Jacks basketball teams have shaky weekend

QUINCY — The Quincy Jackrabbits basketball teams each played games against Ellensburg and East Valley on Friday and Saturday. See how the teams did below and how they plan to push forward in the Central Washington Athletic Conference. 

Boys 

The Jacks boys (3-9) fell in both matchups over the weekend 52-69 against Ellensburg and 68-72 against East Valley. Despite the losses, Jacks head coach Scott Bierlink said the team gained some valuable experience as they go into the second half of the season. 

“Even though we lost, I think we got some positive things out of it and some guys got some confidence,” said Coach Bierlink. “We just have to continue to build on that.” 

During Friday’s game against Ellensburg, Quincy’s Pierce Bierlink sprained his ankle in the first four minutes and was out for the remainder of regulation, said the coach. While the remaining players held their own, the Jacks were outscored by 17 by the end of the fourth. 

Pierce returned to the court Saturday to play East Valley, but was not at 100%. Bierlink said the Jacks had a strong performance in the first half, putting up 28 points to be up by nine over their opponent, but couldn’t hold on in the second half, where East Valley caught up to win by four. 

“We’re going to have to clean some stuff up,” he said. “We don’t have much size, so we give up a bunch of offensive rebounds and that’s got to change.” 

Moving deeper into league play in the second half of the season, Coach Bierlink said it will be important that the Jacks improve their confidence to stay competitive in the tough CWAC. The Jacks sit at the bottom of the league but are only a few games behind the other six teams as they work to make the top four. 

“We knew that coming in our margin for error with the team is near zero and that puts a lot of pressure on us to make the right play,” said Coach Bierlink. “We’ll find a way to get better, keep working at it, try to stay positive and hopefully turn a corner.” 

The Jacks’ next game will be on the road Tuesday against Toppenish at 7 p.m. 

Girls 

The Jacks girls (4-7) split their victories over the weekend, taking a 19-69 loss against Ellensburg Friday and earning a 61-59 home victory over East Valley on Saturday. Jacks head coach Johan Farias said it was a tough matchup against two CWAC rivals that has given them momentum into the remainder of the season. 

“Moving forward, I think we’re finally getting over this hump of understanding the flow of our offense and what it takes to work defensively,” said Farias. “It’s all kind of slowly but surely clicking on both ends.” 

Quincy had a tough game against Ellensburg on Friday evening. The Jacks struggled to keep up and fell behind quickly against one of the top-ranked teams in the state, but Farias said they had a glimpse of what they needed to do to compete in Saturday’s game. 

Saturday's game started off hot on offense, with East Valley putting up 19 in the first quarter to Quincy’s 12, but the Jacks responded with 24 points in the second quarter and held the opposition to 13 as they found a good flow to stay ahead of their opponent throughout the game. While East Valley would come close again in the second half, Quincy would ultimately come up with the win. 

“We play tough teams in this league and just being able to bounce back even after a tough loss and knowing the game plan for the next day,” said Farias. I feel like this was our little hump we told the girls to get over and they executed perfectly.” 

Following Saturday’s victory, Quincy sits in the middle of the pack of the CWAC in fifth place with a league record of 3-4, just behind Ellensburg with a league record of 4-2 and above Toppenish with a league record of 2-3. Moving forward, the team is working to compete in each game against even tougher opponents, he said. 

“That’s kind of our ultimate goal, just being able to compete,” said the coach. “We’ve always been at the bottom of the barrel in the CWAC and the girls are seeing that the work they’re putting in is finally paying off.” 

The Jacks will be on the road Tuesday to face Toppenish at 5:30 p.m. 

BOX SCORES:  

Boys 

GAME ONE:  

QNCY: 11-11-19-11: 52
ELLN: 15-18-23-13: 69 

GAME TWO:  

QNCY: 26-18-13-11: 68
EVLY: 15-20-20-17: 72  

Girls: 

GAME ONE:  

QNCY: 4-2-11-2: 19
ELLN: 12-24-16-17: 69 

GAME TWO:  

QNCY: 12-24-18-7: 61
EVLY: 19-13-13-14: 59 

    Janely Ramirez Farias, a junior from Quincy, takes the ball down the court during a home matchup earlier in the season. The girls fell on the road against Ellensburg, but returned home to get a victory over East Valley.
  

    Quincy senior Pierce Bierlink takes the ball along the side of the court during a previous matchup this season. Bierlink sprained his ankle during the game against Ellensburg, but returned to play in the following game against East Valley.