Top-ranked Nooksack Valley has late-night awakening in time to put lid on Wapato's Class 1A title hopes

YAKIMA - So, what did the top-ranked Nooksack Valley Pioneers do with their time leading up to their 2022 Class 1A girls basketball debut Thursday night?

They slept in.

They took team walks around town.

And they, of course, held a shootaround and team meal before tipping off the nightcap with Wapato at 9 p.m.

Was it the gold standard of performances? Nah. Coach Shane Wichers wasn't in the least expecting it, either.

What he was expecting was that his team find a way to win, which it did - 50-37 over the Wolves in the SunDome.

Nooksack Valley is in the state semifinals for the first time since 2016, and will play Cashmere on Friday night.

"Your first game is really tough. It just doesn't matter - it's hard. And today, in all the games, people struggled to score," Wichers said.

"It's a big atmosphere. As much as you talk about it, and try to prepare for it - until you walk out there and play it, it's hard."

Nooksack Valley took control of this game in two spurts - one in the final minute of the first half, and the first five minutes of the second half.

Standout Devin Coppinger, playing in her first state-tournament game in Yakima, struggled with a 7-of-21 shooting night. But she made baskets in back-to-back trips to trigger a closing 6-0 run to give the Pioneers a 27-19 halftime lead.

"I am proud of us," Coppinger said. "We had some rough patches, but we picked it back up."

Particularly in the second half when the Pioneers ripped off 10 unanswered points. Coppinger had six of them, and finished with a team-high 15.

"The defense feeds our offense," Wichers said.