Limited resources wounded Wampus Cats

2022 was a hard year to describe for the Clark Fork girls' basketball team.

On one hand, the Wampus Cats made it to the 1A DII state play-in game against Deary on Feb. 12, but came up short 63-30.

On the other hand, Clark Fork finished the season 4-11 with wins over Kootenai and Priest River.

If there was one word to describe the Wampus Cats’ season, it would be adversity.

Before the season started, Clark Fork was informed it would be without starting guard Emily Meyers. Senior Kellie Mace didn’t make it past the month of December, junior guard Paige Valliere, who’s been a starter since her freshman year was also out with injury, and Breezy Fournier, who was the first person off the bench a year ago was also sidelined with injury.

This left the Wampus Cats with a very thin lineup, made up of seven girls.

“You can’t call it a learning experience,” Clark Fork girls' basketball coach Jordan Adams said. “It’s just one of those things that kind of happens. It’s like getting a flat tire on your way to work.”

Not only did Clark Fork have a thin bench, but its schedule didn’t do it any favors..

The Wampus Cats had to play up in classification more often than not in 2022.

“We didn’t really play teams of our caliber and when we did we had injuries,” Adams said. “When you’re playing these higher-level teams, you have to work with what you have and do the things you know you do well and at times that is a little hard.”

Senior Katelynn Matteson was a mainstay for the Wampus Cats throughout the season, despite the struggles and adversity.

“If she (Matteson) wanted to, she could’ve gone to Sandpoint to play,” Adams said. “She wanted to be here and wanted to work hard. She wanted the playing time and to be a leader.”

Matteson is one of three seniors that the Wampus Cats will lose from graduation. They will also be without Grace Yancey (who also made the all-league team), and Mace.

With that said, The Wampus Cats will have most of their core back for next year and players will be recovered from injuries..

Adams has also spoken highly about the incoming freshman class.

“We have five upcoming freshmen who are pretty solid players,” Adams said. “We should have 15-16 girls on the team with a deep enough bench to compete.”

Another big contributor that’s coming back for the Wampus Cats is sophomore guard Lilly Reuter.

Reuter went from occasionally taking the ball down to court to being the primary ball handler for Clark Fork.

She was a huge asset for the Wampus Cats down the stretch, scoring 21 points in their district championship game against Kootenai.

“She plays her game, and she isn’t worried about anything else that is going on,” Adams said. “She’s always zoned in on her game and doesn’t let the outside circumstances change the way she plays.”

After a year of injuries, the Wampus Cats will be returning a lot of its players in 2023 in pursuit of a better outcome.

Team’s can’t control injuries and if Clark Fork were able to stay healthy, this year might’ve been a different story according to Adams.

“If we were to stay healthy, I really think this could’ve been a good winning season for us,” Adams said. “But when you only have five girls on the floor with two girls rotating in, it’s going to be tough.”