ACH girls play Yakama Tribal in 1B tournament loser-out-game

COULEE CITY — The road doesn’t get any easier from here on out, but the good news is that the Almira/Hartline-Coulee girls are still playing.

The wiggle room the No. 6 Warriors (20-4) enjoyed going into the to the 1B tournament is gone with last week’s 52-46 loss to No. 3 Republic in the regional round. But they match up nicely with No. 14 Yakama Nation Tribal (11-8) in Wednesday morning's 1B loser-out game at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena.

“When you get to the districts, if you win by one or win by 30, you could care less,” ACH coach Mike Correia said as his team loaded up the bus Tuesday afternoon. “We feel good. We’ve talked about being mentally prepared (to play at 9 a.m.) and what it takes to win in the Arena.

“We’ve taken teams to state quite a few times over the years (13 in the past 19 years), and hopefully we’re ready to play our best basketball.”

Correia took the team over Tuesday night to give his team plenty of time to get ready for the 9 a.m. game. They haven’t played particularly well in early morning games, but there’s a lot at stake and he will have his experienced team ready.

“I would say we play an adaptive style. If we need to go inside, we’ll go inside. If we have to play outside, we’ll shoot outside,” Correia said. “We do have the size advantage. We’re going to get the ball to Gabi Isaak (5-foot-10) inside quite a bit. When you get into the districts, sometimes you’re top three scorers neutralize each other and it comes down to your role players that make a difference.”

Senior Berlyn Hunt, a 5-6 wing, scored a team-high 19 points against Republic last Friday. Point guard Junior Tiffany Boutain (5-4), post Caitlin O’Neil (5-9) and Isaak, a 5-10 wing, have all played well in the Arena before. The experience factor might make all the difference in a close game.

The Eagles tallest players are seniors T’Mesh Mills, a 5-7 wing, and Natane Sampson, who is a 5-7 forward. Yakama Tribal likes to run the floor, runs a man offense very well. They run different variations out of the same set, which keeps the opposition off balance, Correia said. They make up for their size, which averages around 5-6, with pressure defense and a transition game that gives them an edge.

“They are very organized with what they do. When you get to the Arena there’s a reason they’re there and it’s because everybody’s good,” the Warrior coach said. “They’re an up-and-coming team and we need to be ready for whatever it is they’re doing.”

The winner will advance to Thursday’s 9 a.m. game against unbeaten Tacoma Baptist (24-0).