RECAP: 2022-23 Basin basketball season

COLUMBIA BASIN – Of the 24 basketball teams in the Basin, five teams qualified for state competition and three ended up taking home hardware. With the 2022-2023 season now in the rearview mirror, see below for a recap of how local boys and girls teams fared this season.

Amira/Coulee-Hartline

After a 2-5 start to the season and a young roster, the ACH boys rattled off 10 wins over their next 12 games to get back on track, finishing the regular season with a 13-7 record. The Warriors started the Northeast 1B district tournament with a 51-31 win over Selkirk in the opening round, later falling 52-51 to Inchelium in the district quarterfinals. In the consolation round, the Warriors fell to Mary Walker 63-46 and finished the year 14-9.

The ACH girls entered the Northeast 1B tournament with a 10-8 record and opened the tournament with back-to-back wins over Cusick (59-32) and Republic (55-27). In the district quarterfinals, the Warriors fell 54-42 to Wellpinit and moved down to the consolation bracket, where they lost 67-47 to Wilbur-Creston-Keller. The Warrior girls finished the season 12-10.

Ephrata

Both the Ephrata boys and girls basketball teams fell short of qualifying for the Central Washington Athletic Conference tournament, with the boys and girls both finishing the year 6-14. Both squads also earned the CWAC’s Sportsmanship Award.

Lind-Ritzville/Sprague

The LRS boys took home a fifth-place trophy at the 2B state basketball tournament in Spokane, but it took a run in the Northeast 2B League tournament to even make it there. The Broncos first took down St. George’s 54-40 then fell to the eventual state champion Davenport 62-43 in the district semifinals. LRS rallied with wins over Reardan and St. George’s again to make it to the district crossover, where they defeated Okanogan 50-48.

At the state tournament in Spokane, the No. 9 seed Broncos started with back-to-back upsets over No. 8 Adna and No. 2 Morton-White Pass to advance to the state semifinals. LRS fell to Brewster 55-50 in the semis, then to Columbia (Burbank) in the third/fifth-place game. The Broncos finished the year 22-10.

The LRS girls finished the season with a 10-13 record after going 1-2 in the Northeast 2B league tournament. The Broncos opened the tournament with a 51-42 win over Kettle Falls before losing 63-49 to St. George’s and 62-39 in the consolation bracket to Davenport.

Moses Lake

The Moses Lake girls finished one game shy of advancing to the 4A state tournament for the third-straight year, falling 68-59 to Sunnyside in the second-place game of the Big 9 district tournament. Down the stretch of the season, Moses Lake won four of five games to finish the year 9-14.

To begin the Columbia Basin Big 9 tournament, the Maverick boys opened against Sunnyside on the road and fell 72-52 to the Grizzlies. The Moses Lake boys basketball team finished the season with an 8-13 record.

MLCA/CCS

Both the Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian School Lion boys and girls basketball teams made it to the Spokane Arena for the 1B state tournaments, doing so in different ways. The MLCA/CCS boys took down Riverside Christian 59-58 in an exciting district tournament game, punching their tickets to the state tournament. The MLCA/CCS girls fell in the district title game to Waterville-Mansfield but bounced back with a 19-point win over Pateros to advance to state.

In Spokane, the boys earned the No. 5 seed while the girls took the No. 6 seed in their respective tournaments. The MLCA/CCS girls fell 55-50 to Odessa in the Round of 12 and finished its season 20-5, but the boys advanced to the state quarterfinals with a 58-54 win over Sound Christian.

A loss to DeSales, the No. 3 seed, moved the Lion boys to the consolation bracket where they faced off against Orcas Island. There, the MLCA/CCS boys lost to the Vikings and finished its season 19-6.

Othello

In their first state appearance since 2009, the Othello Huskies girls basketball team took home a sixth-place trophy from the state tournament in Yakima. Othello lost in the first game of the CWAC tournament but responded with wins over East Valley (Yakima) and Grandview to make it to the District 5/6/8 crossover, where the Huskies defeated Clarkston to make it to state.

At the state tournament in the Yakima Valley SunDome, the Huskies opened with a win over the No. 2 seed Lynden Lions, which set up a meeting with No. 1 Ellensburg. After losing to the Bulldogs, Othello defeated W.F. West to advance to the fourth/sixth-place game where they fell to Sequim 34-32. Othello finished the year 19-11.

The Othello boys opened the CWAC tournament on the road against Selah, where they lost 67-55. In the consolation round, the Huskies fell 66-55 to East Valley (Yakima) to finish the year 8-14.

Quincy

Quincy finished one game shy of the 1A boys state tournament, losing 68-66 to Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls). The Jackrabbits won their second-straight Caribou Trail League title this season in its 84-74 win over Omak on Jan. 24 and finished the season 17-9.

The Jackrabbits saw their season end with a 41-33 loss to Chelan in the first round of the Caribou Trail League tournament, finishing the year 6-14.

Earlier this season, the Jackrabbit girls defeated Chelan for the first time since 1996.

Royal

Both the Royal boys and girls basketball squads made it to the South Central Athletic Conference’s consolation semifinals, but lost to Naches Valley and Zillah, respectively. The Royal girls finished the season 12-10 – including a stretch where they won seven of eight games from Jan. 7-26 – and the boys finished 9-14.

Soap Lake

After a 9-9 regular season, the Soap Lake boys earned the No. 4 seed in the Central Washington 1B tournament and took down Waterville-Mansfield in the first round 56-35. The Eagles took on MLCA/CCS in the district semifinals and lost 64-53, setting up a matchup against Entiat in the consolation round. There, the Eagles fell 38-22 and finished the season 10-11.

After a 4-8 start to the year, the Soap Lake girls won three of their final four games to enter the district tournament with a 7-9 record. In the first round of the tournament, the Eagles fell 46-23 to Entiat to end the season with a 7-10 record.

Wahluke

The Warriors won the regular season SCAC championship after a 51-49 win over Royal on Feb. 3, earning one of the No. 1 seeds in the district tournament. Wahluke fell to Naches Valley in the opening round of the tournament but rebounded with a 59-56 win over Connell in the consolation bracket. The Warriors saw their season end in a loss to La Salle in the consolation semifinals, ending the year 13-10.

The Wahluke girls basketball team finished the season 0-20.

Warden

For the third-straight season, the Warden Cougars left the state basketball tournament with hardware after their 54-47 win over Napavine in the third/fifth-place game. Down the stretch of the regular season and into the postseason, the Cougars won 16 of their 17 final games, the lone loss being to the eventual state champion Colfax in the 2B girls state semifinals.

At state, Warden earned a bye in the Round of 12 after defeating Adna in the regional round 64-52. In Spokane, the Cougars took down La Conner 58-43 to set up a 2022 state championship rematch against Colfax in the semifinals, where the Bulldogs won 60-53. Warden finished the season 21-5.

The Warden boys ended the season with a 5-15 record, falling to Mabton 73-56 in the Eastern Washington Athletic Conference tournament 73-56.

Wilson Creek

The Devils boys and girls basketball teams both saw first-round exits in the Central Washington 1B tournament, with the boys falling to the No. 2 seed Riverside Christian and the girls to Pateros, the No. 3 seed. Wilson Creek’s boys team finished the season 5-11 with wins over Pateros, Cascade Christian Academy (twice) and Thorp (twice). The girls finished the season 5-7 with wins over Riverside Christian (twice), CCA (twice) and Soap Lake.

Ian Bivona can be reached via email at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.