BLOGS

Eastmont's Achilles heel

Blog: The Wildcat Word

I'm getting ready to head out to Eastmont's non-league matchup with Chelan tonight, and there's one thing I'm going to be paying attention to when it comes to the Wildcats: How well will they do at the free-throw line?
Woeful shooting at the charity stripe has been the only thing holding Eastmont back this season, it seems. In a win over West Valley on Dec. 18, the Wildcats were just 9-for-20 at the line, and they were just 50 percent when they beat Moses Lake last Tuesday.
"It's been our problem all year," coach Mike Waters said after the Moses Lake game. "I don't want to get on (the players) too much, because then it becomes a mental thing. But 50 percent is not going to cut it.
"If you can't make free throws, it's just like a turnover."
Things are starting to look up, however. Eastmont shot 20-for-32 in its 65-50 win over Southridge on Saturday, including 6-for-7 shooting from Grady Gausman and 5-for-7 shooting from leading scorer Malachi Roberts.
"People were getting into rhythm," Waters said after Saturday's game. "We were 62.5 percent, which is a 12 percent jump from where we were."
He added that the team was getting it to the right person when Southridge was trying to catch up late in the game.
"Our guys understood we needed to get it to the guys who could make the free throws."
Now I'm just curious to see if the Wildcats can continue to improve their shooting at the stripe, or if Saturday was a fluke. We'll find out tonight.