Jordan is very deserving of both of her awards," Moses Lake head coach Matt Strophy said. "She was definitely the best all-around player in our league. Her work ethic, knowledge, and desire to be the best are second to none. She has been a program changing player in her four years at Moses Lake High School. I am proud of the accolades Jordan has earned over the years - she deserves every one of them! I know she will continue her excellence at the University of Oregon."
Bernsen, having come over from Connell prior to the 2009-10 season, did quite a bit herself and secured herself a scholarship to play at Western Washington University.
"Kayla has been voted most inspirational both years she has been with us, as well as being voted a captain as a senior this past year," Strophy said. "Her scoring was down a bit from her junior year but her rebounding improved, and I think that had an unfair impact on the voting for her to be on the first team. Because of the game-planning that opposing coaches had to do for her more so than any other post in our league, she deserved the first team award."
As for Gamez, the sophomore has plenty more time to thrill the Moses Lake fans.
"Kyleigh is an incredibly talented young player," Strophy said. "I am excited that she received this recognition, especially since she is only a sophomore and was not a full-time starter for us. When she decides to try and score, there are not many people that can stop her from doing that."
OTHELLO
*Christine Kirkwood, Co-MVP of CWAC, with Prosser's Tamara Jones.
Not many teams could stop Kirkwood as her numerous double-doubles attest to this season.
EPHRATA
*Heidi Buchert, hororable mention CWAC
Only one basket short of a state trip, the Lady Tigers had plenty of solid performers on their roster with Buchert getting the top nod from league coaches.
QUINCY
*Cassidee Davis, honorable mention CWAC
Moving to Quincy from Illinois before last school year, Davis provided plenty of rebounding and inside scoring for the Lady Jacks this season.
WARDEN
*Iris Rodriguez, second team North Central Washington 2B South
*Hannah Bisnett, honorable mention North Central 2B South
*Lindsay Cole, honorable mention North Central 2B South
Cole outside and Rodriguez and Bisnett inside meant an improved season for the Lady Cougars in 2010-11.
SOAP LAKE
*Diana Shytba
A shining light for the Lady Eagles, Shytba performed consistently in leading her team throughout the season.
MOSES LAKE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY
*Melissa Verhage, first team North Central Washington 1B
*Madison Yamane, first team North Central Washington 1B
*Kristina Firouzi, second team North Central Washington 2B
*Rachel Verhage, second team North Central Washington 2B
Coach of the year, Bryce McPartland may have had three first-teamers if Firouzi hadn't been felled by an injury earlier in the season.
Still the Lady Lions were one of the state's 12 best teams behind four of the better 1B players to be voted and one of the best ones - McKenna Walker - not to be, Walker, an 8th-grader and deemed too young for selection, led the team in scoring and steals on multiple occasions.
COLUMBIA BASIN SECONDARY
*Jerinn Anderson, second team North Central Washington 2B
The athletic Anderson caused plenty of fits for the Phoenix opponents, especially in the paint.
WILSON CREEK
*Holly Wilson, league MVP, first team North Central Washington 1B
*Clarissa Hansen, second team North Central Washington 2B
Wilson would score, rebound, defend, and just about anything else she was needed to do in order for the Lady Devils to finish second this season before getting injured late in the campaign.
"Holly Wilson was a solid selection as league MVP," McPartland said. "It was evident what she meant to her team when she was injured. With her, they beat everyone in the league outside of us. Once she went down, Wilson Creek really struggled."
ALMIRA-COULEE HARTLINE
*Nikki Osborne, League MVP, first team, All Bi-County.
*Madeline Isaak, first team All Bi-County
*Sarah Gloyn, first team All Bi-County
No team finishes second in the state without some top players and ACH fortunately had three of them, led by the Bi-County league's best player, Osborne.
She and fellow senior Gloyn teamed with the junior Isaak to take the runner-up Class 1B trophy in Spokane two weekends ago.