Mt. Spokane guard Emma Main transforms from role player to ‘all-league’

The disappointment of coming off a heart-wrenching loss in a state title game can often linger into the following season.

For senior guard Emma Main and the Mt. Spokane girls basketball team, at least so far, that hasn’t been the case.

The Wildcats led top-ranked Prairie 26-19 at halftime of last season’s State 3A championship game but shot just 15% (4 of 26) from the field and scored just nine points – going scoreless over the final 6 minutes – in the second half of their 37-35 loss.

Main, then a junior, hit a 3-pointer that would have given Mt. Spokane a 38-36 lead in the final minute – but it was negated by a traveling violation and the Falcons held on to win.

“We look at the overall picture and Emma has been great about communicating to the team that this is a new year,” Mt. Spokane coach David Pratt said. “We’re going to do what we need to do to get back there and fight for a state championship.”

Main, along with University of Washington commit Jayda Noble and three transfers – Jaimyn Sides (Lewis and Clark), Sophia Bertotti-Metoyer (Gonzaga Prep) and Kyara Sanders (North Central) – helped the Wildcats to a No. 2 spot in the Scorebook Live preseason 3A state rankings with designs on returning to the state tournament and bringing home the title that so narrowly eluded them last February.

The 5-foot-6 Main has been a role player for the Wildcats since her freshman year, helping them advance to the state tournament in each of the past three seasons. But with the graduations of guards Aspyn and Averi Adams, as well as post Emily Nelson and the transfer of Niveya Henley, Main has moved into the starting lineup and become a focal point for Pratt’s team on both ends of the court.

“She put her time in,” Pratt said of Main. “We would talk after each season about things to work on or to improve for next season and one of those was attacking the basket better, and so she put time and effort into that.

“She’s also really coachable and, really, she has no fear. If she makes a mistake, she makes a mistake. In the past, she’d kind of get down on herself and sometimes, I think, your senior year you go, ‘This is it, let’s get it done.’ ”

As a freshman, the diminutive Main was used primarily as a spot-up shooter. But each year she has added to her game, devoting time to developing as a basketball player despite being a three-sport athlete (soccer, track and field) and carrying a 3.95 grade-point average.

“I don’t really do anything (outside of basketball),” Main said. “I mean, I play soccer and I’m on the track team, but I spend a lot of time focusing on basketball.”

This season, Main is a team captain and serves as Mt. Spokane’s primary ball-handler, creating shots for herself and her teammates, while helping lead a defense that is allowing just 42 points per game.

“You can see the maturation from her freshman year to now,” Pratt said. “(As a freshman) she would stand there in the corner and one of our girls would drive-and-kick and she would shoot. But she’s really worked hard at becoming a pull-up shooter or getting to the basket, or, in my opinion, does all the little dirty work defensively.”

The Wildcats lost to Moses Lake 66-64 in their season opener – all-league forward Noble left early in the game and didn’t return due to a hip injury – but have since won four games in a row, including a 66-59 overtime win over University on Tuesday night in a matchup of two of the top teams in the GSL and the state.

U-Hi was No. 6 in Scorebook Live’s preseason 4A rankings and has a trio of Division I commits in point guard Ellie Boni (Colorado State) and twin sisters Tyler and Jacksen McCliment-Call (Portland). Main finished with a game-high 23 points.

“It was a good test,” Main said. “Ellie is a very good player and she, deservedly, gets a lot of attention. But it felt really good to play well and get a win against a good player and a good team.”

Main, who is averaging 15.0 points through the first five games of the season, has received some interest from college coaches and “would love to” continue her basketball career at the next level. Pratt believes that she has done the work to make that dream a reality.

“She leads by example and she has put a lot of effort into becoming, in my opinion, an all-league player this year,” Pratt said. “She has become a collegiate basketball player.”

While high school – and even youth – sports have shifted toward specialization – particularly in basketball – Main has remained a multisport athlete, regardless of her preference for hoops. Mt. Spokane girls soccer coach Shannon Stiles thinks that has helped Main continue to grow on the basketball court.

“She has that fast-twitch muscle that makes her explosive in her first couple of steps, and a field awareness that makes her a great defender, because she anticipates the next play so well,” Stiles said.

“I think Emma certainly benefits from being a multisport athlete, where her experience in soccer carries over on the basketball court. It’s no wonder she is so good on defense, because being on your toes and anticipating plays is a common theme in both sports.”

The basketball season has just begun, but Mt. Spokane is on track for its fourth consecutive berth into the state tournament and, possibly, a 3A title.

“Anything less than a state championship (this season) would be a disappointment,” Main said.