Charles Wright Girls Team Has Dueling Emotions
When the WIAA/U.S. Bank Class A state girls basketball tournament opens in the Tacoma Dome on Wednesday, it will be a classic matchup - emotion vs. nerves.
But the battle is wrapped up in Charles Wright Academy, a Tacoma school with a 16-7 record that faces 21-3 Lakeside in the 9 a.m. opener.
The Tarriers are making the school’s first appearance in a state basketball tournament, thus the nerves. However, the Tarriers have emotion on their side.
The girls wear black wristbands in memory of Forrest Wilcox, the school’s director of development, who died the day after Christmas after a long bout with cancer.
Wilcox was a fixture at Tarrier games, yelling his favorite phrase: “Play loose.” Also, daughter Molly, a 5-foot-10 senior center, leads the Tarriers in scoring (16 points per game) and rebounding (12). Another daughter, 6-0 Bridget, comes off the bench.
“It’s probably been one of the easier seasons to focus,” Molly Wilcox said. “It (basketball) has been a nice distraction, something to keep working on.”
Say what?
Charles Wright Academy’s nickname is the Tarriers, not to be confused with a loveable, furry terrier.
What the heck is a Tarrier?
“I don’t really know for sure,” a Charles Wright official said. “Your guess is a good as mine.”
When pressed, she said she thought it “refers to the people that used to work on the railroad. They probably were the ones that pound the spikes in the railroad tracks.”
But according to Noah Webster, it means “covered or smeared with tar.”
Favorites
Foster is considered the top contender to put a Nisqually League team in the finals of the boys tournament a third straight year.
Last year, Steilacoom lost to Zillah in the championship game; the year before, it was Port Townsend losing to Ephrata.
Other teams to watch are Cashmere, Port Townsend and Zillah, all on the same side of the bracket.
Foster is making its first State A appearance since 1966. Foster finished second to East Bremerton in the 1974 AA tournament. Karl Albrecht is still the coach.
Steilacoom is not considered a favorite, but the Sentinels always seem to be a good tournament team and lost to Foster in overtime last week. Coach Gary Wusterbarth guided the Sentinels to the ‘85 title.
Defending champion Connell is not back.
Lynden Christian has to be the girls’ favorite, though the Lyncs are in the same bracket as Foster and East Valley-Yakima. Lynden Christian has three losses, all to Class AA schools Sehome, Stanwood and Meadowdale - and beat AAA Puyallup.
The best in the bottom half of the bracket would appear to be 23-1 CascadeLeavenworth, which lost to Omak in the district tournament. That may be a blessing in disguise the way the tournament was drawn. Megan Franza, a 5-9 sophomore, averages 24 points for Cascade.
East Valley-Yakima has the best and the worst in the tournament. The Red Devils boys, at 11-12, are the only team with a losing record in either the A or B state tournaments this week. The girls at 23-0 have the only perfect record in the A tourney (the Wishkah Valley girls, 26-0, are the only perfect team in the B events in Spokane).
Fast breaks
The leading scorer playing in the A tournament is guard Ryan Hansen of Cascade-Leavenworth at 31.5 points a game. … Elma has two players whose fathers played on championship teams. Tracy Colard, father of Kevin (15 ppg), played on the 1971 Ocosta title team. Doug Weld, father of Mike (11 ppg), played for on Elma’s ‘64 champion… . The Foster girls are making their 12th straight appearance at state, all under Tim Parker. They have won twice. The streak may continue. This year’s team has only one senior.
Jenny Frank, a 6-2 center for EVYakima, is headed to Pepperdine, as is Nikki Fields, a 5-10 center for Cle Elum. Fields, who averages 16 points and eight rebounds, was on a championship team as a sophomore when the Warriors beat Lynden Christian. … Eatonville girls coach Mel Cox has state experience. He made the State B tournament in Spokane with Coulee City in 1962 and ‘63. He then went on to become the all-time leading scorer and rebounder at Central Washington University. He is in his fourth year as girls coach after coaching the boys for 10 years. His brother, Ron, coached TekoaOakesdale to the 1993 State B boys’ title.
Bryan Behymer has been the Omak girls coach for five weeks, taking over after Scott Culbertson resigned for health reasons. Omak lost the title game to Connell last year. … Toledo is back in the girls tournament for the first time since the Indians lost to Prosser in the 1989 title game… . Rob Snow has taken the Ilwaco girls to the state tournament in back-to-back years of coaching. However, he took a nine-year break after the Fishermen finished seventh in 1986… . Seven schools, believed to be a record, send both teams to the State A. They are EV-Yakima, Elma, Zillah, Mount Baker, Lynden Christian, Foster and Cascade-Leavenworth.
The following fields overflowed: SUPCAT = COLUMN - State A basketball notebook