Eagles headed to the Arena

MOSES LAKE - Eight local high school basketball teams entered postseason play Feb. 7.

But after two grueling weeks of head-to-head match ups, only Soap Lake is left standing.

The Eagles beat Valley Christian 52-50 at the regional tournament at Eastmont High School Feb. 22 to get in, and are now among the elite eight 1B teams vying for a state championship in Spokane this weekend.

"The game against Valley Christian was a hard-fought physical contest," coach Rick Winters said. "We knew going in we were in for a real battle. Our guys played with a lot of heart and we were able to come out with a win."

Soap Lake finished the regular season with a 13-1 record and was the No. 1 seed at the regional tournament. The last time the Eagles made it to the big dance was in 2010 as a 2B school.

"Soap Lake has never placed at state, but we hope to change that statistic this weekend," Winters said. "We are really excited to have qualified for the tournament ... the community is excited for us ... and the boys are feeling good about themselves and should be."

The Eagles first round opponent is the LaCrosse-Washtucna/Kahlotus Tigercats. The game is scheduled to get underway Thursday evening at 7:15 p.m.

"LaCrosse-Washtucna/Kahlotus is a very strong team so I am expecting a hard-fought close game," Winters said. "We've weathered the storm to get to this point ... to make it to the top eight ... but I told the boys this is not the time to celebrate and that we need to go out and give it everything we have and hopefully we'll bring home a championship."

Ritzville boys in

Lind-Ritzville/Sprague is the only other boys team within a 50-mile radius of Moses Lake to make it to Spokane. The 2B Broncos will play a first round game against Northwest Christian at 12:15 Thursday. The Connell girl's team takes on Castle Rock at 9:30 a.m.