Wahluke girls basketball down to 6 varsity players last week

MATTAWA — With one girl recovering from a torn meniscus, one on academic suspension and three on family trips in Mexico, the Wahluke girls basketball team had only six varsity players for both games last weekend.

The result was predictable losses to Connell, 66-38, and Kiona-Benton, 62-44.

“Overall pretty proud of their efforts despite the losses,” coach Brock Anderson said. “Problem is we’re not really going to know what kind of team we are until probably mid-January, hoping that it won’t be too late.”

Friday at Connell, the girls available were simply not enough. They fell back, 46-10, by halftime. They battled better in the second half and outscored the Eagles by 10 points.

“We still wound up losing, but my kids showed a lot of heart and toughness to come out and play the way they did in the second half.”

Wahluke continued its play of Friday’s second half against Ki-Be. Although the Warriors fell behind, 19-8, early, they were within 42-40 of the Bears early in the fourth period.

“Teams are recognizing that we have only one true ball-handler left on the roster, and they are taking advantage of it,” Anderson said. “Our point guard Jackie Hidalgo has been amazing. She’s had to cope with a ton of pressure.”

“I really thought we were going to pull it off, but we gave up some offensive rebounds and, to be honest, probably just ran out of gas after logging so many minutes over the two nights,” Anderson added.

Martha Barragan, the team’s lone sophomore, has tallied 14 points in her first two varsity games.

The Warriors will play at River View tonight and travel to Highland on Thursday.