Eagles Get Set For Spirited Flying Feather
It comes down to this for West Valley’s boys basketball team: three games in five nights against Washington Border League foes.
It begins Friday in Clarkston, continues Saturday at home against Colville and ends on Tuesday with the first Flying Feather spirit game between the Eagles and Cheney Blackhawks.
The Flying Feather game between WV and Cheney replaces WV’s Golden Throne game with longtime rival East Valley. That one was flushed when the Knights moved into the Greater Spokane League.
“We’d been trying to figure out which direction to go for spirit games,” said WV athletic director Wayne McKnight, “and ended up calling Cheney.”
The schools eventually agreed.
As if WV and Cheney haven’t had a spirited rivalry of their own resulting in fierce sports competition over the years, particularly in basketball.
And this year the two are vying for the league title and an automatic berth in regionals later this month.
Depending upon the outcome, the two teams could meet two or three more times this year before all is said and done.
“I don’t think the game will go unattended,” said McKnight. “It will be a pretty wild one, in fact a real wild one. It’s money, marbles and chalk time.”
Second- and third-place teams play for the second spot to regionals, a six-team tournament with Mid-Valley League schools to determine two berths to state.
The Eagles are assured a district playoff berth after beating Moscow and Sandpoint last weekend.
Point guard Kris Sly’s second foray into double figures this year helped the Eagles survive the latter game. Included was a clutch 3-point basket with 14 seconds left that completed WV’s rally in the waning moments.
Lance Pecht maintained his scoring average (15.9 ppg), John Focht and Luke Gordon continued to contribute offensively as well during the weekend wins.
West Valley’s girls also have secured a district playoff berth and with two wins in its final three games would have a break-even season.
The Eagles beat Sandpoint handily, led by Monica Hilsabeck’s 13-point season best.
WV continues to get scoring from myriad sources, including team leader Vanessa Parvey who averages 11.9 points per game.
Whole without the sum of its parts
Valley Christian School is approaching its second straight Bi-County League boys basketball championship.
The Panthers are accomplishing the whole thing and have not had their entire starting lineup intact for more than half of their 16 wins.
“It’s been kind of interesting,” said coach Steve Altmeyer. “But we’ve been able to rise above it all. If we make the playoffs and get healthy it will be good for us.”
At varying times and for various reasons, Brent Decker (six games), Matt Barreiro (two) and Eric Smith (one) have been out of the lineup.
Decker’s absence has been particularly gnawing both for athlete and team. He’s Valley Christian’s leading scorer at 15.9 points per game, but an elbow infection sidelined him for four games.
Then, said Altmeyer, the combination of antibiotics and basketball has worn down his immune system.
“We want to rest him,” said Altmeyer before last week’s games.
Decker didn’t play last weekend, but even without him VC had little trouble. The team opened a three-game lead with four remaining over Wilbur-Creston winning 56-36 and thumped Odessa 62-33.
Seniors Eric Smith and Jared Evans scored 29 points apiece in the two games combined, while Barriero and Matt Bolster pitched in with double-figures efforts.
Four games remain and the Panthers are nearing the school’s first perfect season.
“I’ve always felt as a coach I kind of like to drop one,” said Altmeyer. “With this team I don’t feel that way.”
It is a group, he said, that has never become complacent.
Valley Christian’s girls, meanwhile, didn’t get the outcome they’d hoped for, but the result was similar.
Although losing 77-48 to Wilbur-Creston in basketball, the team lost no ground to the Wildcats, who remained two games behind after losing to Davenport.
The loss did, however, pare the Panthers’ Bi-County League lead to a game ahead of Sprague-Harrington with three remaining. Two of the three are at home, including the season-ender against Davenport, the league’s fourth-place team.
Freeman season nears end
Freeman’s boys completed a season sweep to open a two-game basketball lead in the Northeast A League with two games remaining.
The Scotties, with 16 straight wins need only one, either at Kettle Falls this Friday or at home against Colfax next Friday to secure the title.
A victory by Freeman’s girls at Kettle Falls will secure second place in league. They are 6-11 overall.
The district tournament begins Feb. 18 at Mead, with the top two teams qualifying for the State A tournament in Tacoma the first week of March.
Freeman’s three-pronged scoring attack of Jeff Hyndman (15.1 ppg), Bill DePell (14.2, including 22 against Liberty) and Tanner Townsend (13.9, 26 against Liberty) continues to lead the Scotties.
Eric Hendrickson scored a career high 16 during victory at Colfax.
The girls lost to Colfax in their first-place showdown but beat Liberty. Laura Halverson scored 29 points in two games and team scoring leader Heather Wilkerson (11.4 ppg) had 23.