Tigercats take to the hardwood

The LWK Tigercats started the basketball a preseason match up against Soap Lake on Saturday, Dec. 7, and the Tigercats returned home with a 50-57 loss to Soap Lake.

Mike Stubbs has moved from an assistant coaching position with the team into the head coach role this season, and said the preseason game served as a good baseline for the team.

The Tigercats graduated seven seniors from the roster last year, and Stubbs said the Soap Lake game helped start a foundation for the upcoming season.

Leading the Tigercats this season are veteran varsity athletes Darcy Stamper and Joey Guske. The duo leads the team with the most varsity experience and both players contributed 23 points apiece to the Tigercats final score on Saturday. The only other Tigercat athlete to put up points on Saturday was returning post player Riley Roberts, who had four points.

The Tigercats started out strong against Soap Lake and kept the game close, ending the first quarter with the Tigercats trailing by one point, 12-11. The Tigercats played in a two-three zone defensively to limit Soap Lake’s points in the paint, as Eagles outsized the Tigercats’ post players.

“We were concerned about their bigs inside, but they hit enough from the outside,” Stubbs said. “They have good guards and kept us off-balance enough to hit those shots.”

The Eagles went on a scoring run in the second quarter, putting up 24 points to the Tigercats’ 14 and pushed the game into a double-digit scoring gap. The Tigercats fought to limit points in the third, but the Eagles increased their lead and went into the final quarter, 47-33.

The Tigercats found momentum mid-way through the fourth quarter after an intentional foul sent Stamper to the line. After sinking the two free throws, the Tigercats converted the next two times down the court and began to put pressure back on the Eagles.

The last minute effort proved just short of a win, but Stubbs said the final minutes of the game provided the Tigercats with an opportunity to earn the win.

The Tigercats begin league play on Friday against Tekoa-Oakesdale and Stubbs said the team is focusing on building from the foundation they started in the Soap Lake game. The primary focus for the Tigercats is improving on communication, something Stubbs believes the team will achieve during the upcoming games, as the athletes develop a familiarity with each other on the court.

The Tigercats take to the hardwood in Washtucna at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 13. The Tigercats go on the road Saturday to face Liberty Christian, with tip-off at 6:30 p.m.