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METALINE FALLS — The Selkirk High School girls’ basketball team won thrice in a row last week, keeping their win streak after three away games.
The first was Tuesday, Dec. 16 against Cusick (2-5, 1-4), who lost to Selkirk (7-1, 5-0) 45-34. (See related story.)
Selkirk next visited Columbia (0-7, 0-6), winning against the “very young and raw” team 49-4, Selkirk coach Kelly Cain says. Columbia is fielding a girls’ varsity team for the first time in a few years, only scoring two points in the second and third quarters.
“We knew coming into the game that we should be able to get a lot of playing time for everyone and that is what happened,” Cain says. “We two-platooned our 10 players and were able to get everyone a half of game-playing time.”
Millie Rice led in points with 22. Alana Newman and Jessa Culianan added eight and seven rebounds, Kinley Petrich seven steals.
“It was a good opportunity to get our more inexperienced players court time,” Cain says.
Their third and final game before Christmas Break was Saturday, Dec. 20 against Inchelium (4-3, 3-2). That game ended 43-42, with Selkirk winning by a single point.
“This was a very intense game,” Cain says. Inchelium quickly gained a 7-point lead, but the Rangers weathered the storm and managed to tie with the Hornets 9-9 by the end of the first quarter, Cain says. The rest of the game was tight, with Selkirk maintaining an only single-point lead after the second and third quarters.
With one minute and 30 seconds left, Selkirk built a six-point lead on a 3-pointer by Laylee Strickler off a feed from Petrich, Cain says. Though Inchelium scored the final five points of the game to pull within a point of Selkirk, the Rangers hung on.
“The girls showed a lot of grit and toughness in pulling this one off,” Cain says.
Leading in points were Rice, Chloe Kardos and Culianan with 17, 8 and 6. Culianan, Kardos, Rice and Strickler added 11, 12, eight and seven rebounds, while Petrich added five assists.
The Rangers resume play next week after Christmas Break.
