Caribou Chatter
Doug Flanagan
Tonasket girls show improvement
By Doug Flanagan
Jan. 06, 2011
Last season was a forgettable one for the Tonasket High School girls basketball team.
Not only were the Tigers dealing with the loss of seven seniors from the previous year's squad, but they were getting used to the personality and tendencies of new coach Stephanie Schertenleib. The results weren't pretty; Tonasket won just two games and finished in last place in the Caribou Trail League.
Predictably, entering this season, not much was expected of the Tigers. But Schertenleib had faith that her second season at the helm had the potential to be a lot better than the first. So far, her team's efforts and results have rewarded that faith.
Entering CTL play this weekend, Tonasket sports a 6-4 record, a 10-game non-league stretch that includes a five-game winning streak after two losses to start the season.
To put it simply, the Tigers are a different team than they were last year. Most importantly, they are more experienced, and the fact that they've won some games early on can only help their confidence.
"No, I am not surprised we have started out the season this way," Schertenleib said. "Our team has a year of playing varsity basketball under their belt and a solid core of seniors. Last year, they had a lot of new challenges to face. This year they know what to expect from me as their coach and they are more comfortable with their abilities and their teammates."
The Tigers haven't played a team above the B-league ranks yet this season, and fully realize that they'll have to continue to improve if they want to be any kind of factor at all in the CTL race. So far it looks as though Cashmere (7-1) and Okanogan (6-3) are the top teams in the league.
"We have played some challenging teams, ones that had success last year and should impact their B-leagues this year," Schertenleib said. "However, they really are just a (warm-up for what) we are going to face in the CTL. Okanogan, Chelan, Cashmere - the list goes on as far as tough competition. We are going to have become more consistent and keep a handle on our turnovers if we are going to have success this season. I think this team has potential, but they have to be the ones to step up and make it happen."
The Tigers have been especially strong defensively so far, limiting their opponents to 43 points per game. (That figure would be a lot lower if the 75 points Tonasket allowed to Brewster in a Dec. 28 loss are removed.) On offense, they are still developing and inconsistent at times, but Schertenleib likes the fact that the team has several different players capable of becoming a go-to scorer at any moment.
"We have had good defense, consistent offense from numerous players and have controlled their turnovers better than last year," she said. "(In order to compete in the CTL), we have to play good defense, rebound well and limit our turnovers.
"(Michelle) Carlson has done a pretty good job handling the point position, all the while guarding one of the other teams' best players. (Shelby) Olma had really added a lot on offense with her shooting and defense with getting in the passing lanes, and our posts - (Jayden) Hawkins, Utt and (Jerian) Ashley - have caused some problems for teams. If one isn't playing well, the others seem to step up. This has really been a bright spot in our team this year as opposed to last year. All around we are just playing better as a team and getting contributions from every position."
