By Mike Weber
For Columbia Gorge News
WHITE SALMON — The Columbia High Bruins won two-of-three WIAA Class 1A Trico League girls basketball games last week.
Playing their first home game of the season, the Bruins (3-2 Trico, 4-4 overall) scored a season-high point total in a lopsided 64-24 victory over the La Center High Wildcats (2-3 Trico, 6-7 overall) on Jan. 5. The Bruins took control of the contest from the outset, outscoring the Wildcats 21-5 in the first quarter. The Bruins had the momentum going their way from start-to-finish as they held the Wildcats to single digit scoring in each quarter.
The Bruins had a balanced offense with four players scoring in double figures. Junior Taniah Barajas was the Bruins’ leading scorer with 14 points. She was followed by teammates Sara Miller (13 points, nine rebounds), Halle Koch (11 points, nine rebounds) and sophomore Mckenna Carlock (10 points, five steals).
The Bruins, guided by fourth-year Coach Justin Frazier, then faced the four-time defending league champion Seton Catholic High Cougars (5-0 Trico, 7-2 overall) and they lost at home 62-30 on Jan. 7.
“Seton is really like one of those type of teams that just never seems to lose,” said Frazier. “They haven’t lost one league game in the last four years. Every year their team changes, too, which is really kind of funny. They have three new girls who are seniors and they were not even on their team last year. Obviously, they transferred to Seton this year.”
The Bruins responded well to the adversity and they regained their momentum with a confidence building 47-29 win over the Fort Vancouver High Trappers (4-2 Trico, 6-4 overall) Jan. 9 in Vancouver.
“Getting a win on Friday on the road was pretty good. It’s always hard to win on the road, especially since it was our third game in a week. We’ve had a real good team effort, and we don’t rely on one person to lead us offensively,” Frazier said. “On any given night, there’s always somebody different leading us in scoring. Our two bench players [senior Madison Russom and Barajas] really come out and always provide a spark of energy to our team whenever we need it.”
Following a 12-12 first quarter deadlock, the Bruins took control of the contest by outscoring the Trappers 14-3 in the second quarter for a 26-15 double-digit halftime lead.
Koch had 12 points, six steals and four assists. Joella Posini had a team-high 10 rebounds along with scoring four points.
“We’re starting to hit our stride now,” said Frazier. “We played a pretty tough preseason schedule, which was good. All of the exposure of facing tougher teams has prepared us well to climb up in the standings and be successful in our league this year.”
The Bruins were seeking to extend their win streak when they played Jan. 12 at Castle Rock. Their next Trico home contest is Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. versus the Stevenson High Bulldogs (0-4 Trico, 2-7 overall).
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