Washed out: Northport boys, girls basketball teams thrive despite flood in home gym

It’s difficult enough for high school basketball teams to navigate the perils of league play and qualify for the postseason, then wade through a league playoff bracket just to qualify for a winner-to-state district game.

But try doing it while unexpectedly losing your home gym.

That’s exactly the scenario that the Northport boys and girls teams have been dealing with for the past six weeks.

On Jan. 7, the gym at Northport High School flooded. A pipe from the boiler heating system overheated, melting the seals around an elbow coupling that also failed. The ensuing extensive damage required a complete replacement of the flooring.

It was, simply, “a mess,” according to Northport co-athletic director and girls basketball coach Erik Stark.

“Within a week, it had warped so bad we could no longer practice or play on it,” he said.

The school immediately began replacing the court – estimated to cost close to a half-million dollars upon completion. The wood flooring has been delivered, and workers are in the process of staining the floor.

“The unexpected silver lining is we get a new floor,” co-athletic director and volleyball coach Shyanne Guglielmino said. “Though no one would want to go about it this way.”

The new floor will feature a depiction of the historic bridge in Northport crossing the Columbia River.

“It’s such an important part of what makes Northport, Northport,” Guglielmino said. “It’s what makes our area unique.”

No one knew that Jan. 3 would be the Mustangs’ last home game of the season. Since the flood, the Northport teams have been dealing with scheduling issues that would challenge any program, let alone one that is tucked into one of the most remote corners of the state.

Of the many things the flood disrupted, Northport had to have “senior night” in someone else’s gym. They held it at Columbia High School in Hunters – a 90-minute trip each way – on Jan. 24 against Curlew.

“It was weird, to say the least,” Stark said. “But our ASB did a really nice job decorating with balloons and posters and all the rest. They did the best they could.”

Figuring out the end of the regular -season schedule was tough enough – Northport played its remaining home games at its opponent’s gym, or at Columbia or at Selkirk High School in Ione – a 75-minute trip. Northport “hosted” the first round of playoffs at Jenkins High School, 80 minutes away.

With no other gym in the community, the Mustangs have been forced to borrow those gyms – and others, including Kettle Falls (45 minutes), Columbia River Christian Academy in Kettle Falls (45 minutes) and Colville (50 minutes) – for practice time. On most occasions, gym time for Northport has come late in the evenings after the host team has finished their practice schedule.

“(Tuesday) we’re practicing at Kettle (Falls),” Stark said. “(Wednesday) it’s Colville. The next day, we don’t know yet.”

“Some days the girls go in one direction, the boys in the other. We’ve had to be very creative to make sure everyone has gym time,” Guglielmino said.

“It’s been very daunting. I spend most of my days reaching out to anyone in the area that has a gym. I’ve made a lot of friends. We’re lucky everyone has been so accommodating. I’m very grateful for all the other ADs that have been willing to help.”

Coaches talk about adversity all the time – it’s a rallying cry to motivate their players. But the Northport teams have lived it since the flooding.

“Some days we have just canceled practice rather than deal with the hassle, or having us get home late three or four nights in a row,” Stark said.

Regardless of the difficult circumstances, both teams have thrived. The boys team went 9-0 while displaced to finish the regular season 12-0 in league, earning the Northeast 1B North Division’s top seed to the league tournament.

“I’ve been here 18 years and it’s probably the best boys team we’ve had,” Stark said. “No one can remember the last time the boys were regular-season champs.”

Guglielmino has been in awe of the resiliency of the players, and the flexibility of the administrators willing to balance classes with travel time to and from practices and games.

“It’s been a challenge, for sure,” she said. “(The players) are on a bus for several hours every day. It’s been really hard on them. But I think they are showing up to play and have the right mindset.”

But the extensive travel may have finally caught up to the Mustangs – the boys ended up in fifth place in the tourney. Still, six teams out of the league qualified for the new District 6 1B tournament – essentially a one-day “winner-to-state” crossover with the Southeast 1B league.

The girls went 7-2 down the stretch and earned the third seed to the league tournament. They won their first-round game, but like the boys team finished fifth in the tournament.

Both teams have a chance to bounce back – they play in the crossover on Saturday at Lewis and Clark High School with a berth to the State B tournament at the Arena on the line. The boys (19-5) face Riverside Christian of Yakima (13-10) at 11 a.m., while the girls (12-11) take on Sunnyside Christian (18-5) at 12:30 p.m.

If nothing else, it’ll be an easier day of commuting between games for the team.