Blackhawks drop one to East Valley, two to the weather

OTIS ORCHARDS – The Blackhawks boys and girls varsity basketball teams each dropped a game last week — with the weather taking the rest.

Heavy snow on Friday postponed a visit from the Pullman Greyhounds to tonight, Jan. 16, at least if the prognostication for an easing of snow dumps passing through the area comes to fruition.

Those snowfalls and subsequent slick roadways also postponed a visit by the Clarkston Bantams on Tuesday, with those games being rescheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 5 — making for a busy end to the season with three games in four days and four games in eight days to head into the post-season.

In the only action last week, Cheney’s girls’ squad lost 53-45 on the road at East Valley while the boys dropped a heartbreaker to the Knights, 62-60.

The Lady Blackhawks played the 10th-ranked Knights to a tie in the first eight minutes, but fell victim to a 12-5 second quarter that, despite a rally in the fourth, they couldn’t overcome.

Maggie Smith led Cheney in scoring with 16 points with Emma Evans adding 12.

The Blackhawks and Knights boys went into halftime tied at 28, with the difference being East Valley’s 15 point third quarter as Cheney couldn’t find a way to pull out their third win in a row. Kaiden Custer led the Blackhawks with 15 points with Peyton McPherson adding 11.

The losses drop the Cheney boys into fifth place in the Great Northern League at 1-2, 2-7 overall with the girls in similar position at 0-3, 2-7.

Weather permitting both teams can improve their positioning with wins over Pullman, with the Greyhound boys at 1-2, 5-5 and the girls at 0-3, 3-8.

Cheney takes a break from league play this Saturday by entertaining Northeast A and West Plains rival Medical Lake in the 10th-annual Golden Feather Spirit Game. Tip-off time at Eastern Washington University’s Reese Court is 6 p.m. for the girls and 8:30 p.m. for the boys.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].