GSL basketball: Short-handed Central Valley girls lose big against No. 1 Sandpoint; Deer Park girls beat Selah at SunDome tourney
The defending State 3A champion Central Valley girls basketball team was going to have a tough matchup Monday taking on Sandpoint – ranked No. 1 in Idaho 5A by the coaches poll – in the Eagle Holiday Tournament at West Valley High School.
But CV is a drastically different team than the one that earned the golden ball in Tacoma last year, having lost four starters to graduation. It suffered yet another personnel loss on Saturday – leading scorer junior Drea Domebo (15.9 points per game) was hurt late in Saturday’s 50-46 win over Timberlake and missed Monday’s game.
As much as the Bears missed Domebo physically, the emotional letdown of losing a player who has already missed a season of her high school career due to injury was apparent.
Juniors Jordyn Tomko and Brecken Mire scored 19 points apiece and the Bulldogs (11-1) cruised to a 65-38 nonleague win over the Bears (5-4).
Olivia Patshkowski led CV with 14 points and Aspen Henry added 13.
Domebo, a junior, was honorable mention all-Greater Spokane League as a freshman. But she missed most of her sophomore season with a knee injury. She hasn’t been evaluated by a doctor yet for her latest injury according to CV coach Jason Wilson.
“She does a ton for us, obviously,” Wilson said. “I mean, she scores it. She’s really a disrupter on the defensive end. She gets her hands on a lot of balls. And I mean, a lot of the stuff we do is because of her and her talent. So, to not have her is obviously a big loss on both ends of the floor, and it kind of showed in the game today.”
Wilson knew coming into the season there would be growing pains with seven first-time varsity players on the roster.
“We just have a whole group that they’re all still trying to learn their new roles,” he said. “We have a couple of third-year varsity players that are learning how to lead, and what’s required of being a leader, and seven girls that have never played at this level that are just trying to figure out how to play at this level.”
Mire was a catalyst early for Sandpoint, which went on a 10-0 run in the first quarter and led 17-8 after one. A 12-0 run at the start of the second made it a 20-point game.
CV made an 8-0 run at the start of the third – all from Henry – to close the gap a bit. But Mire hit a long 3 to end the run and the Bulldogs led 55-34 entering the fourth.
“Sandpoint is good,” Wilson said. “I mean, they beat (University) by 30, they beat (Lewis and Clark) the other night by 15 or 16. They’re a good team, and they’ll expose you if you’re not ready. And that’s what they did to us.”
All roundup games nonleague at Eagle Holiday Classic at West Valley High School unless otherwise noted.
Girls
Mead 64, Cascade (OR) 35: Ellie Thornton scored 20 points and the Panthers (8-0) beat the Cougars (4-4) at the Surf ’n Slam Tournament at Monte Vista High School in San Diego. Addison Wells-Morrison added 11 points for Mead. Olivia Bennett led Cascade with 11 points.
West Valley 51, Medical Lake 23: Brynlee Ordinario scored 13 points, Cassie Brooks added 12 and the Eagles (7-1) defeated the Cardinals (2-6). Mya Gardner led Medical Lake with 11 points.
Pullman 53, Sunnyside 46 (OT): River Sykes scored 27 points and the Greyhounds (4-4) topped the Grizzlies (3-5). Grace Kuhle added 16 points for Pullman. Julissa Tabares led Sunnyside with 26 points.
Cheney 40, East Valley 20: Natalie Richards and Kiley Zeisler scored 13 points apiece and the Blackhawks (3-7) beat the Knights (2-6).
Deer Park 56, Selah 45: Jacey Boesel scored 23 points, Emma Bryant had 16 and the Stags (7-0) topped the Vikings (7-1) in the SunDome Shootout in Yakima. Makenna Pepper led Selah with 17 points.
Boys
Medical Lake 81, East Valley 42: Hudson Gilbert scored 31 points with six 3-pointers, Chuks Okemgbo added 21 and the Cardinals (5-4) beat the Knights (1-7). Malaki Nunn paced East Valley with 16 points.
Pullman 54, Sunnyside 49: Cade Rogers scored 19 points and the Greyhounds (7-2) topped the Grizzlies (5-3). Gavyn Dealy had 16 points and Vaughn Holstad added 13 for Pullman.