SPOKANE — Neah Bay ran into what head coach Tony McCaulley described as the girls basketball equivalent of his own Red Devils football program in a 75-29 loss to eight-time defending state champion Colton.
“This is no different than my football team,” McCaulley said.
“Colton is no different than Neah Bay’s football team and we know what that level is, and its something to strive for, but it takes a long time to put in place.”
Thursday’s loss in the Class 1B state quarterfinals at Spokane Arena puts Neah Bay (20-4) in a must-win contest Friday at 9 a.m. against Tacoma Baptist (24-1).
A victory would allow the Red Devils to play for fourth/sixth place Saturday.
Colton’s onslaught began in earnest midway through the first quarter when Dakota Patchen drained a 3-point basket, followed by two more in succession by Meghan Devorak, and Colton’s lead mushroomed from 9-4 to 18-4 in little more than a minute.
Neah Bay’s Gina McCaulley knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 21-9 Wildcats after one period, but the Red Devils would come no closer.
Foul trouble sent Colton players to the free-throw line time after time in the first half and the Wildcats, a fundamentally sound team of interchangeable, equally skilled parts, connected again and again.
Colton scored 24 points in the second quarter, 17 of them from the charity stripe, and hit 20 of 22 in total in the first half to lead 45-20 at the break.
Neah Bay wasn’t playing poor defense, the Red Devils were just whistled repeatedly for playing their typically aggressive style.
“Even down 20 in the first half our effort was outstanding,” McCaulley said of his defense.
Offensively, however, Neah Bay struggled, connecting on 7 of 16 foul shots and only 1 of 11 3-point tries in the first half.
“If we hit our free throws we would have been within 10 in the first half,” McCaulley said.
“We got in foul trouble and there’s not much you can do about that.
When you struggle to get the ball across halfcourt due to their outstanding defense you are going to struggle. We competed hard, our effort was there in that first half and that’s all I can ask for as a coach.”
Due to Colton’s defensive pressure, the Red Devils were forced to put up a good number of tough looks from outside.
“We wanted to get anything we could get,” McCaulley said.
“When they play defense as good as they do and we struggle to get the ball across halfcourt you are going to have problems. Their defense is so good … Gina [McCaulley] is probably one of the better ballhandlers here at the tournament and they made her work. She did a good job trying to get us into the offense but the ball pressure is so bad it just makes it a struggle.”
Colton’s Dakota Patchen did the most damage. She led all scorers with 30 points, including 7 of 13 3-point shooting. Her performance impressed McCaulley.
“It seemed like she didn’t miss a shot all game,” McCaulley said. I know she was getting open looks, but we scrambled around and guarded her as best we could.”
McCaulley credited the Colton program for its standard of excellence.
“They are a frickin’ machine. That’s what they do. They just played a game and they are running down the hall [near the locker rooms] like nothing happened.
“They play a different style over here, too. That’s the hardest part for westside teams to deal with over here. First, there are some really good teams, and they [referees] let you play different. The officiating is way different. But fundamentally, all these eastside teams are really good. And we just aren’t at that level.”
Colton 75, Neah Bay 29
Neah Bay 9 11 6 3 — 29
Colton 21 24 20 8 — 75
Neah Bay (29) — Halttunen 7, Gagnon 7, Johnson 5, McCaulley 5, Svec 3, Aguirre 2, Balderson, Lovik, Jimmicum.
Colton (75) — Patchen 30, Devorak 14, Moehrle 9, Kelly 6, Pluid 5, Emma Schultheis 4, Emily Schultheis 3, Kimberling 2, Druffel 2.
Al Camp/Omak-Okanogan County Chronicle Neah Bay’s Cei’J Gagnon brings the ball up against Colton’s Meghan Devorak in the Red Devils’ second-round state 1B tournament game Thursday.
Al Camp/Omak-Okanogan County Chronicle Neah Bay’s Cei’J Gagnon fights for a loose ball with a Colton opponent during the Red Devils’ state 1B playoff loss Thursday. Neah Bay will play Tacoma Baptist Friday.
