Doubleheader of the Day...Rainier at Onalaska

There is an odd assortment of boys and girls basketball this Saturday with many non-league games that were either snowed out or flooded during our late December weather chaos. I don't see any match-ups as intriguing as the doubleheader at Onalaska this evening. At 5:45, the Onalaska girls will take on Rainier who are now officially the leaders of the 1A Evergreen Conference with their 40-34 win over previous league-leader Forks. Onalaska is 4th, but one through six, anybody can beat anyone as Winlock proved to Toledo, and Rainier certainly showed against Forks.

The Lady Logger's record is not impressive on paper, but they have been in every game and have a competitive mentality among the very best.

"Ony is Ony and they are always tough to beat on the road, said Rainier Girls Head Coach Dave Wasankari. "They are athletic and can shoot. We will have to play well to give ourselves a chance to win."

Rainier will come straight at Ony with Kristen Schoenherr who average about 15 points and 5'9" Chelsea Owens who contributes nearly 17 points and 8 rebounds per game.

Onalaska is led by Abmber Durand who is averaging about 21 points per game. Toledo concentrated on stopping her this week and only gave up 18 points to her. The Lady Loggers throw a multitude of talent in the intangibles. They score in tight spots, and move the ball around.

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The Onalaska boys are quietly undefeated on the season and can't seem to get much respect as yet. A game with Winlock was rescheduled after is was flooded out earlier this month. A victory against a hard-nosed Rainier team will put them in the minds of many observers until quality is proven otherwise.

The Loggers feature five pleayers that average in double figures and there is not a Senior among them. Cody Naillon, and Eddie Miles both average close to 12 points a game and are capable of grabbing 4 to 6 rebounds a piece. Sophomore Dalton Richey has emerged as one of the floor leaders as he and Brady Stanley both average 3 assists per game. Ritchy is now averaging 13 points a game. Jeff Swett is a worker under the boards with 8 rebounds a game. He also averages about 8 points a game.

Rainier counters with the interior play of Brandon Franklin who averages 12 points and over 5 rebounds a game. Kyle North is the floor leader with 4 assists per game but also has the capability to drop a big three-ball. Jacob Fox is also a great shooter from the outside. Both North and Fox average about 9 to 10 points a game.

This will be my first chance to see the Onalaska boys and the Rainier girls! It is a great opportunity to see some intense, high quality, high school basketball

Division 4 1A Game of the Week-Onalaska at Winlock

So, I will get my first look at the Napavine Boys and Girls tonight as they host Columbia Adventist. The game of the week has to be a match-up between Onalaska and Winlock on Thursday.

Winlock of course is off to a 6-1 record and Forks tonight. The regional press, myself included, has been all over them. Little unassuming Onalaska will come to Winlock most likely unbeaten (barring disaster tonight in Tenino).

Coach Dennis Bower has the Loggers playing as well as can be expected with a rough, physical defense with a combination of quickness, depth and sharp shooting from the outside (Cody Naillon, Brady Stanley and Dalton Richey) along with some good strong rebounding with the associated put-backs on the inside (Jeff Swett). Remember that one of the two regular season losses that the Cardinals took last year was the home match against the Loggers.

The most telling victory the Loggers have on the young season is against Napavine. Many of those players were still lining-up for football in early December, but the Tigers have been impressive enough to handle other teams of notoriety.

While Winlock can be confident, smaller teams give them problems. Kalama spread the floor and had success as did Fortuna, California who has given them their only defeat on the season. Many Northern California observers were stunned by that loss after watching the Cards dominate a far more impressive Del Norte team.

The Cardinal’s Jake Brown should be efficient with the Logger inside game, but the rest of the Onalaska athletes could be a challenge for Winlock.