Chelan Basketball Holiday Tourney Recap

Teams return to League play this Friday

by Dennis Rahm

The Chelan Boys swept both games at the annual Holiday Basketball Tournament held last weekend at the Community Gym. The Goats opened the tourney on Friday with a convincing 88-51 victory over Wellpinit. Chelan only led 20-19 after one quarter of play, but better defense and an explosion on offense saw the Goats take a 47-31 lead at halftime. Chelan was led in scoring by Reed Stamps who finished with a game high 29 points while Connor Wilson chipped in with 20 points. Chelan also won on Saturday, defeating Eastside Prep 66-48 led by the 18 points of senior Connor Wilson and the 16 points of freshman Braiden Boyd. The Goats led by only two points at halftime, but this time used a big fourth quarter outscoring the Eagles 25-9 to secure the win.

Meanwhile, the Lady Goats split their two tourney games. Chelan opened Friday play with a big win over Eastside Prep 67-9. Chelan dominated throughout the game and held the Eagles scoreless in the first half of play while building a 41-0 lead. The Lady Goats were led in scoring by senior Ashley Sams and freshman Olivia Strandberg with each scoring 14 points to lead a balanced attack. In the Saturday championship game, the Lady Goats lost to Nooksack Valley 46-38. Chelan led by seven points after the first quarter of play, but the Pioneers came back to tie the contest 19-19 at the half and played well enough to build a six point lead in a game that was close throughout. Senior Katie Rainville and sophomore Aliyah Finch led Chelan in scoring with nine points each.

It’s back to Caribou Trail League play this Friday for Chelan basketball as Cashmere comes to town for an important early season matchup. The Chelan girls will take on the number one ranked Lady Bulldogs who are led by outstanding senior guard Hailey Van Lith who is one of the top prep players in the nation. Van Lith will play college basketball next season at Louisville. The Lady Goats bring a 5-2 record into the game while Cashmere is undefeated at 8-0. The girls’ game this Friday will tip-off at 5:45 pm and will be followed by the boys’ contest at 7:30 pm. The Bulldogs are 4-2 (2-0) this season while the Goats are 5-2 (1-1).