COULEE CITY – The Almira/Coulee-Hartline girls and boys basketball teams took to the court against Manson on Tuesday, with the girls taking home a dominating 53-15 win, and the boys’ squad suffering a heartbreaking 52-50 loss.

Both teams entered their games against Manson 2-2, with the girls moving to 3-2 on the year and the boys dropping to 2-3.

Warrior girls

Coming off a 49-43 loss to 2B Lake Roosevelt, the Warriors came into Tuesday’s matchup looking to get back in the win column. Using a strong defensive game plan, they did just that.

“That’s how I like to coach, I love fast-tempo basketball,” ACH Girls Basketball Head Coach Matthew Elder said. “I’ve got small guards and they’re fast and quick.”

The Warriors used their fast-tempo attack to dominate the Trojans in transition, leading to layups and open threes. All nine ACH players on the roster scored against Manson on Tuesday night.

“That’s nice, it means we’re executing really well and the girls are seeing each other,” Elder said. “They’re looking out for each other offensively and defensively, and it feels good when they’re doing those things.”

Junior Kayleigh Elder, Matthew’s daughter, led the Warriors with 12 points, followed by senior Praire Parrish with 11 and junior Natalie Evers with 10. Matthew Elder, in his first year as head coach of the Warriors, said his past experience with his daughter’s teammates has given him a leg-up in his first season.

“I have good relationships with all the girls, I’ve known them all and they’re my daughter’s friends,” Elder said. “I think it’s important in knowing what they’re seeking from their season. They want to have a fun season, they have goals and also as a dad, I have those same goals for them.”

Tuesday night was the second time through the first five games that the Warriors have allowed 15 or fewer points to an opponent, having surrendered 14 to Mary Walker in the season opener. Elder said this was due in large part to the veteran experience of the players, five of which are upperclasswomen.

“Team defense, they do a really good job of that,” Elder said. “They’re very under control.”

Warrior boys

ACH found itself down 11-8 after the first quarter, contributed to by turnovers and missed shots out of the gate. Shortly after the start of the second quarter, sophomore Carter Pitts found open lanes in the paint where he scored 10 of his 14 points of the night in the second quarter alone. Pitts’ performance helped the Warriors take a 25-22 lead into halftime.

Eighth-grader Max Grindy, Head Coach Graham Grindy’s son, followed in Pitts’ footsteps in the third quarter where he scored 10 of his 17 points on the night.

“It was huge, we don’t get in that position without those guys doing what they did,” Grindy said.

Down by three entering the fourth quarter, Warrior freshman Caden Correia gave ACH a 42-40 lead on a three-point shot. The Warriors and Trojans traded leads three more times before the final minute.

Manson tied the game at 50 on a three by sophomore Vince Strecker with 30 seconds remaining. The Warriors drove down the court to attempt to take the lead, but a Trojan rebound led to a transition layup by Strecker to give Manson the lead at the buzzer.

“That last play, we knew where it was going and we didn’t execute to get out,” Grindy said. “Kid made a tough shot, but those are the shots he likes to take. The goal there was to get some help from some extra defenders, realize that screen’s coming.”

With a young team, Grindy said he chose to let the Warriors play out the final 30 seconds rather than call a timeout.

“Sometimes when you call a timeout it gives the defense a chance to set up, and I like to let the guys play,” Grindy said.

There are a lot of new faces on the court for the Warriors this season, who graduated seven seniors off of 2021-2022’s state runner-up team. Grindy, who is in his tenth season as head coach of the Warriors, said the first five games of the season have been about creating chemistry and cutting down on mistakes.

“It’s lots of teaching, lots of learning the game and learning how to play together, trying to get chemistry and trying to cut down on mistakes that happen because you’re young,” Grindy said.

Similarly to the girl’s team, three of ACH’s first five opponents have been against 2B schools. Grindy noted that through the matchups the team has shown positives.

“There’s tons of positives,” Grindy said. “They’re having to play up, and with all the lows come highs.”

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.