Colton girls use 3-point barrage to advance to title game

When a team’s first 2-point field goal doesn’t come until the second quarter, it’s usually not a good sign.

But when you make six shots from beyond the arc in that same quarter, it usually makes up for it.

That’s what the Colton Wildcats did – riding 13 3-pointers to a dominating 62-37 victory over the Sunnyside Christian Knights.

The Wildcats punched a ticket to another state championship game, where they will play the Republic Tigers, a 58-45 winner over Evergreen Lutheran in the other semifinal.

Colton also ended the Knights’ perfect record.

“If we’re open, we’re shooting,” Wildcats head coach Clark Vining said. “We had some good looks tonight and shared the ball well.”

Dakota Patchen and Meghan Devorak each had five 3-pointers. Zoe Moser added two and MaryAnn Jacobs one.

Devorak led the way for Colton with 17 points, while Patchen and Moser finished with 15 and 12, respectively.

Seven different Wildcats scored.

“It’s kind of how we play,” Vining said. “That’s how we play against everybody.”

The Knights struggled to score at the onset of each quarter. Colton raced out to a 9-0 run to start the game, and the Knights didn’t get their first basket until the five-minute mark of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, it took the Knights until the 2:20 mark to find the basket.

Colton outscored the Knights 18-8 in each of the second and third quarters.

“We shot pretty good tonight and we shot pretty bad last night,” Moser said, referring to her team’s quarterfinal performance. “We had a really solid game plan and I thought we boxed out very well and held them to not very many second-chance points. That was a big deal for us.”

The Knights had just four players score. Alyssa Martin and Kristen Broersma each finished with 12 while Katelyn Banks had 11.

The Knights only threatened in the first quarter after Colton’s 3-point barrage. The Knights used an 8-0 run to cut Colton’s lead to 12-10.

Moser answered with – what else? – a 3-pointer to get her team back on track.

Colton’s patented full-court press helped force some of the Knights’ 16 turnovers. The Wildcats implemented their press at different points in the game.

“We kind of mixed it up throughout the game,” Vining said. “We did get some turnovers … that second quarter I really enjoyed defensively.”

Colton was also able to overcome some foul trouble, as Devorak spent parts of the first half on the bench.

“I thought we responded well (to the foul trouble),” Moser said. “We kept a level head which is always a goal for us. We have a deep enough bench that I thought we kept the pace going.”

Republic is the only team standing in the way of Colton’s eighth straight state title. The Tigers pulled away from Evergreen Lutheran in the fourth quarter to win and set up a date with the Wildcats.