Reardan Seals State B Berth

The five-year wait, an eternity by Reardan’s way of thinking, ended Wednesday.

The Indians (24-0) strung together second-half runs of 11-0 and 15-2 to beat Ritzville 55-37 at the boys District 7-B Tournament and qualify for state.

By earning its 32nd state berth Reardan, absent from the tourney since 1992, breaks a tie with Naselle for most appearances.

“Today we had the monkey off our backs from last year (out in two at district) and just played,” said Reardan’s Nathan Graham as fans congratulated him on the Spokane Falls Community College floor.

Reardan trailed 27-24 with 6 minutes left in the third quarter, but turned up defensive pressure to send the Broncos (22-4) into Friday’s winner-to-state game against today’s Springdale-Valley Christian winner.

The Indians shot 9 of 15 from the field and 14 of 18 from the freethrow line in the second half. Junior James Kiger topped his team-high 14-point effort with a dunk in the final minute.

“I haven’t slept for a couple of days,” said Reardan coach Dan Smith. “It feels really good after last year.”

Reardan will play for its 13th district title Saturday night against tonight’s winner between Almira/Coulee-Hartline and Republic.

Travis Titchenal hit three consecutive 3-pointers to lift Reardan to a 17-9 lead, but Ritzville rallied with an 11-0 run fueled by reserves Dustan Arlt and Ryan Benzel. The Indians regained the lead for good on a Kiger basket with 4:57 left in the third quarter.

Ritzville’s John Galbreath hit 5 of 5 from the line.

Reardan 55, Ritzville 37

Reardan 15 7 13 20 - 55 Ritzville 9 13 7 8 - 37

REARDAN - Jenkin 3, Brown 0, Wynecoop 0, Soliday 5, Titchenal 12, Martin 0, Eastman 10, Graham 9, Flaa 2, Nollmeyer 0, Kiger 14.

RITZVILLE - Arlt 4, Benzel 5, Duff 0, Boness 4, Marcus 0, DeVore 0, J.Galbreath 18, S.Galbreath 4, Russel 2, Taylor 0.

Curlew 55, Selkirk 44

Jason Miller hit 8 of 8 field goals, Gunner Olsen had 11 rebounds and the Cougars (18-7) used a 13-4 run at the end of the first half to stop the Rangers (17-8) in a loser-out game.

Curlew’s Jeremy Groth hit 7 of 9 free throws. Selkirk’s Russell Lopes made 5 of 10 3-pointers. Curlew plays for a state berth Friday against today’s ACH-Republic loser.

Curlew 11 13 14 17 - 55 Selkirk 4 11 3 26 - 44 ,

CURLEW - Edwards 0, Cribby 0, G.Olsen 6, Groth 16, Nelson 4, Prazak 12, Brucklier 0, Miller 17.

SELKIRK - Davis 0, Larson 3, Kinney 2, Farris 13, Gere 0, Huffine 6, Lopes 18, Pyeatt 2, White 0.

Girls

Wilbur-Creston 63, Northport 44

Lisa Arden hit five 3-pointers, Janelle Allen made 9 of 11 from the line and the Wildcats (20-4) had four runs of 8-0 or better to stop the Mustangs (22-3) and qualify for their third consecutive state tourney.

Allen scored nine in the third quarter to build a 20-point lead. Arden sank three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, two after leaving the game woozy after taking an elbow to the head.

“We have a lot of people who can get the job done,” Allen said after W-C won its 19th game in 20 tries.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well in the first half (21 percent), but we didn’t get panicked,” said Wildcats coach Steve Jantz, who lost his top scorer, Mindy Bandy, to a hand injury before district. “We’re dangerous now because we’re still coming together on offense.”

Northport led 6-2 midway through the first quarter when W-C compiled a 9-0 run to gain the lead for good.

Northport’s Karen Sauvola hit 7 of 10 free throws, while Jessica Sell scored 12 in the fourth quarter. The rest of the Mustangs shot 2 of 19 from the floor.

W-C plays for its first district title Saturday against tonight’s Reardan-Ritzville winner. Northport meets today’s Northwest Christian-St. George’s winner Friday for a state berth.

Northport 9 3 8 24 - 44 Wilbur-Creston 6 15 19 23 - 63

NORTHPORT - Knudsen 0, Day 3, Ke.Sauvola 0, Sell 18, E.Young 2, C.Young 2, Jimenez 0, Godes 0, Ka.Sauvola 19.

WILBUR-CRESTON - Harris 2, Mann 0, Allen 17, Llewellyn 3, Deahl 7, Green 2, Erickson 12, Arden 19, Seylor 1, Nelson 0.

Sprague-Harr. 44, Selkirk 35

Missy Morton, Kristy Engles and Mandi Walters combined for 35 rebounds and the Falcons (15-10) never let the Rangers (21-5) make a serious run in a loser-out game. S-H plays for a state berth Friday against today’s Reardan-Ritzville loser. Selkirk’s Molly Carlson had 20 rebounds.

Sprague-Harr. 13 10 9 12 - 44 Selkirk 7 10 5 13 - 35

SELKIRK - Barnres 2, Sharp 0, Grass 2, Jones 2, Weaver 0, Allert 2, Dury 5, Porter 7, Carlson 15.

SPRAGUE-HARRINGTON - Maurer 0, Whipple 2, Morton 8, Putney 3, M.Walters 17, Engles 6, Morse 2, C.Walters 6.

, DataTimes