Zoe Moser represents end of successful Moser era at Colton
Colton senior Zoe Moser remembers watching Colton girls basketball games when she was younger as team manager, shaking the video camera with excitement as she filmed her older sisters.
Fast forward to 2016 and Zoe is hoping to leave the Moser sisters’ final mark on the Colton program.
Zoe is the fourth Moser to pass through the Wildcat program. The oldest, Megan, led Colton to its first state championship in 2009 as a junior, with the second oldest, Haley, contributing as a freshman. Next came Jenna, who teamed up with Haley for state championship runs in 2011 and 2012 and with Zoe in 2013 and 2014.
“I think it gives me a lot of role models to look up to,” Zoe said of witnessing her older sisters come through the program. “Not only them, but members of teams past that have won.”
While the Mosers have been pillars of the program over the years, coach Clark Vining’s leadership has provided direction for a once wayward program.
Colton advanced to its first state tournament in 2007 – the first in the program’s history – one season after Vining took over the program in 2005-2006. And since the Wildcats’ first state title in 2009, Colton has claimed the State 1B championship trophy seven straight seasons.
“I’ve been invested in this program for a long time,” Moser said. “It’s nice to see hard work of everyone pay off.”
Colton’s fast-paced style and full-court press defense exemplifies the changes Vining made to the program, and the up-tempo style warrants a great deal of subs, which Vining uses in waves.
“What’s really tough about them is that bench,” said Lyle-Wishram head coach Joe Bales, whose Cougars were thrashed by the Wildcats 88-24 in the state regional round on Saturday. “They come at you with a lot of different people and they can all shoot the 3.”
Having upperclassmen who have been in the program for multiple years helps guide along underclassmen who are relied upon to see significant minutes in Vining’s system.
“I think our upperclassmen have done a really good job this year,” Vining said. “We have a couple freshmen and sophomores coming off the bench, and I think our juniors and seniors have helped them along the way.”
The Wildcats have won their last seven games by an average of 38.1 points and are entering the state tournament on a 14-game winning streak. Colton had its state-record 79-game win streak snapped on Dec. 29 by 2B foe Okanogan, which whacked the 1B Wildcats 73-57.
While the Wildcats wanted to win and keep the streak alive, Vining said the early-season loss has helped Colton as the season progressed.
“I do think in the long run it’s helped us,” Vining said. “It was a good game to see what we needed to work on for that home stretch.”
Even with the well-documented streak shattered, Colton will have a target on its back entering the state tournament. But it’s only fitting that Zoe is leading the charge for the Wildcats as the Moser legacy comes to an end.
“We’ve had a boatload of players who have had great seasons so far, but she’s definitely the driving force there,” Vining said.