Eureka girls tipoff early
It could be worse.
Eureka could be playing at 9 a.m. today in opening-round action of the Western B divisional basketball tournament for girls and boys at the Salish Kootenai Athletic Center in Pablo.
"I'm glad we're not playing in it," Eureka girls coach John Hammond said of the start time for the first game.
That honor goes to Loyola Sacred Heart (16-4) and Plains (5-16).
Eureka (11-9), however, does follow at 10:45 a.m. against Deer Lodge (9-12).
Eureka plans to leave today at 6:45 a.m.
"Basically get on the bus, eat breakfast when we take off, let them get a little more sleep," Hammond said of the strategy to deal with an early morning tipoff.
"Then wake them up before we get there and hope it works out for us."
To make sure everyone arrives in time to board the bus, Hammond plans to text message all his players before he leaves the house.
"That seems to be the easiest way to get a hold of these kids any more,,"he said.
Things are more tolerable for the Eureka boys. The tournament opener for the Lions (5-15) is at 2:15 p.m. against Florence (14-6).
"We'll leave at 8 a.m.,"Eureka boys coach Chad Dunn said.
"Get down there in time to watch the girls play."
Eureka's girls and Deer Lodge did not meet during the regular season. The Lions also did not face Loyola Sacred Heart, but they are 3-0 versus Plains.
The winners of those two early games play on Thursday at a much more respectable hour 4 p.m.
"For some (of the teams there) this will be the first time we get to see them,"Hammond said. "I'm anxious to watch and play."
Hammond says the scouting report on Deer Lodge centers on their 5-foot-7 guard ," Dani Johnson.
"Has a lot of quickness, takes care of the ball pretty well,ll," he said.
"She had 13 points and eight rebounds in their consolation game (at districts).
Eureka finished second at its tournament, falling to Thompson Falls 47-46.
"We looked at some film (of that game," Hammond said.
"There are some things we need to adjust.
"The biggest thing was blocking out,," he continued.
"We ran into that early in the season, we adjusted to that."
So he figures that should not be a issue this week.
Mariah Newell is coming off a strong district tournament, where she averaged 18 points and 11.5 rebounds. Steph Vogelman just missed out on a double-double in the final with Thompson Falls, netting 10 points and nine rebounds.
Auna Lawler led Eureka in the district opener with 19 points.
Loyola is the defending divisional champion. Deer Lodge was the runner-up a year ago.
Eureka lost to Florence in the battle for third place.
The top two teams advance to state.
Eureka is no stranger to the athletic center. The Lions have played two games there, losing both by one point to St. Ignatius and by 11 to Corvallis.
"We're looking to get a win on that court,t,"Hammond said.
The Eureka boys will also be getting their first look at three of the divisional teams . Deer Lodge, Loyola, and Florence. Regarding the rest of the tournament field, the Lions lost to Seeley-Swan once, to Thompson Falls twice, to Plains three times, but are 2-1 versus Troy.
"We're cutting down our turnovers, our guard play has gotten better," Dunn said.
"We've been handling the press better."
Dunn said the team has improved its passing and has done a better job of sharing the scoring load.
Ben Dechart and Marcus Pluid are both averaging 11 points per game and Ryan Holder is next with 10.
Pluid leads the Lions in rebounding at nine per game.
Western B divisional
Today's Pairings' At Pablo
Girls' 9 a.m. Loyola Sacred Heart (16-4) vs. Plains (5-16)
10:45 a.m. Deer Lodge (10-12) vs. Eureka (11-9)
7:30 p.m. Thompson Falls (12-8) vs. Valley Christian (10-12)
9:15 p.m. St. Ignatius (12-8) vs. Florence (11-8)
Boys' 12:30 p.m. Plains (19-1) vs. Deer Lodge (12-10)
2:15 p.m. Eureka (5-15) vs. Florence (14-6)
4 p.m. Loyola Sacred Heart (16-4) vs. Troy (13-7)
5:45 Seeley-Swan (15-6) vs. Thompson Falls (13-7)