Colton romps past Yakama Tribal

There was definitely something in the air as Colton made certain it would be back to vie for a sixth straight State 1B girls basketball championship with a rout of Yakama Tribal School, 98-36 Saturday at Cheney High.

For starters, there was an air of excitement about getting back on the floor to play after a week off.

“We’re always excited to get a chance to get out and play someone new,” senior Jenna Moser said. “We get pretty tired going against the same 12 faces everyday in practice.”

But mostly, the air was filled with basketballs.

The Wildcats launched 38 shots from behind the 3-point line against Yakama Tribal, and half of them found the bottom of the net. Jenna Moser was especially deadly from long range, dropping 9 of 13 attempts. Her sophomore sister, Zoe, used an identical shot to convert 3 of 6. Savannah Chadwick hit 3 of 7 behind the arc.

Which is not to say Colton turned the Cheney gym into a shooting gallery.

“We did a good job running our offense and getting open looks,” Colton coach Clark Vining said. “And we concentrated on running our defenses and playing with some intensity. I think it was important for us to do that in order to be ready to play once we get to the Arena.”

Colton raced to a 16-0 lead against its overmatched opponents and held a 30-8 lead after a quarter. By halftime it was a 71-28 advantage with no looking back.

Jenna Moser logged just over 19 minutes and 10 players played at least 10 minutes with an 11th logging 5:20.

Jenna Moser, last year’s 1B State Player of the Year, finished with 36 points to lead Colton and sister Zoe contributed another 18. Haley Meyer chipped in with 13 points.

Athena Wapsheli scored 15 points and Lyndell Wapsheli tallied 13 points for Yakama Tribal School, which was 5 of 17 on 3-pointers.