WHITE SALMON — The Columbia High girls basketball team traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada, for the Tarkanian Classic Tournament Dec. 19-23.
The Bruins, guided by fourth-year Coach Justin Frazier, faced some tough opponents in the 80-team event. They lost, 54-25, to Crossroads Christian Academy of Los Angeles Dec. 19 at Silverado High School. Senior Sara Miller led the Bruins in scoring with 12 points.
“Crossroads beat us pretty good and they have a highly skilled team, but we’re just here to gain some experience,” said Frazier. “We’re playing hard and competing against some pretty strong teams, so that will really help prepare us for when we get back home and play tough opponents in our league games. We’ve been walking around here and doing some sightseeing, too. However, then after doing that, when we try to keep the kids focused on playing basketball, that can really be quite a challenge as well.”
The Bruins followed with a 54-42 loss to Palo Verda High of Nevada on Dec. 20, where Miller, Halle Koch and McKena Carlock led the team offensively.
“Everyone on the team, including all 11 of our players, are each having an equal amount of playing time. A lot of our bench players, who normally don’t get lots of playing time, are playing a lot of minutes here. If these were league games, then I would probably have the starters playing a majority of the time, but this is a much different situation here. We’re just trying to use this as a learning experience and everyone is having fun.”
Kochhad the team-high seven points.
Earlier in the week, Columbia High lost 42-24 on Dec. 17 at King’s Way Christian. The Bruins (1-1 Trico, 2-5 overall) were confident about their chance to get a victory, because they beat the Knights 41-32 in a non-league contest Dec. 6 at Hood River Valley High School.
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