Unified Basketball is so much more than just a game
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Othello's Josh Lembcke (14) goes up in traffic against the Grandview defense during the CWAC Unified Basketball game at Taggares Gym.
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin HeraldOthello's Candance Montejano brings the ball across the time line during Wednesday night's CWAC Unified Basketball game against Grandview.
OTHELLO — The parking lot was full Wednesday night outside Taggares Gym, the sounds of the school band filled the gym, echoing down the corridor throughout the building.
The stands were near capacity. Cheerleaders screamed. Huskies athletic director Don Bullis was sitting in his traditional spot just inside the door to the gym. Othello tennis coach Robert Pruneda was on the mike at the scorer’s table, calling out the action as it unfolded on the floor. The ever-present athletic trainer Marysol Parrish, who’s there for all the sports, was standing by just in case her medical skills were needed.
It was basketball, Othello vs. Grandview in a Central Washington Athletic Conference varsity-sanctioned event. It was just another game on campus and that’s the way the CWAC Unified Basketball program likes it.
They are included and they represent Othello with the same pride as anybody else that dons the red and black.
When it comes to the sporting arena, Unified Sports crosses all barriers, joining people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team. It gives the special needs a community a place to play and helps bridge the gap from preconceptions and false ideas to social inclusion through sports training and competition.
Roll out the rock, let’s see what you got and it was game-on Wednesday night in Othello. Grandview made the trip over and was feeling it as they raced to a 34-27 victory in the final game of the regular season.
But the Greyhounds’ victory didn’t come without challenge. Josh Lembcke, who was a part of the Huskies’ 2017 WIAA Unified Division I state soccer championship team, led the way, driving the lane and leading the Huskies offensive attack. Lembcke is the next man up in Othello Unified athletics, taking what Colton Schmidt did to the next level, and he did everything in his power to encourage his teammates as they pushed hard to catch up.
Wednesday night was a thing of beauty, egos checked at the door, people helping each other and it featured a true display of sportsmanship when everyone took a knee when an Othello player fell hard to the floor with a turned ankle. Of course they want to win, but the concern for another player was evident as they patiently waited for the athletic trainer to access the situation and the true concern did not go unnoticed as the player was helped from the floor to the bench.
“Most of our athletes are pretty high functioning,” Othello assistant coach Laura Taylor said. “They dribble and move the ball around pretty well. We have just the one team, where Ephrata and Moses Lake have two. I’d like to see if we can’t get another team together and include the younger athletes.”
For guys like Parker Giles, the chance to get out and run the floor with his teammates, maybe grab a rebound or make a basket, is what makes it all good.
“Rebounding is important, but I like to shoot the ball. My spot is right there (in the paint)” he said, pointing to the area in front of the basket. “I don’t like to shoot the 3-pointer, but I like to shoot from my spot.”
Giles didn’t have a basket Wednesday night, but he mixed it up on the loose balls and chased rebounds like a good teammate.
The Montejano girls are doing their best to carry forward the work Jenny Medina did as a member of the state championship Unified Soccer team. Candace took a couple of shots in the lane when the ball came to her inside, the pure joy of letting it fly etched on her face every time she put the ball up. Natasha is a pretty good ball-handler, challenging the Greyhound defenders as she drove the baseline for the score.
The Othello Unified Basketball team is comprised of four athletes and nine partners. They will be playing in the CWAC Unified Basketball District Tournament on Jan. 27 at Ephrata High School. The Greyhounds will be there, so will the Huskies. There will also be two teams from both Moses Lake and Ephrata. Action begins at 9 a.m.
Rodney Harwood is a sports writer at the Columbia Basin Herald and can be reached at rharwood@columbiabasinherld.com