Chelan wins nail-biters over Cashmere

CASHMERE – It has been more than 10 years in coming but the Chelan varsity girls’ basketball team emerged victorious, 42-37 over host Cashmere in a nail-biting contest on Tuesday, Dec. 19, on the Bulldogs’ home court.

The first quarter set the tone for the game as Cashmere took an early lead and finished the quarter with a narrow 14-12 advantage. Chelan turned the tide in the second quarter and outscored Cashmere to tie the game, 22-all, going into halftime.

The third quarter found the teams neck-and-neck as each side scored 14 points.

In a dramatic fourth quarter, Chelan intensified its defense and held Cashmere to a single point. The Goats connected for some crucial baskets, inching closer to victory. With a final push, Chelan sealed the game with a five-point victory.

Brynn Hughbanks led Chelan with 11 points, Lydia Petersen and Arabelle Finch contributed nine points each, and Jailyn Reinhart added seven. 

“Tonight, we didn’t play our best basketball, but we played consistently throughout the whole game. It was enough for us to get a historic win against Cashmere,” said head coach Nick Longmire. “It has been over a decade since the Chelan girls have been able to secure a win against the Bulldogs. They have a great program and are coached well.”

The Chelan girls take possession of first place in the Caribou Trail League (4-0) and improve their regular season record to 5-3.

Goats by five

The Goats varsity basketball team picked up a 53-48 overtime win in their CTL squeaker against the Bulldogs.

Defense made the difference as Chelan managed to build an eight-point lead during the first quarter that dwindled to just one, 25-24, at halftime.

The Goats made another run at the start of the third quarter and momentarily held a10-point lead before back-to-back three pointers by Cashmere’s Landon Baker and Riley Hatmaker. Isaac Wilson paced the Goats in the third quarter with nine of his game high 18 points during that quarter.

The teams were knotted at 40 going into the fourth quarter with Chelan starters Luca Faletto and Ryan Rainville on the bench with four fouls each.

With the game tied at 46 and just seconds remaining, Cashmere’s leading scorer, Rylan Nelson, drove to the basket under the tight defense of Chelan’s Zack Noyd.

Nelson, who finished with 14 points, was unable to get his driving bank shot to fall and Chelan’s Kellen Reinhart secured the rebound as time expired, sending the game into overtime.

Overtime began with a driving reverse lay-in from Noyd. After forcing a pair of turnovers, Chelan’s Dom Solarza and Isaac Wilson each got to the free throw line and made one of two shots.

Chelan forced a ten-second violation with a full court press and less than a minute to go on the clock. On the ensuing play Kellen Reinhart was fouled and put the Goats up five by hitting one of two free throws.

Landon Baker answered quickly for Cashmere with a bucket and brought Cashmere to within three points with 10 seconds remaining. The Goats showed poise against Cashmere’s full court pressure defense. Cashmere was forced to foul Jacob Allen who hit both shots to seal the victory.

“It was great to see the guys force so many turnovers near the end of the game,” said Chelan head coach Tony Callero.

The Goats forced 23 turnovers and had just 11 themselves.

“Anytime you can hold a team to just eight points over the final 12 minutes of the game, your chances of getting a win are pretty good,” Callero said.

Chelan got 18 points from Wilson, 12 from Rainville and eight points from Reinhart. Cashmere’s leading scorers were Nelson with 14 and Baker with 13.

The win improves Chelan’s record to 7-1 overall and 3-1 in the CTL.

Cashmere drops to 2-4 overall and 0-3 in the CTL.

Mike Maltais: 360-333-8483 or michael@ward.media