In Colton, girls basketball goes from agony to ecstasy

Last year’s loss to Garfield-Palouse in the State 1B girls basketball tournament stung Colton, which had finished first in league over the Vikings in the regular season.

“When you get there you’re so excited, when you don’t win you’re disappointed,” said coach Clark Vining. “We played them four times and maybe it stings a little bit more.”

So when the unbeaten Wildcats faced off against fellow District 9 North foe St. John-Endicott for the 2009 championship, Vining couldn’t help but hearken back to the previous year.

Not to worry, Colton would not be denied in bringing home the school’s first state title since 1983’s football champions.

“I honestly think last year might have helped us a little bit,” said Vining. “Seven girls played in the game. They’d been there and done that before and were able to maintain their composure.”

Last year, two seniors had done the lion’s share of scoring, Alisa Moehrle Druffel and Ashley Nygreen combining for more than 600 points.

This year, junior Kelsey Moser took over, averaging 17 points per game, an 11-point jump from a year earlier. Courtney Druffel averaged 12 and sophomore Mollie Kramer remained the third leading scorer with a 10-point average.

“When we lost our top two scorers, those were significant losses,” said Vining. “But when we started playing in the summer, I knew we had a chance to be really good.”

This year’s Wildcats were deeper – playing nine regularly – and much stronger defensively.

“Their motto was ‘unfinished business,’ ” Vining said.

The result was a perfect 24-0 season and their first girls basketball championship.

“The community is in a buzz,” said Vining. “People have been waiting for this for years.”

Dream tournament

When St. Michael’s girls walked into the SunDome in Yakima on Wednesday, their eyes were as big as basketballs. By Saturday, after finishing sixth in the State 1B tournament, they had fulfilled a dream.

“It has been these girls’ dream since junior high to go to state, right when I started working with them,” said third-year varsity coach Amy Vogel. “They were star-struck or something. They’d never played in an arena like that.”

The Warriors turned the ball over on their first four possessions. Following a timeout and assurances that it’s only a game, they went on to victory in their first state game. They won again the next day to reach the semifinals.

“The whole first half we weren’t very good, but knew if we won we’d win a trophy,” said Vogel. “It sparked them on.”

Mid-season things weren’t looking good after her sister, Katie Urann sprained an ankle. But God must have been looking out for them, said the coach of the traditional Catholic high school team. District playoff seeding fell St. Michaels’ way and it was off to state, a school first.

It was now-or-not-for-a-while for this senior-oriented team, said Vogel. Katie Drass averaged 11.3 points in the tourney, followed by Urann at 8.3. Vogel said she set a record for blocked shots during the tournament. Tina and Marianne Raynor and Tori South provided offensive backing.

“They had a party for us during lunch today with balloons and a cake with our faces on it,” said Vogel on Monday. “The grade school kids cheered. We were stars.”

It’s on to softball for Vogel and the basketball players.

“We’re planning to go further,” she said. “They love basketball more, but they’re better in softball.”

Regional reflections

Gonzaga Prep boys and Lewis and Clark girls showed their mettle in coming back from first-round losses to win three straight games in Kennewick and earn trips to state.

“I just thought we showed a lot of toughness,” said Bullpups coach Mike Haugen. “In all the games I thought we played well in the fourth quarter and were able to execute well under pressure.”

He added that he was pleased with the bench play of the Bullpups.

“It was huge playing that number of games,” he said. “They had to play a lot of minutes.”

State, for Lewis and Clark, has almost become an expectation. A two-game glitch, losing to Mead in the district finals and Walla Walla in their regional opener, had the Tigers reeling. Coach Jim Redmon questioned their effort.

“Granted, they were two really good teams,” he said. “In the same breath, I thought the one loss to Mead would have jolted us. We ran into a buzzsaw in Walla Walla.”

The seniors, he said, did a good job of holding the team together in adversity.

“And it was very evident to me,” Redmon said, “in the final game that they truly wanted to make sure we returned.”