Wildcats draw early game in State 3A tourney first round

Mount Spokane is the opening act when the State 3A basketball tournament begins Wednesday in Seattle’s KeyArena.

The Wildcats, in their second state appearance, play at 9 a.m. against a team they are familiar with, Mount Rainier. They met during a tournament at Seattle Christian last summer.

“They beat us by three points,” said coach Bill Ayers. “We had some success and led most of the game, but they came back and got us.”

Gauging themselves against those schools was the reason Mt. Spokane played in the tournament, he said.

“They are formidable, their kids are so stinking athletic,” Ayers said. “Kind of what I’m hoping is we go over with a little confidence because we played them before. We’ll try to use the 9 a.m. thng to our advantage and hope they’re half awake.”

Last weekend Mt. Spokane won the regional championship with a 48-39 victory over West Valley-Yakima to become the Greater Spokane League’s only 3A qualifier to this week’s tournament.

Ayers spoke ominously of the firepower of WV-Yakima prior to Saturday’s regional title game. “The coach’s son and point guard is the MVP of the league and they have 6-foot-4 and 6-5 guys who are college players. Between them they average 48 points a game.”

Mt. Spokane proceeded to shut them down. Ayers is hoping to do the same in Seattle.

“That was so great,” he said of Saturday’s win. “This is a team that really to me is a consummate example of the sum being greater than the parts.”

Meanwhile, six Great Northern League teams are headed to the 2A tournament in Tacoma, led by the District 7 champion Clarkston boys and Pullman girls.

West Valley and Clarkston each qualified two teams to the tournament. The Cheney boys round out the field.

Wednesday’s first day is busy with games from 9 in the morning to 7 at night.

For West Valley, the trips are doubly exciting. It’s the first time both teams have gone to state in the same year and it is a family affair. The Eagles boys, coached by Jamie Nilles, are making their fourth straight state trip and seventh since 1999. His wife, Renae, is assisting WV’s girls who qualified for state for the fourth time, first since winning 3A in 1997. Their freshman daughter Shaniqua is the team’s second-leading scorer.

The Eagles were seeded fourth in district, but upset Pullman to reach state.

“There was a lot of emotion with all that went on,” Jamie Nilles said of a season with its travails. “In the back of my mind I wanted this more than any other year.”