BASIN EVENTS: Dec. 12-20

COLUMBIA BASIN — It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas out there, and there are holiday goings-on galore in the Basin. Here are a few things to make your spirits bright:

Rita Joan Frey

Nov. 7, 1936 – Nov. 22, 2025

Rita Joan Frey (Sternhagen), 89, passed away peacefully on Nov. 22, surrounded by her loving family. Born on Nov. 7, 1936, in Glasgow, Montana, she was the youngest of seven children born to Joseph P. Sternhagen and Mary Catherine Sternhagen (Carignan). Rita lived a life marked by resilience, warmth, and quiet strength.

Seahawks outlast Philip Rivers and Colts 18-16 on Jason Myers' 56-yard field goal

SEATTLE (AP) — Jason Myers has quietly been a big part of the Seattle Seahawks' success this season. He was the only reason they won Sunday. Myers kicked a franchise-record six field goals, including a 56-yarder with 29 seconds left, and the Seahawks outlasted 44-year-old quarterback Philip Rivers and the Indianapolis Colts 18-16 without scoring a touchdown. “I hit it well,” Myers said. “A little slice there, but once I got it up, I knew (I) hit a really strong ball.”

Warden swears in council member and updates 2025 budget

WARDEN — The Warden City Council completed one oath of office, discussed voter turnout and updated its 2025 budget at its regular council meeting Tuesday. The council decided to cancel the next meeting, which would be on Dec. 23. The council will return for its regularly scheduled meeting Jan. 6, 2026.

Grant County Sheriff’s Office reports as of Dec. 12, 2025

The reports below were provided by the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

EWU earns win in rivalry game against WSU

PULLMAN – The Eastern Washington Eagles Women’s basketball team (6-4) earned a significant win against the Washington State Cougars 71-69. This game marked the Eagles’ first win over the Cougars since March 18, 2015 when the teams faced off in the first round of the Women’s NIT tournament. “Washington State is a really good team. They’re very well coached and they’re prepared,” said Eagles Head Coach Joddie Gleason. “They run their offense really well and are hard to guard. Coming in here to get the win is huge for us. It shows that we’re read to get these road wins in the Big Sky.”

Howl about you adopt Hurricane

OTHELLO — Hurricane, a small mixed-breed female pup, is looking for the perfect home. Her requirements are as follows: must be willing to give good pets, must take her for fun walks, must be willing to feed treats, must have a dog toy supply and must be willing to take her home and keep her for the rest of her days. If you can fulfill these needs, she asks that you visit AdamsCountyPetRescue.com and fill out her application. She is waiting. She also wants you to know she is vaccinated, neutered and microchipped. If you can’t adopt right now but you would still like to help a local shelter, visit the website and click “donate.”

Thompson, Ostlund, Benson score as Sabres beat Kraken 3-1 for 3rd straight win

SEATTLE (AP) — Noah Ostlund, Tage Thompson and Zach Benson all scored and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Seattle Kraken 3-1 on Sunday for their third straight win. Alex Tuch had two assists and Alex Lyon made 23 saves for the Sabres. Chandler Stephenson scored for Seattle, and Joey Daccord stopped 20 shots. The Kraken have lost eight of their last nine games (1-7-1).

Lions best Devils in girls rivalry matchup

MOSES LAKE —The Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian School Lions (4-0) hosted the Wilson Creek Devils (4-1) on Thursday, where the Lions earned a 50-28 victory. The two teams both face a tough week following their matchup before going into winter break.

Lions boys dominate at home against the Devils

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian School Lions boys played at home against the Wilson Creek Devils Thursday where they earned a 68-29 victory over their Central Washington B League rival. “It was a lot of trying to push the ball up the court, trying to get really good shots and the boys were really unselfish with the ball,” said Lions Head Coach Emerson Ferguson. “I really like how they were moving the ball and getting good open shots at the basket.”

Mavs win first league game off dominant second half

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks (3-2) earned a statement league win over the Wenatchee Panthers 82-56. Head Coach Craig Groth said it was great to start league play with a win. “It's a good win,” he said. “It's going to be a battle no matter who you're up against. Our players know coming in that we had to play our best from start to finish. It took us a little while to get going. Once we got going, the buckets started to fall. Our defense started to come together as a team.”

