Colton’s 70th straight win gives it shot at 7th title in row

Colton continues to add to its legacy. The Wildcats qualified for their eighth straight girls State 1B championship game and are seeking their seventh straight title after winning their 70th straight game with a 69-23 rout of Neah Bay on Friday at the Arena.

Next up is Sunnyside Christian, 71-59 winner over previously unbeaten Republic at 3 p.m. today.

Colton’s win was so lopsided that the team’s 40-point third-quarter lead resulted in a running clock over the final 11 minutes.

The Wildcats led by 29 points at halftime in what was more rugby scrum than basketball game.

“It turned into a physical game,” Colton coach Clark Vining said. “But we executed our game plan extremely well.”

They went to the free-throw line a mind-boggling 48 times though making good on only 22. They took advantage of the 3-point arc, firing away 28 times and making nine.

Neah Bay, which had only one loss, was never in the game after scoring the first basket. The score was 32-6 a minute into the second quarter and the fouls piled up.

Savannah Chadwick had three 3-pointers and was fouled on another which she turned into three points on free throws. She finished with 16 points. Zoe Moser had all 15 of her points in the first half. Maryann Jacobs added 14.

Sunnyside Christian standout Annie Brouer, a sophomore when she played in the finals two years ago against Colton, now gets another chance to erase the tournament’s remaining unblemished record.

She was 8 for 13 in the first half, making three 3-pointers and sparking an 11-0 run that put the Knights ahead 19-7.

Republic rallied to within three and four points several times, but Sunnyside always got away.

“It’s not typical,” she said of her scoring outburst. “I just knew I was going to have to lead the team if we were going to go get them.”

The Knights (24-2) used their size, packing inside to control the boards, block several shots and score easy baskets from its high-low set.

Like Sunnyside Christian’s other foes, Colton (26-0) can’t match Sunnyside Christian’s size.

But Vining didn’t seem concerned.

“We’re not the biggest team so that’s nothing new,” he said. “We’ve played big teams every game. We’ll put a plan together and see what happens. This never gets old and will be a lot of fun.”