Othello girls sweep Ephrata in first round of playoffs

Othello High School (OHS) girls basketball team swept past Ephrata High School (EHS) in the first round of district playoffs on Tuesday.

Othello and Ephrata played each other twice already this season prior to the game. Both times, Othello took the game by more than 10 points.

The district playoff game featured five athletes who received all-league honors for the 2A Central Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC) this season. Placed on first team all-league was EHS senior Hayden Mills and OHS junior Annalee Coronado. On the second team was EHS sophomore Addison Mills and OHS junior Briana Andrade. OHS senior Hailee Guzman received an honorable mention. OHS head coach Adolfo Coronado was named Coach of the Year for the league, as well.

Adolfo Coronado said this was the first district tournament game hosted by the Lady Huskies in more than a decade.

The game, hosted by Othello, started out neck-and-neck. Both teams held each other back enough that the first points of the game didn’t happen until 5:30 left on the clock in the first quarter. The basket was by Othello High School junior Briana Andrade. Shortly thereafter came the first foul of the game by OHS senior Ashley Perez. The first quarter ended with Othello ahead 8-5. The first quarter was a really clean one, with only three fouls made altogether, two by OHS and one by EHS.

Second quarter’s pace was quick. Othello started full court pressure and created several turnovers and even a few extra baskets. Ephrata did its best to keep up, but Othello used turnovers to widen its lead to seven points by the half.

Going into the third quarter, Othello was up 24-17. It continued its full court pressure on the Lady Tigers and even picked up a few more fouls, five to be exact, while Ephrata only had one in the third quarter. By the end, Othello was leading 42-32.

While a 10-point lead is not huge, it wasn’t enough for the Lady Huskies. They continued to press and improve their shooting, putting in 20 points in the final quarter. Ephrata struggled most in the fourth quarter, only bagging three points. The Lady Huskies took the game 62-35.

Addison Mills led the Lady Tigers with 14 points, while Annalee Coronado led the Lady Huskies, and the game, with 19 points.

The Lady Huskies record is 13-7 overall and 8-4 in the conference. The Lady Tigers are 4-17 overall and 1-11 in the conference.

Adolfo Coronado said the surge in the fourth quarter came when he told his team to slow down when shooting, which resulted in the team’s shooting accuracy becoming better and adding to the large deficit at the end of the game.

He also said the team’s success this season so far was hard won. He said the team has overcome a lot of internal struggles, injuries and COVID-19-related challenges, but it has put in the work and time to get past them. He said he is very proud of his team.

“Everybody’s congratulating me for coach of the year, and one thing I want to let all these girls know is that they got that for me. I tell them I didn’t score a bucket, I didn’t set one screen, they did it and I thank them for it,” Adolfo Coronado said.

With its first win in the district tournament, Othello is one step closer to the district title and the state competition. It will play Prosser High School on Thursday at Prosser. Both teams have beat each other once so far this season. Only the top two teams from the 2A CWAC move on to the state tournament.

Box score

Othello - 8 16 18 20 - 62

Ephrata - 5 12 15 3 - 35