Huskies back to state for the first time in 14 years
IAN BIVONA | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 8 months AGO
Othello junior Riley Farman (34) brings the ball up the floor against East Valley (Yakima).
IAN BIVONA/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Othello senior Briana Andrade, center, powers past an East Valley (Yakima) defender to shoot a layup against the Red Devils.
Othello senior Annalee Coronado (4) drives to the rim late in the game against East Valley (Yakima) on Jan. 31.
Ian Bivona serves as the Columbia Basin Herald’s sports reporter and is a graduate of Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. He enjoys the behind-the-scenes stories that lead up to the wins and losses of the various sports teams in the Basin. Football is his favorite sport, though he likes them all, and his favorite team is the Jets. He lives in Soap Lake with his cat, Honey. | February 23, 2023 3:56 PM
OTHELLO – For the first time since 2009, the Othello Huskies girls basketball team is heading back to state.
Othello Head Coach Adolfo Coronado said the team’s energy on the court against the defending champion Ellensburg Bulldogs early in the season showed how far the girls could make it this season.
“The way they played; the hustle, the heart, the no-quit (attitude),” Coronado said. “I think that fed into – from then on, we played a lot harder. We believed more in ourselves.”
The Huskies closed the regular season winning six of seven games, the lone loss being to Ellensburg in the regular-season finale. In the first round of the Central Washington Athletic Conference tournament against Prosser, the Huskies fell 56-51 on their home floor.
“Playing Prosser, one of the better teams in the state in my opinion, and losing to them at home backed us into a corner,” Coronado said. “We can’t fail, we can’t lose. There is no tomorrow if we lose. The girls really took heart to that.”
Rebounding with a 53-35 win over East Valley (Yakima) and a 48-43 win over Grandview last week, the Huskies advanced to the 2A District 5/6/8 Crossover against Clarkston.
Coronado said the team had learned to play with a lead against Grandview in the CWAC consolation finals and used the lessons from that game in a 56-38 win over Clarkston in the crossover.
“The whole game, it was ‘Don’t take one play off,’” Coronado said. “This season, we’ve had a little bit of history of letdowns in the third quarter. For whatever reason, the third quarter’s just been a struggle for us. But, we learned from our Grandview game how to play with a lead, and they finished. They put their minds to something, and they weren’t going to fail.”
An 18-point win to qualify for state adds momentum as well.
“It builds on our confidence,” Coronado said. “If we play our game, if we play the way we know how to play, we can hang with anybody. We’re not going to be afraid of anybody, not going to overlook anybody by any means because we know what it feels like to be overlooked. We’re just going to come out and play as hard as we can.”
The Huskies received the No. 10 seed in the 2A Girls State Basketball Tournament, setting up a clash between Othello and Mark Morris on Friday.
“They play a little different pace,” Coronado said. “We’ll see how that affects us. Size-wise, they’re not huge or anything like that, so that’s good for us. No one in our league is really huge other than Ellensburg, so that’s not that different. I think we’ll be pretty ready.”
The regional game will be played at Ellensburg High School, a court the Huskies are familiar with.
“I would hate to have to drive to the other side of the state, that’s for sure,” Coronado joked. “It’s great to only be an hour away.”
Othello and Mark Morris tip-off at 6 p.m. in Ellensburg. The winner advances to the round of 12 in Yakima, while the loser will be eliminated.
“For us, it’s really just another game,” Coronado said.
