Top Teams Prove Their Worth

Bi-County/Panorama

Jeremy Groth took care of business right away.

Groth scored 10 of his 30 points in the first quarter Friday night, leading second-ranked Curlew to a 68-51 win over Northwest Christian in the Panorama League Tournament title game at Colville.

Curlew also defeated NWC during the regular season, that time rallying from a nine-point deficit.

Groth (2,214) surpassed 2,200 career points and recaptured sixth place on the all-time state scoring list from Blaine senior Luke Ridnour, who has 2,193. Groth is 58 points away from the top five.

Curlew is riding a 13-game winning streak heading into the Northeast District 7 B Tournament. The Cougars will open at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday at Spokane Community College against Bi-County League No. 4 Sprague-Harrington (15-8). NWC will open at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Spokane Falls CC vs. Bi-County No. 3 Ritzville (16-6).

Curlew 68, Northwest Christian 51

NW Christian 8 13 12 18 - 51

Curlew 21 13 20 14 - 68

Northwest Christian (18-5) - DiStefano 0, Proffitt 5, Orr 3, Hutchins 3, Descoteaux 7, Strandy 4, Malott 10, Sharkey 6, Akins 3, Goldman 10, Clouse 0, Mortlock 0.

Curlew (22-1) - Lindgren 0, Anderson 10, C. Groth 9, J. Groth 30, H. Barkley 0, Olsen 10, Stotts 0, Baker 0, Garrison 7, W. Barkley 0, Strandberg 2.

Panorama League girls

St. George’s 66, Selkirk 30

Also at Colville, Wenchi Liu scored 24, 10 apiece in the first and third quarters, to surpass 1,400 career points, and the top-ranked Dragons defeated the eighth-ranked Rangers in the tourney title game.

The Dragons shot 15 of 26 from the line. Selkirk had 39 turnovers and shot 26 percent from the field.

St. George’s will open district at 6:45 p.m. Monday at SFCC against Bi-County No. 4, either Northwest Christian or Wilbur-Creston. Selkirk will open at 5 p.m. Monday at SCC vs. Bi-County No. 3 Davenport (15-7).

Selkirk 9 7 8 6 - 30

St. George’s 16 13 16 21 - 66

Selkirk (19-4) - Fairbairn 4, Scherf 4, D. Haney 4, Pettis 3, M. Haney 2, Dorn 1, D. Beatty 0, M. Beatty 3, Allert 6, Emrick 0, Schmidt 3, Gonzalez 0.

St. George’s (23-0) - Wenc. Liu 24, Clarke 2, Philopant 5, Stothart 3, Henley 5, Blume 6, DePonty 0, Davis 6, Witherspoon 9, Bingham 4, Nally 2, Weni. Liu 0.

Bi-County League boys

Valley Christian 72, Wilbur-Creston 50

At Reardan, Matt Barriero hit 8 of 10 field goals and the No. 1-ranked Panthers beat the Wildcats in the title game to win their 24th consecutive game.

Eric Smith added 11 rebounds and six assists for the Panthers, Joel Knigge had five assists, and Barriero had four steals.

VC will open district at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday at SFCC against Panorama No. 4 St. George’s (15-9). W-C will draw Panorama No. 3 Inchelium (13-10) at 5 p.m. Tuesday at SCC.

Wilbur-Creston 16 7 10 17 - 50

Valley Christian 22 17 20 13 - 72

Wilbur-Creston (16-4) - Arden 10, Sheffels 5, Johnson 8, Morrison 0, Curo 3, Brunnell 0, Erickson 2, Llewellyn 0, Larkin 3, Krause 7, Nelson 10, Dunlap 2.

Valley Christian (21-0) - Eberle 0, Miller 4, Smith 9, Knigge 8, Stanaway 2, Barriero 17, Decker 11, Evans 8, Bolster 8, Lacy 3, Fomenko 2.

Bi-County League girls

Valley Christian 42, Sprague-Harrington 36

Also at Reardan, Carli Smith had 10 rebounds and the Panthers scored six points in the final minute to hold off the Falcons and win their first league tourney title.

Katie Arnhold added six steals for the third-ranked Panthers.

VC will open district at 6:45 p.m. Monday at SCC against Panorama No. 4 Springdale (11-13). The Falcons’ opener is 5 p.m. Monday at SFCC vs. Panorama No. 3 Republic (20-4).

Sprague-Harr. 8 15 3 10 - 36

Valley Christian 9 11 10 12 - 42

Sprague-Harrington (15-5) - Whipple 8, Ernst 0, Maurer 5, Charlton 0, Hatten 6, Kramer 0, Hatcher 3, Scoles 14, Swift 0.

Valley Christian (18-2) - Teterud 4, Lanker 8, Altmeyer 1, Smith 12, Rosholt 0, Arnhold 6, Cupp 3, Monforton 8, Peterson 0.