More rain for Cascades, high winds for Columbia Basin this week

LEAVENWORTH — A second strong winter storm is projected to hit Washington this week, bringing heavy rains back to areas that were hard-hit by rain and flooding last week. Steve Bodnar, meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Spokane, said rain is forecast to start Monday, but won’t last as long.

Eagles defense leads them to first regular season win

SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake Eagles (1-1) earned a dominant 62-24 win at home over the Cascade Christian Academy Wolverines. Head Coach Leonard Lundgren said he was proud to see everyone get involved. “It feels really good. The best part about the win is everybody on the team scored a point tonight. That's the first time I've ever had a team where everybody on the bench has scored a point,” Lundgren said.

COLLEGIATE SPORTS SCHEDULE: Dec. 12-19, 2025

MOSES LAKE – Throughout the state, college football teams are heading to bowl games while basketball teams are still battling in the early season to set themselves apart from the rest of the pack. See where your favorite teams will be heading this week.

Huskies fall at home against Sageview

OTHELLO – The Othello Huskies basketball team took their first loss in the season, falling 63-83 at home to the Sageview Lobos (Pasco). The Huskies now look to learn from this loss as they begin Central Washington Athletic Conference play this weekend. “We knew this was going to be a good game,” said Othello senior Syrus Ruiz. “We knew these guys had some talent on their team, but I feel like we really didn’t execute.” Othello started strong getting a nine-point lead over Sageview, but the Lobos came back after making threes to tie the game. Huskies’ senior Quade Gonzalez would respond with one of his own, but the Lobos pulled ahead, ending the quarter 12-15.

Mavericks fend off Panthers in close home win

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks (3-2) held off the Wenatchee Panthers in a competitive 46-43 win at home Friday. After the hard-fought win, Mavs Head Coach Matt Strophy complimented the Panthers for the challenge they gave Moses Lake. “They work super hard. They made us earn everything we got, and hopefully we did the same to them. I like the energy on both sides, so I'm just glad we came out on top with (Breanna Bischoff) knocking down those two free throws to kind of ice that game. That was really sweet,” Strophy said.

Piano students to support orphans with recital

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake-area music students will perform to raise money for a Ukrainian orphanage, according to an announcement from piano teacher Marina Munter. Students of Moses Lake-Central Basin chapter of the Washington State Music Teachers Association members will perform “Christmas Songs for Ukrainian Orphans” Dec. 20, at Moses Lake Christian Academy, Munter wrote in the announcement. There is no set admission price but donations are encouraged. Participating piano teachers are Preta Laughlin, Marina Munter, Gracie Payne, Whitney Reck and Harriet West. Violin teacher Iryna Novikov’s students will also perform.

Sheriff talks crime, enforcement at Mattawa town hall

MATTAWA — Grant County Sheriff Joey Kriete held a town hall meeting at Wahluke High School Dec. 9, discussing law enforcement issues affecting Mattawa and Desert Aire. “You're going to probably hear me say a million times. We can't do this alone,” Kriete told the attendees. “We have to have our communities out here to help us and share information with us and give us ideas. We get a ton of new and great ideas from the community.”

Quincy Police Department Logs as of Dec. 9, 2025

The reports below were provided by the Quincy Police Department. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Mavericks wrestling sweep Eastmont at home

MOSES LAKE — On Thursday, the Mavericks boys and girls wrestling were each victorious over the Eastmont Wildcats. The Boys won 47-36, while the girls won 77-3 to start their season off strong with a league win. “It's early in the season, but to be able to come out and have success, and pretty much every match was, was a big win for us, especially being a mostly young team,” Girls Head Coach Tony Lee said. “Those are ones we definitely circle on the calendar. We want to make sure we're having success at our league duels.” The girls team were dominant in their matchup against Eastmont, only losing one match. Lee said they knew Hayden Morris’ match was going to be tough since she and her opponent were state competitor's last season.