OTHELLO — The Othello Huskies (2-6) defeated the Ephrata Tigers (1-8) 57-40 to earn their second win of the season. Head coach Caleb Tovar said this game was great for building confidence in his players.  

“There are a couple of defenses that we tried that we got to get better at. But overall, I think they did well. We came out and executed the original plan and got a good enough lead to where we were able to try some other stuff, and we were able to maintain the lead pretty much the entire game,” he said.  

After earning a 12-6 lead over the Tigers in the first quarter, the Huskies' offense erupted in the second quarter to outscore Ephrata 25-11. With a 37-17 lead, Othello continued to build their lead, but the Tigers showed promise in the third quarter by outscoring the Huskies 15-11. However, the Huskies held on in the fourth quarter to seal the win over the Tigers.  

“We had a rough first half, and so we can't get started like that and expect to come back as much as we needed to,” Tigers head coach Alain Black said.  

The first quarter of the game was marked by a defensive-heavy start between the two teams. Their scrappy nature and willingness to go to the floor for the ball foreshadowed the physical competition ahead. Othello built a lead as they started to find scores inside the paint throughout the first quarter. As they headed into the second, Othello led Ephrata 12-6.  

The Tigers opened the second quarter with a three-pointer to cut their deficit to three at 12-9. However, the Huskies responded with a three-pointer of their own, which kick-started a dominant period of offensive play. While both teams continued to scrap for the ball, the Huskies were finding success in the plays they ran.  

They found Suzzie Henley on multiple occasions, including a three-point play that put them up 20-12. They continued to be efficient on offense while also creating chaos on defense behind Khloe Valdez, who tipped an Ephrata pass, which led to a layup by Meila Zuidema to put the Huskies up 31-14. Tovar said their defensive efforts led them to finding scoring opportunities on the other end of the hardwood.  

“Defensively, our focus is on trying to keep teams to score a little less on us. We still got a long ways to go, but I think the girls played really hard today on both ends. I've been preaching it to them that they got to play super hard on defense and it's going to turn into good offense, and I felt like they did that today. They were on the floor a lot. They were going for loose balls, and they were just hustling,” Tovar said.  

Othello rode their momentum into halftime with a 20-point lead over the Tigers. In the third quarter, the Tigers forced the Huskies back into a defensive battle, which slowed their offensive momentum. This allowed Ephrata to run more plays of its own and ultimately outscore the Huskies 15-11.  

“We really talked about attacking the basket in the second half and going at them,” Black said. “We just needed to attack. That was kind of our game plan, is be willing to go downhill and draw contact and that's what was working for us.”  

Despite a promising performance in the third, the Tigers still trailed 47-27. Despite the deficit on the scoreboard, both teams continued to battle to the very end. The Huskies were able to outscore 9-8 in the fourth quarter to seal the win.  

Black was proud of the fight her players showed against the Huskies on Friday despite the loss.  

“That's kind of been our focus these last couple weeks, is to be willing to fight no matter where we're at. We've kind of had a rough season so far, and so looking for those things to fight for. I think once it clicks for them, they're going to turn it around,” she said.  

The results of the Tigers' game against Ellensburg on Saturday were not available at the time of press. Their following game Tuesday will be on the road against East Valley at 3:30 p.m. 

For the Huskies, their game against Selah on Saturday was also not available at the time of press. Their next game is Tuesday, when they travel to Ellensburg to play the Bulldogs at 5:30 p.m. Tovar said he wants to see his players continue to build on this momentum going forward.  

“We just keep building on it, not changing anything, and (we’re) just going to keep working at them, keep working them hard and see if they can take it up even a notch,” he said.  

BOX SCORE:  

EPHT: 6-11-15-8: 40
OTHL: 12-25-11-9: 57 

    The Tigers’ Cassidy Cox (20) gets set on defense against the Huskies. Head Coach Alain Black was happy with the fight her players showed the entire game despite the loss.
  

    The Huskies’ Khloe Valdez (2) passes the ball back into play against the Tigers Friday. Valdez created chaos on defense to help the Huskies build momentum.
  

    The Tigers’ Alexis St. Mary (4) guards Meila Zuidema (3) during their game Friday. Head Coach Caleb Tovar said his players have gained a lot of confidence recently.