Colton shoots past Sunnyside Christian in State 1B final

What’s the answer to a team that towers over you and builds a 10-point lead almost entirely at the free throw line? Boom, boom; shoot out the lights.

In a basketball game that amassed a plethora of records, the most telling statistic, though not a record, were the 15 3-point baskets that rallied Colton to its seventh straight State 1B Girls championship, 89-70 over Sunnyside Christian.

The victory ran the Wildcats’ win streak to 71. It broke the single game record for points scored by the winner; the previous 84 by Neah Bay in 2012. The 159 total broke the combined record by 16 points, and the Knights’ 70 was the tourney’s highest for a runner-up.

And junior Zoe Moser, the latest in a family of record setters, broke the individual tournament mark for points scored with 86, tallying 35 in the title contest. That beat the old mark by nine. Moser had tied the single game mark with 36 on opening night.

The pace in the title contest was frenetic from the get-go. The Knights built a 16-9 lead six minutes into the contest, 12 of those coming from the line.

The lead stretched to 10 points before Colton began to put on its perimeter clinic, fueled by Savannah Chadwick. She hit 5 of 7 from long range and a total 17 points to help wipe out the 20-10 deficit. In nine minutes the Wildcats were in the locker room at intermission leading 42-32.

“If it’s open it’s open and I was open,” Chadwick said. “Everyone can shoot and he (coach Clark Vining) will actually take you out if you don’t shoot.”

By game’s end six different players had hit 3-pointers, accounting for 45 points.

Moser, who scored 14 first half points, took command of the game in the third quarter, scoring 17 points and the Wildcats built a seemingly comfortable 64-42 lead.

“We just kept chipping away, our shots started falling and we played good defense,” Moser said.

But the gas tank suddenly appeared empty and Sunnyside Christian rallied to within 13 points in the fourth quarter to make things interesting.

Out came the daggers again. Reserves Meghan Devorak and Mary Ann Jacobs banged down 3s to open the lead back up and Colton added three more before time ran out.

“That kind of says how we play any night. We had nine different people score in double figures this year,” Vining said. “That’s what makes us dangerous.”

Annie Brouwer scored 25 points for the Knights on 15 for 23 free throw shooting, the team making 31 of 45 for the game. Brouwer scored 70 points for the tournament.