Summer Heat 2011 set for Warehouse

An NCAA-certified AAU girls basketball tournament is this weekend in Spokane.

The Spokane Stars Summer Heat 2011 is Friday and Saturday at the Warehouse. A number of NCAA Division I and II college coaches along with NAIA coaches will attend the exposure tournament.

The 22-team tourney will be divided into two divisions – Elite and All-Star. A handful of local teams are entered including the Spokane Stars Elite Blue, Red, Navy and Black teams, the Spokane Sandpipers and Sandpipers 15-U, Inland Empire Magic, North Idaho Elite, Next Level Cougs Navy and White and the Hurricanes.

An all-day admission pass is $5.

Coaches from the Pac-12, Western Athletic Conference, Big Sky, Mountain West and West Coast Conference are expected to attend.

“This is our first year and we want this to be an annual event,” Spokane Stars director Ron Adams said. “We didn’t attract all of the teams we’d like, but this is our first year and we’re trying to build some credibility. We want to double the entrants next year.”

Play begins at 10 a.m. Friday and concludes that evening with games at 6:45. The Elite title game is Saturday at 3:15 and the All-Star final is at the same time.

The schedule and other information can be found at jared@ warehouseathletics.com.

• The Spokane Stars Blue and the Northwest Blazers Orange and Brooks teams attended two of the top tournaments in the Pacific Northwest recently.

At the End of the Trail tourney in Oregon City, Ore., July 6-9, the Blazers Orange took second. They defeated Colorado Hoopsters Blue, Corona Force of California, Balboa Hills of Los Angeles, Oregon City Black, Arizona Warriors and Cal Swish Black. They lost to Team Concept of Portland in the final.

The Spokane Stars Blue defeated LA Nets Pressure, North Idaho Elite and Cal Sparks 17 of Los Angeles.

They lost to Wiggins Waves of San Diego. In the game for third, they lost to Nor Cal Elite of Sacramento.

The Blazers Orange roster consisted of Jamie Weisner (Clarkston), Karlee Wilson (Lewiston), Khadidja Toure (Kamiakin), Chelsea Waters (Lewiston), Kelsey Moos (Reardan), Brooke Reilly (Mt. Spokane), Jade Redmon (Mead), Pele Gianotti (Riddle, Ore.), Nakia Arquette (Lewis and Clark) and Sydney Emory (Central Valley).

Weisner was named the tourney’s most valuable player and Wilson, Waters and Toure were all-tourney selections.

The Stars Blue roster consisted of Aleisha Hathaway (Shadle Park), Brooke Gallaway (CV), Brooke Latalian (Post Falls), Jalyn Von Oelhoffen (Richland), Purshall Artison (Seattle Prep), Sophie Reichelt (Holy Names Academy), Devyn Galland (LC), Hallie Gennett (University), Sydney Williams (Coeur d’Alene), Taylor Howlett (LC) and Erin Legel (CdA).

At the MSNM national championships in Seattle July 10-13, the Blazers Orange took first, the Blazers Brooks finished runner-up and the Spokane Stars Blue took third.

The Blazers Orange defeated Vancouver Heat, Hays Place Black of California, Basketball BC 17s, Spokane Stars Blue and Tree of Hope Elite of Seattle. They defeated Northwest Blazers Brooks in the final.

The Blazers Brooks defeated Modesto Magic, Total Package of Seattle, Advantage YEA, Strictly Hoops and New Mexico/Texas Heat before falling to the Blazers Orange in the title game.

The Blazers Brooks roster consisted of Victoria Winecoop (Reardan), Jada Desatel Ootsey (Grand Coulee), Sierra Crook (Mead), Kaycee Hert (Shadle Park), Chantel Heath (Reardan), Madison Wright (Gonzaga Prep), Peighton Devon (Grand Coulee), Megan Steilen (Gonzaga Prep), Halie Watson (Coeur d’Alene), Dominique Pleasants (Grand Coulee) and Kayliegh Valley (U-Hi).

Also in Seattle, the Spokane Stars Blue defeated Alaska Blizzards, Bozeman (Mont.) Stars and Cascade Waves of Tacoma. They lost to the Blazers Orange before beating the Blazers Black for third.

• The Spokane Sandpipers 15-U girls team recently returned from competing in the End of Trail tournament in Oregon City, Ore., where they won the consolation championship in the 32-team Blue Bracket with a 5-1 record and the All-Star Division tournament in Seattle where they went 4-2.

The Sandpipers 15-U are coached by John Stockton. Players are Laura Stockton (St. Aloysius); Oona Harrington (Cataldo); Otiona Gildon (Chase); Ashley Woods (Gonzaga Prep); Hannah Caudill (GP); Emily Terhaar (GP); Molly Stielen (GP); Sonia Khokhar (GP); and Hailey Higashi (St. George’s).

