Blazers Looking for a Banner Year

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     Sports cliches aside, the Centralia College women’s basketball team can’t be caught looking ahead when it comes to the NWAC Tournament this weekend.

     Not because that’s the normal line that any team in the postseason will give you, but because the Lady Blazers play the defending NWAC champions in their first-round matchup — hometown Columbia Basin College — on Saturday at 4 p.m. in Kennewick’s Toyota Center.

     And they’re good.

     “We have to take the Seahawks approach to things,” Centralia Coach Shane Schutz said. “We’re focusing on being 1-0. We’re playing the defending champion and we’re excited for that opportunity.”

     While the Lady Blazers have focused on the defensive matchups they’ll have to make, they also know that their primary concern should be focusing on their own end of the game.

     “Honestly, our practices have mostly been focused on perfecting our style of play: less turnovers, crashing the boards, closing out on shooters, dominant hand,” Blazer forward, and Chehalis product, Jamika Parker said. “If we continue to work on the things Shane emphasizes, we will make it very far in the tournament.”

     Columbia Basin finished third in this year’s NWAC East Region with an 18-10 record overall, and also sports the league’s best offense, putting up just over 80 points per game.

     But great offense can be at odds with great defense in the postseason, and the Lady Blazers’ sport the NWAC’s best, allowing just 52.5 points per game.

     That means something has to give on Saturday.

     For Centralia, not much has given all season. Using a balanced offense and a consistent work ethic, they finished second in the West Region with a 25-4 overall record and a 14-2 league mark. The Lady Blazers began the season 10-1, then rattled off another seven-game winning streak before winning nine of their last ten games to finish off the regular season.

     Two of their four losses came to NJCAA power North Idaho College in nonleague games. The Blazers’ 25-4 record, percentage-wise, is the best in the NWACs, and Centralia was ranked No. 5 in the final NWAC coaches poll of the season, behind Umpqua, Walla Walla, Lower Columbia and Peninsula.

     In the second-to-last game of the regular season, on Feb. 25, Centralia avenged one of its losses — to West Region champ Lower Columbia — toppling the Red Devils 73-67 in Michael Smith Gymasium in Centralia.

     “I’ve been really happy with the business-like approach these kids have put in,” Schutz said. “There’s something special about this group.”

     You’d be hard-pressed to find a star of sorts on the team, but that’s only because just about anyone can provide the needed offense on any given night. The Lady Blazers are led by 5-foot-9 sophomore power forward Courtney Kaupu, who averages 11.2 points, 2.5 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game. Kaupu notched 17 points in the Lady Blazers’ victory over Lower Columbia College and was a West Region first-team all-star.

     Kaupu is closely followed by 5-10 sophomore forward Molly McIntyre’s 11 points, 2.3 assists and 6.4 rebounds per game. McIntyre, too, was a first-team all-star.

     The Lady Blazers were second in entire NWAC this year in assists, dishing out 17.7 per game. Along with McIntyre and Kaupu, two other players carry a 9-point scoring average.

     “I think a part of the reason that we are so balanced when it comes to scoring is because of our strong chemistry,” McIntyre said. “We have faith in our teammates and are very unselfish. We look for the best shot for our team rather than for ourselves.”



     Susan Kenney, a second-team all-star, notches 9.7 points, 3.1 assists and 3.1 rebounds a game.

     Parker, a 2013 W.F. West graduate who joined the Blazers midway through the season after fighting a back injury, is fourth in the NWAC with 1.8 blocks per game and also hauls in 6.5 rebounds a game. She averages 9.3 points per game and is joined by fellow W.F. West alumni Tori Weeks and Lauren Fisher on the team.

     “I played with both for four years; the connection is a little stronger than some of the other girls,” Parker said. “Plus it's also nice to reminisce through our successful high school days. (W.F. West coaches) Jack (State) and Henri (Weeks) come to games when they can as they're still in season. Shane and (CC assistant) Caleb (Sells) remind me of Jack when they're yelling at me to ‘keep the ball high!’ or ‘finish strong!’"

     River Ridge’s Kyahri Adams is Centralia’s fifth leading scorer with 7 points per game to go along with 4 assists and 4.7 rebounds.

     Last year the Blazers had just two sophomores on the roster and this year have a strong core of five upperclassmen with leadership qualities. That’s shown up out on the court in the team’s consistency throughout the season.

     “Each one of them are great leaders on and off the court,” Parker said “They know the system very well and bought into Schutz and Sells' program. With their leadership, it makes it easier for the freshman to adapt to this style of play.”

     The result? A drive to win and a chip on their shoulder. It’s no secret that the Lady Blazers are hungry to hoist something up in the Michael Smith Gymnasium.

     “They’re hoping to be successful and put a banner on the wall,” Schutz said. “There’s a real determination in this group. They really want to be able to come back years later and show their kids what they did here at this school.”

     To begin that run to a banner, Schutz will be facing a former player on Columbia Basin’s roster. Lacey Morris, a Central 2B League MVP for Schutz during his coaching tenure at Napavine High School, plays for CBC.

    Morris will be coming into the Toyota Center with a bevy of solid teammates, namely sophomore guard Morgan Greir (15.5 ppg) and freshman guard Marissa Caballero (14.8 ppg).

     “They can flat-out make things happen, but the whole team, from top to bottom can do that,” Schutz said.

     Schutz wants to be ready for them and understands that postseason basketball in the Toyota Center tends to lead to lower shooting percentages since there’s more space behind the baskets for the shooters. That’s why the Lady Blazers have been utilizing the spacious confines of the Northwest SportsHub to get the same feeling.

     “The tournament is a combination of things,” Schutz said. “You’re playing the best 16 teams that play good defense, you’re playing in a different setting and you’re playing four days in a row if you keep winning.”

     Playing four games in a row against top flight competition will be tough, McIntyre admits, but adds that with the way they play each other in practice they’re sure they can handle it.

     “The NWAC games are different in the sense that these are the best teams,” she said. “And everyone is fighting for that trophy. The games are very competitive because no one wants to leave Kennewick without a trophy. It’s what we've all been working for.”

     Summer workouts, the regular season and countless hours of preparation, travel and film study all comes down to this weekend.

     The Lady Blazers won’t be looking ahead to their next opponent, but don’t blame them if they don’t sneak a peek at the golden trophy.