Colton girls advance to state again

No matter what Lyle-Wishram tried, nothing could slow down Colton’s high-tempo offense in the Wildcats’ (22-1) 88-24 blitzing of the Cougars (14-11) in a State 1B Regional game on Saturday night at Mt. Spokane High School.

Even when Lyle-Wishram elected to set up on defense instead of winning the opening tip, Zoe Moser buried a corner 3. When the Cougars went to set up a play to break the Wildcat’s press, Moser intercepted a pass and set up Meghan Dvorak for a layup, where she went to the foul line.

“I thought we executed the game plan really well and played at a high-tempo the whole time, which was one of our goals,” Moser said.

The Wildcats outscored the Cougars 53-8 at halftime while making 18 of 44 shots (9 of 24 from 3-point range). Colton’s pressure defense forced 22 first-half turnovers.

“I think that our tempo kind of got to ‘em,” Moser said.

According to Lyle-Wishram head coach Joe Bales, the Cougars prefer to play an up-tempo style like Colton, but injuries to three players — two of which were starters —forced them to try and slow the tempo down.

“We were shorthanded and we got flustered,” Bales said. “They’re the seven-time state champions for a reason.”

The lack of depth and athletes in the starting lineup also forced the Cougars to go to zone, Bales said, which the gave the Wildcats several open looks from 3. Reserve freshman guard Dakota Patchen knocked down 8 of 12 from beyond the arc and led Colton with 26 points on Saturday.

The emergence of role players such as Patchen will be key for Colton moving onto the state tournament

“They know they are going to play a lot of minutes, sub in and out and keep people fresh,” Colton coach Clark Vining said. “Our bench has really come along as the year’s progressed.”

Moser added 13 points and nine assists for the Wildcats. Maelynn Luke and Lacy Carse scored nine points apeiece to lead Lyle-Wishram.

The Cougars enter the 1B state championship at the Spokane Arena on Thursday as the seven-time defending state champions, but Vining said the Colton girls don’t feel the pressure as they embark on their title defense.

“We treat each one separately, so this team hasn’t won a state title,” he said.

Colton will learn its draw for the quarterfinals today at 11 a.m.