The older Sandpipers finished seventh in the 32-team Elite Platinum Bracket at the End of Trail tourney and fourth in the Elite division of the 96-team Seattle tourney.

The team is coached by Mark Bowman and Kerry Pickett. Players are Lindsay Stockton (Gonzaga Prep); Katie Estey (Central Valley); Cassie Anderson (GP); Jasmine Parker (Mead); Delaney Junkermier (Mead); Brittney Johnson (Ferris); Ashlyn Lewey (Mead); Wendy Gregory (GP); and Jazmine Brown (GP).

Baseball

The four AAA American Legion super regionals begin Wednesday across the state.

In Bellevue, the Spokane Blue Devils take on the Kennewick Bandits at noon. In Chehalis, the Spokane Cannons open against host Centralia at 7:30. In Colfax, the Pullman Patriots meet the Twin City Titans at 2. In Selah, the Spokane Bandits, who won the Senior league title in Spokane, face Franklin-Pierce at 4.

The top two teams from each regional advance to state, which is July 26-30 in Selah.

• Jake Schrader belted a two-run home run, Ryan Krustangel ripped a three-run double and Drew Turbin delivered a go-ahead two-run single to help the Spokane Dodgers 18U rally for a 9-5 victory over Play Ball Sports of Denver in the championship game of the Midsummer Classic Tournament at Gonzaga University this past week.

Ryan Skoubo picked up the win and Jason Renner tossed 2 2/3 shutout innings to earn the save for the Dodgers, who went 4-0 in the tourney.

• The North Idaho Aquafina Pitch, Hit and Run sectional was held recently.

Age-division winners in the boys were Jonny Plum of Hayden (13-14), Colin Richards of Hayden (11-12), Shiloh Morgan of Post Falls (9-10) and Wade Mallory of Hayden (7-8). The girls softball winners were Haley Loffer of Hayden (9-10) and Ashley Fernimen of Dalton Gardens (11-12).

The youth went on to compete at Safeco Field in Seattle where Plum, Richards, Morgan and Loffer each won.

Rodeo

Shaina Johnson of Rosalia won a national championship at the Silver State International Rodeo in Winnemuca, Nev. She won the national breakaway roping championship.

Soccer

The Spokane United girls U-12 team won its division at the Cornucopia Cup Tournament in Kent, Wash., July 8-10.

Team members include Madeline Liberg, Marley McAllister, Alexa Lee, Kylee Devoree, Kylie Spangler, Alexxis Rice, Reagan Moon, Brooke Berg, Madison Kramer, Payton Maas, Paeton Ferguson , Jaylyn Turner and Gracie Modica. They’re coached by Brian Liberg and Chaz Valdes.

Softball

A handful of ASA Northwest Region tournaments were held last weekend in the region.

At the 18-and-under A at Ramsey Park in Coeur d’Alene, the Coeur d’Alene Crush defeated the Magic Valley Sooners 14-6 in five innings in the final.

Chelsey Rasmussen hit a three-run double in a six-run first inning to lead the Crush. Kory Kritz was 2 for 3 with three RBIs.

The Northwest Wildfire of CdA took third.

• At the 18-U tourney at CdA, the Northwest Athletics, made up of players from North Idaho, defeated Selah (Wash.) 3-2 in the title game. Bekah Kastning drove in Alia Cox with the deciding run and Ashley Metcalf picked up the win on the mound.

• At the 16-U B tourney at Merkel Sports Complex in Spokane, Kayla Albertson, a midgame substitute, smacked a grand slam to highlight a five-run sixth that pulled Spokane Crash from behind for a 10-7 win over the Purple Rain (Polson, Mont.) in the title game.

Ashlynn Bocook had a three-run homer in a four-run first for the Crash, but Polson picked away to take a 6-5 lead into the sixth when the Spokane team surged ahead to cap a 4-0 unbeaten run through the tourney and claim its second ASA title in two weeks. The weekend before, the Crash (43-8) won the Washington state 16-U title in Vancouver.

Spokane Legends went 1-2 and tied for fifth. The Columbia Basin Ice from Moses Lake were 0-3.

• At the 14-U tourney at Delta Park in Portland, the Coeur d’Alene Crush ’97 took second based on a tiebreaker. Sunday’s games were rained out.

The Crush and Synergy of Ellensburg were the two lone undefeated teams and were scheduled to meet in the semfinals.

Officials crowned a champion based on runs allowed in the tourney. The Crush allowed eight, Synery seven.

The Crush will attend the Western B nationals in Spokane in two weeks.