SPOKANE — The Neah Bay girls basketball team has won three straight state championships and without a single member of Red Devils’ starting five graduating, who’s to say they can’t win four in a row.
The Neah Bay girls made history, becoming only the second 1B girls team to ever win three straight, beating Garfield-Palouse 46-36 in the state championship game at the Spokane Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Colton won eight straight Class 1B state championships from 2009 to 2016.
Somehow, the Red Devils were able to win the three straight after graduating numerous players off their first two state championship teams. Some of those players have moved on to have highly successful careers playing college basketball.
“It feels really, really good. We worked really hard for it,” said Wiinuk Martin, who scored 11 points to go with 11 rebounds.
“They mean the world to me. They worked through a lot this year,” said coach Cherish Moss.
Qwaapeys Greene, who led the team with 16 points said coach Moss always challenges the players to set a goal.
“I’m so proud of us. Everyone did amazing. We worked so hard for it, we deserved it,” Greene said. “Coach is always talking about setting a goal. We set a goal of defending our title. On the first one, our goal was just getting a title.”
The Red Devils won with their usual stifling defense and incredible conditioning as all five starters — Greene, Martin, Caylee Moss, Cerise Moss and Angel Halttunen — played the entire 32 minutes without going to the bench. They never tired and if anything, it was Garfield-Palouse that looked worn down at the end.
All five of those players return next year, plus seven other players on the Neah Bay bench. Watch out for them next year.
Coach Moss said she was a little nervous that the team hadn’t faced much adversity this year. The biggest challenge the Red Devils faced all year was the state quarterfinal game against Oakesdale in which Neah Bay was down pretty big early, but roared back with a 20-3 fourth quarter to win 51-36.
She also said expectations were high all season after Neah Bay won back-to-back titles. After the win Saturday, players and their families are already talking about four straight.
“More and more we’re expected to win and win,” she said.
Garfield-Palouse started off hot, hitting two straight 3-pointers in the first minute of the game to take a 6-0 lead. After the first quarter, Neah Bay held a 14-12 lead, but then allowed Garfield-Palouse just 24 points the rest of the game.
Despite the tough defense, the Red Devils had trouble shaking the Vikings until late in the third quarter when Neah Bay erupted on a 9-2 run over 90 seconds.
After Neah Bay took a 23-17 lead into the halftime break, neither team could score much in the third quarter. The Red Devils were hanging on to a tenuous 25-23 when the dam finally burst. Caylee Moss began the big run by hitting a 3-pointer, her second of the game. Halttunen added two buckets and Greene a basket all in the final 1:30 of the third quarter to take a 34-25 lead into the fourth.
In the fourth, the Vikings were never able to get within seven points and Martin had some clutch rebounds. Cerise Moss, held scoreless all game, scored four points down the stretch.
It was not only the third straight title for Neah Bay, it was the fourth straight year the Red Devils have gone to the state championship game. They were narrowly defeated by Mount Vernon Christian in the title game in 2022. Mount Vernon Christian has since moved up to the 2B level.
Caylee Moss finished with eight points, while Halttunen had seven. Greene had four assists.
The Red Devils finished the season with a record of 23-1, which included two wins over 2A teams Port Angeles and North Mason which both qualified for the state tournament and three wins over 2B Forks which won the Pacific 2B League championship. That one loss was to 2B Rainier, which was the No. 1-ranked team at the 2B level entering the state tournament.
Coach Moss said the team thrives in large part because of the love and support it receives from the Neah Bay community. As important is the support of the players’ parents.
“You really have to give it to the parents of these young girls, as well,” she said. “They trust me and our assistant coaches.”
Neah Bay 46, Garfield-Palouse 36
NB 14 9 11 12 — 46
G-P 12 5 8 11 — 36
Neah Bay (46) — Greene 16, Martin 11, Caylee Moss 8, Halttunen 7, Cerise Moss 4.
Friday’s semifinal Neah Bay 53, Wellpinit 30
SPOKANE — Neah Bay dominated the second quarter against Wellpinit in Friday’s semifinal and cruised in the second half in a 53-30 victory.
The Red Devils were up just 11-10 a the end of the first quarter, but a 15-2 second quarter blew the game open. By the end of the third quarter, Neah Bay was ahead 39-18.
Cerise Moss shot 5-for-13 on her 3-pointers and scored 20 points, adding four steals on defense. Wiinuk Martin had a big game with 14 points and eight rebounds. Angel Halttunen had nine points and 10 rebounds, while Caylee Moss had seven points and eight rebounds. Qwaapeys Greene had four assists.
Like in the championship game, the starting five for Neah Bay scored all of the points for the Red Devils.
Neah Bay 53, Wellpinit 30
NB 11 15 13 14 — 53
Well. 10 2 6 12 — 30
Neah Bay (53) — Cerise Moss 18, Martin 14, Halttunen 9, Greene 3, Caylee Moss 7.
Neah Bay’s Qwaapeys Greene celebrates with the state championship trophy after the Neah Bay girls basketball team won its third straight state championship at Spokane Arena on Saturday afternoon. (NFHS Network)
