Hounds can’t hold off Clarkston

CLARKSTON — When asked to describe her squad’s defensive game plan, Clarkston High girls’ basketball coach Debbie Sobotta likened it to a form of “controlled chaos.”

The Bantams needed a little bit of that chaos to pull out a home win against Great Northern League foe Pullman on Wednesday.

With less than 40 seconds to play and the Bantams facing a one-point deficit, senior guard Makinzie Packwood lunged to intercept a Greyhound pass before streaking down the court for an uncontested left-handed layup. The steal and ensuing basket provided just enough momentum to help the Bantams hang on for a 48-46 victory at Kramer Gym.

The Pullman boys prevented the doubleheader sweep with a dominant 54-32 showing in the second matchup of the evening.

“You’ve got to take care of business, that was the theme of the night,” Sobotta said. “You can’t look past anyone. I think Pullman had a really good game. The last time we played I said they were a dangerous team, and tonight you saw why.”

Packwood’s decisive bucket was set up by a pivotal jumper from Maxine WhiteTemple just seconds earlier. After penetrating the paint, the senior rose above the fray and delivered a soft shot which found the bottom of the net.

“She doesn’t get in for big minutes, but when she’s in there she’ll make an impact,” Sobotta said. “We rely on her sometimes to do that and she came through for us.”

If Packwood’s go-ahead basket wasn’t enough, the senior also collected another crucial steal with 12 seconds left to play. The Pullman defense appeared confused as time drained off the clock, with the squad unable to force a foul for nearly 10 seconds.

Packwood eventually went to the charity stripe for two shots, and the senior sunk one of her attempts as the Greyhounds failed to get a last-ditch shot off before the buzzer.

“Makinzie steps up in that situation night after night,” Sobotta said. “She really just has a knack for that, she’s just a clutch player — someone we count on coming through for us. She’s a tremendous athlete and you see that out there on the court. She has great speed and agility, kind of the complete package.”

The result overshadowed one of the stronger performances this season for Pullman coach David Cofer and his program. To put the loss in perspective, the Greyhounds (3-14 overall, 0-9 GNL) dropped their first league matchup to the Bantams (13-3 overall, 8-2 GNL) on Dec. 12 by a score of 60-28.

“The team we are right now is light-years ahead (since then), and it’s a huge credit to them for buying into what we’re doing,” Cofer said. “We’re still practicing hard, even though those wins aren’t coming. I always tell them to keep working for a dream and to not give up because you might only be a sliver away. Tonight, we were just a sliver away.”

Pullman returns to the hardwood on Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. home meeting with West Valley of Spokane, while Clarkston prepares for Friday’s annual Golden Throne rivalry contest with Lewiston at 6 p.m.

“You’ve got to be playing your best basketball at the end of the season, and I think we are,” Cofer said. “So that’s encouraging. I know our girls are really hurt, but I’m proud of how they played.”

PULLMAN (3-14, 0-9)

Hailey Talbot 0 0-0 0, Peyton Teevens 2 1-3 6, Tianah Sanders 1 0-0 2, Brenna Utzman 3 0-0 8, Caitlyn Hansen 0 0-0 0, Kelsey Nestegard 1 5-7 7, Hallie McDougle 0 0-0 0, Rian Clear 7 0-0 16, Brianna Reyes 0 0-0 0, Addie Hawes 0 0-0 0, Alexus Haugen 2 0-0 4, Meghan McSweeny 1 0-0 3. Totals 17 6-10 46.

CLARKSTON (13-3, 8-2)

Ashlyn Wallace 2 4-4 8, Anna Sharp 1 0-0 2, Makinzie Packwood 5 1-2 11, Allie Jones 2 0-0 5, Mikayla Hill 1 0-0 2, A.J. Sobotta 3 0-0 7, Lauren Johnson 1 0-0 2, Mick Jackson 1 0-0 3, Jalena Henry 1 2-2 4, Maxine White Temple 1 0-1 2. Totals 18 7-17 48.

Pullman 14 7 15 10—46

Clarkston 15 11 13 9—48

Three-point goals — Jones, Sobotta, Jackson, Teevens, Utzman 2, Clear 2, McSweeny. Total fouls — Clarkston 15, Pullman 15. Fouled out — none.

BOYS

Pullman 54, Clarkston 32

The Pullman boys might want to clear out some extra space in their display case.

With a dominant defensive victory against the Bantams, the squad secured the Great Northern League title, besting West Valley of Spokane for the crown and an automatic berth in the district championship next month.

“Not many teams right now at this point in the year can say that they have a chance to get to State with a win,” Pullman coach Craig Brantner said. “That’s a nice feeling, but we’ve got to continue to get better and continue to execute.”

With leading scorer Jake Wells nursing a sore ankle, Konner Kinkade stepped up to pace the Greyhound offensive effort with 19 points. The junior guard drained five of his nine attempts from beyond the arc, while teammate Isaiah Strong added another 12 points in the winning effort.

“He twisted it last week in practice, so we didn’t practice him much and he did a good job of rehabbing,” Brantner said of Wells. “But he just kind of re-tweaked it again tonight. Luckily, we have another couple of days before we play again. ... He does everything he needs to do to be ready to play.”

The Bantams (7-9 overall, 4-6 GNL) had difficulty finding ways to penetrate Pullman’s zone defense. Tru Allen finished as the team’s leading scorer, tallying 13 points as Clarkston posted its second-lowest point total of the season.

“We’re in an offensive funk right now,” Bantams coach Justin Jones said. “I thought we were good defensively in that first quarter — and really that first half — but offensively we just couldn’t quite get on any substantial run. Against a good team like Pullman, where there’s going to be a lot of runs, you need to be able to punch back.”

Clarkston has a chance to rebound when the program squares off with Lewiston in the annual Golden Throne showdown, which will take place Friday at 8 p.m. in the Lewis-Clark State Activity Center. Pullman (15-2 overall, 9-0 GNL) enjoys several days off before playing host to West Valley in a 5 p.m. home matchup.

“It’s almost like the timing of the Golden Throne may be good for us, even though it’ll be our fifth game in seven days,” Jones said. “It’s just the energy that it brings, and maybe a little of a break from the GNL grind. ... It’s a chance for us to have some fun and play in front of the basketball fans of the L-C Valley.”

PULLMAN (15-2, 9-0)

Jared Holstad 2 1-2 5, Zane Wilson 4 0-0 8, Ty Hendrickson 0 0-0 0, James Pitzer 0 0-0 0, Isaiah Strong 5 2-3 12, Konner Kinkade 6 2-2 19, Cole Hawes 1 0-0 2, Brandon Lees 1 0-0 2, Jake Wells 2 1-2 6, Ethan Kramer 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 6-9 54.

CLARKSTON (7-9, 4-6)

Tru Allen 4 3-6 13, Austin Roueche 1 0-0 3, Jaxson Allen 0 0-0 0, Nate Savolainen 0 0-0 0, Gus Hagstead 1 2-2 4, Alex Italia 1 1-2 3, Taylor Garrett 0 0-0 0, Kaeden Frazier 0 0-0 0, Colton Dudley 0 0-0 0, Brandton Chatfield 4 1-2 9, Brendan Reed 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 7-12 32.

Pullman 13 12 13 16—54

Clarkston 7 9 9 7—32

Three-point goals — T. Allen 2, Roueche, Kinkade 5, Wells. Total fouls — Clarkston 11, Pullman 17. Fouled out — none.

Joshua Grissom can be reached at jgrissom@dnews.com or on Twitter @JoshuaGNews.