BASIN HOOPS REPORT: District playoffs in full swing

COLUMBIA BASIN — District playoffs have begun around the state, with Basin squads looking to qualify for their respective district tournaments.

Almira/Coulee-Hartline

Boys

Entering the postseason having won six of their previous seven games, the Warriors opened the Northeast 1B district tournament with a 70-45 defeat of Columbia (Stevens) in the opening round and a 65-63 win over Northport in the district quarterfinals. ACH will play Wellpinit in the district semifinals Saturday at Deer Park, with the winner advancing to the state tournament.

Girls

ACH began the Northeast 1B district tournament with a strong defensive effort, holding the visiting Northport Mustangs to 24 points in Tuesday’s 54-24 win. With the win, the Warriors advanced to Saturday’s semifinal game against Wilbur-Creston-Keller at Deer Park High School. The winner clinches a spot in the 1B Girls State Basketball Tournament.

Ephrata

Boys

The Tigers opened the Central Washington Athletic Conference district tournament Wednesday with a road game against East Valley (Yakima), suffering a close 58-55 loss to the No. 3 seed Red Devils. Ephrata will face the loser of No. 1 Grandview and No. 5 Selah on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Girls

Having just played Selah four days prior, the Tigers once again traveled to face the Vikings in the opening round of the CWAC district tournament Tuesday, falling 56-38 to No. 3 Selah. Ephrata will travel to the loser of Friday’s matchup between No. 1 Ellensburg/No. 4 Grandview on Monday.

Lind-Ritzville/Sprague

Boys

After falling to Northwest Christian (Colbert) in the Northeast 2B district tournament quarterfinals, the Broncos lost 62-56 to Davenport on Wednesday to end their 2023-24 season with a 9-13 record.

Girls

The Broncos opened the Northeast 2B district tournament with a 48-45 quarterfinal win over Northwest Christian (Colbert) on Feb. 3 setting up a semifinal matchup against the defending 2B state champion Colfax, which the Bulldogs won 62-41. With the loss, LRS will play Liberty (Spangle) Friday night with a chance to advance to the 2B District 6/7 Crossover on the line.

Moses Lake

Boys

Moses Lake’s final regular-season game is a home matchup against Eastmont on Saturday, as the Columbia Basin Big 9 district tournament begins Tuesday. 

Girls

The Mavericks will end the regular season with Saturday’s home tilt against Eastmont, with district playoffs beginning Tuesday. Moses Lake (9-11) stands in fourth place of the Big 9, in line to host a district opening-round game against the league’s No. 5 seed.

MLCA/CCS

Boys

The Central Washington 1B champion MLCA/CCS Lions opened the postseason with a 66-27 win over Cascade Christian Wednesday, setting up a semifinal match against Waterville-Mansfield on Friday with a trip to state on the line. Tip-off between the 18-1 Lions and the Shockers is at 7:30 p.m. at MLCA.

Girls

MLCA/CCS fell one game shy of qualifying for the Central Washington 1B district tournament, falling 30-18 to Cascade Christian on Feb. 1 to close out the season.

Othello

Boys

The Huskies closed out their season last week with losses to Grandview and Ellensburg, missing out on the CWAC district tournament.

Girls

Similarly to the boys, the Othello girls basketball team also finished the year with back-to-back losses to Grandview and Ellensburg, not qualifying for the CWAC district tournament.

Quincy

Boys

With Tuesday’s 64-60 home win over Cashmere in the first round of the Caribou Trail League district tournament, the Jackrabbits clinched a spot in Saturday’s CTL title game. No. 1 seed Quincy will play No. 3 Omak, who defeated No. 2 Chelan on the road Tuesday, in a rematch of last season’s district championship game. The Jacks and Pioneers tip off at 8 p.m. at Wenatchee High School on Saturday.

Girls

The Jacks saw their season come to a close with Wednesday’s road loss to No. 1 seed Cashmere in the first round of the Caribou Trail League district tournament, closing the year with a 6-16 record.

Royal

Boys

Royal — the regular season champions of the South Central Athletic Conference (East) — earned a No. 1 seed in this week’s SCAC district tournament, and hosted No. 4 seed Naches Valley Thursday night. Scores were not available in time for press deadline, though the winner of the game will play Saturday against the winner of No. 2 Wapato/No. 3 Kiona-Benton. The Knights enter the postseason with a 17-4 mark.

Girls

The Knights won the SCAC league title during the regular season but fell in their postseason opener Tuesday to Toppenish, a 61-59 game in favor of the Wildcats. Royal faces Kiona-Benton Friday night at home in a loser-out game.

Soap Lake

Boys

Soap Lake carried its seven-game win streak into the start of the postseason Wednesday, defeating Pateros 89-18 to advance to the semifinals against No. 3 seed Riverside Christian on Friday. The winner will travel to Wenatchee on Thursday for the Central Washington B district title game.

Girls

The Eagles finished the regular season with a 9-7 record after defeating Cascade Christian on Jan. 30, giving themselves a No. 4 seed in the Central Washington B district tournament where Soap Lake defeated Wilson Creek 59-27 in the first round. Soap Lake traveled to Waterville-Mansfield Thursday night, though scores were not available in time for press deadline.

Wahluke

Boys

A No. 2 seed in the SCAC district tournament, the 15-6 Warriors hosted La Salle Thursday night, with scores not available in time for press deadline. The winner will play the winner of No. 1 Zillah/ No. 4 Connell on Saturday.

Girls

The Warriors fell in their play-in game for the SCAC district tournament against Toppenish on Monday, ending their 23-24 season. 

Warden

Boys

Warden closed out its regular season with a win over River View on Feb. 1, defeating the Panthers 54-53 to enter the postseason with a 7-14 mark. The No. 3 seed Cougars travel to No. 2 Mabton on Friday for their first game of the Eastern Washington Athletic Conference district tournament.

Girls

The EWAC East champion Cougars entered the postseason with a 19-3 record during the regular season, having won all nine of their previous games. Warden, a No. 1 seed, hosted No. 4 White Swan in the first round of the EWAC district tournament Thursday night, but scores were not available in time for press deadline.

Wilson Creek

Boys

The Devils’ season came to an end Wednesday night, falling to Riverside Christian in the first round of the CWB district tournament. Wilson Creek finishes the season with a 6-9 record.

Girls

The Devils fell to Soap Lake in the opening round of the Central Washington B district tournament, ending their season with a 6-7 record.

    Soap Lake plays Riverside Christian Friday night, with the winner advancing to next week’s Central Washington 1B district title game.
  

    Quincy will face Omak in Saturday’s Caribou Trail League district title game, a rematch of last season’s district championship that was won by the Pioneers.
  

    ACH can clinch a berth in the 1B Girls State Basketball Tournament with a win over Wilbur-Creston-Keller in Saturday’s Northeast 1B district semifinal.