The Curlew Cougars waltzed into their matchup on Tuesday with 14 straight wins but they left with 15. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 39-37 victory over Almira-Coulee-Hartline. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory Curlew has posted yet this season.
Emma Lena Baker was her usual excellent self, scoring 20 points along with eight rebounds and three steals. She hasn't dropped below two steals for 15 straight games. Malia Sonsteng was another key contributor, scoring six points.
When it comes to explaining why Almira-Coulee-Hartline lost, one person who can't be blamed is Beth Okamoto. Despite the final result, she scored 15 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Naomi Molitor, who scored nine points.
Curlew's victory was their 11th straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 15-1. As for Almira-Coulee-Hartline, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 9-6.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Curlew will take on Northport at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Northport will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Washington Rankings (they are ranked 304th, while Curlew is ranked 82nd). As for Almira-Coulee-Hartline, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Mary Walker at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.
