Chris Derrick

Eric Sandberg can deliver wins for Ferris. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

2A boys consolation Winning four consecutive games is the hardest task at the state basketball tournament, but two other chores come a close second. One is winning three straight after dropping the tourney opener. Chewelah's boys accomplished that feat on Saturday. The other tester is shaking off a Friday semifinal loss and placing third with a final-day win. Medical Lake couldn't reach that goal against Foster, the same team that started Chewelah down its difficult road.

2A girls consolation Don't put away those basketballs. Pullman would like to keep playing. The team that didn't belong - the worst team in the field, according to the Tacoma newspaper - completed its season Saturday with a fifth-place trophy at the girls State 2A tournament. Pullman (15-14) defeated Goldendale 57-51 to end the year at better than .500 after finishing the regular season 8-12.

1. From left, Lakeside players Bridget Ryan, Caryn Grubbs, Linsey Heebink, Katie Nuechtelein and Brianne Jolley enjoy the feeling of being state champs. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Lakeside's Nikki Petticrew capitalized on this heads-up play by Charie Freeman of Connell, helping the Eagles win the state 2A championship. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Senior Brianna Jolley, with 21 points in 24 minutes, leads Lakeside through the semifinals and into State 2A girls title game. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

The Medical Lake Cardinals prepared for Ben Dougherty. They got Dougherty and more than they bargained for during Friday night's semifinal loss to Elma.

Freddie Miller's Medical Lake Cardinals, more so than Pullman, have taken flight at the state tournament, reaching the semifinals. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Lakeside's Linsey Heebink looks for a way to get the ball inside during her team's second-round victory Thursday. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

2A girls The official championship is two days away, but Lakeside and Elma would beg to differ. Today's quarterfinals of the girls State 2A basketball tournament include an 8 p.m. game between Lakeside (22-1) and Elma (23-1), two powerhouses riding huge winning streaks. "I told the kids that No. 1 and No. 2 are playing (today)," Lakeside coach Lisa Schultz said after her Eagles built a huge lead and dispatched Goldendale 65-52 in Wednesday's opener at the Tacoma Dome. "It's too bad this game is on a Thursday, and not a Friday or Saturday." Elma, which has won 23 straight since its season-opening loss to a much larger Oregon school, crushed Meridian 84-39 in the game prior to Lakeside taking the court. The Eagles have won their last 21, the loss a one-pointer to Idaho A-1 Lake City, a state placer. And what of Omak, the team that ended the year ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press poll? The Pioneers (21-2) ran into a never-say-fold Riverside team and lost 56-50, opening up the possibility of an all-Great Northern League semifinal on Friday. No Riverside team, boys or girls, had won a state tourney game. "I told the kids to relax, enjoy the moment, and now we can chase people," said coach Chris Wren of the sixth-ranked Rams (18-5), who play Cascade-Leavenworth (18-6) at 9:30 tonight. Pullman, which defeated Riverside twice during the playoffs, opened the morning with a 58-46 loss to Connell. Fourth-ranked Connell had ended Omak's 21-game winning streak last Saturday. Lakeside 65, Goldendale 52 The Eagles were never in jeopardy because of a 13-3 start. A second-quarter Lakeside flurry pushed their lead to 33-16, then an 18-4 run in the third resulted in a 55-31 edge. "If that's not the No. 1 team, then I can't imagine who would be," said coach Brian Wanless, whose Timberwolves (16-8) committed 34 turnovers, 23 on steals. Schultz rested her starters so that none played the equivalent of three quarters. "With that Elma group coming up, we needed to save ourselves," said Schultz, whose teams won trophies at the last three Class A tournaments. Lakeside junior Nikki Petticrew had 10 rebounds, 10 steals, and hit three 3-pointers. Senior Brianne Jolley scored 19 in 19 minutes, and senior Janel Long added six assists. Jolley picked up two early fouls, which affected some of Schultz's plans in the first half. The St. Mary's-bound forward avoided foul trouble in the second half. Timberwolves senior center Amber Pantages scored 29 on 14-of-17 shooting from the field. A dozen of her points came in the fourth quarter, against second-teamers. All year, Schultz has followed the progress of Elma, a team which surpassed 100 points eight times. "I think we can play some really good defense against them," Schultz said. Goldendale 10 10 13 19 - 52 Lakeside 15 18 22 10 - 65 GOLDENDALE - McConkey 0, Guzman 0, Marvel 0, Weiss 13, Barrett 0, Arceo 0, Guenther 7, Conroy 1, Niles 0, Amidon 2, Pantages 29. LAKESIDE - Nuechterlein 0, Vojtech 8, Giampietri 6, Reome 2, Heebink 4, Petticrew 14, Hampton 0, Pear 4, Jolley 19, Grubbs 8, Long 0. Riverside 56, Omak 50 The Rams fell behind 19-8 early in the second quarter but rallied behind an unlikely star, sophomore guard Jamie Rizzuto. Rizzuto, who averages 6.1 ppg, made 5 of 6 3-pointers on the way to 20 points, a season high by six. "I knew my shot was on," Rizzuto said. "Sometimes I'm shy about it, but not tonight." Rizzuto and junior Tracy Koesel hit 3-pointers during a 10-0, second-quarter run that still left the Rams behind by one. Riverside took a 27-26 halftime lead when Rizzuto completed a four-point play then converted a layup 12 seconds later. The Pioneers opened the second half well, but the Rams pieced together a 16-2 run for a 44-34 edge with 7 minutes left. Wren said switching to a 1-3-1 zone shored up the defense, and the quicker Rams licked their chops when Omak also switched to zone. "We were kind of getting locked in before that, and it opened up some shots," said Rams senior Bernice Stime, who finished with game highs of nine rebounds, eight assists and six steals, and also hit five late free throws to seal the win. Omak had roared back for 48-47 and 50-49 leads, but Riverside held the Pioneers scoreless for the final 1:26. Riverside 6 21 14 15 - 56 Omak 12 14 8 16 - 50 RIVERSIDE - Koesel 3, Rizzuto 20, H.Wood 1, Stime 9, A.Wood 9, Ke.Shorts 7, Lorenz 2, Snyder 5. OMAK - McCormack 12, Orr 0, Sullivan 2, Lisenbey 16, Wipprect 7, Short 7, Haeberle 2, Taylor 4. Connell 58, Pullman 46 Senior guard Erica Ewart hit three 3-pointers in a span of less than 2 minutes early in the third quarter as the fourth-ranked Eagles (21-3) built a double-digit lead to pull away from the Greyhounds (12-14). Pullman had its final lead, 14-12, with 6:41 left in the first half but stayed within four points of Connell until Ewart's flurry. Connell finished with nine 3-pointers, as Ewart, Charie Freeman and Christine Smith combined for 9-of-19 shooting from long range and 44 points. "They go deep with shooters, while we have one shooter and a lot of battlers," said Pullman coach Jack Brossman. "But I wouldn't trade these girls. "Everyone doubted that we belonged here, but I think we're a better team than even we think. We're going to use this as a 'sponge' experience. We're going to soak it up." The one Greyhounds shooter, sophomore wing Christa Brossman, scored 13 of her 24 in the first half and finished 11 of 20 from the floor. Ewart guarded Brossman in the second half, slowing her down slightly. Pullman sophomore Debbie Curry had a game-high eight rebounds. The Greyhounds had lost their final six Great Northern League games before winning 4 of 5 at district, including three wins over ranked teams. Pullman plays Montesano (15-10) at 9 this morning in a loser-out game. Connell meets Blaine (14-9) at 5 tonight in a quarterfinal. Pullman 12 11 9 14 - 46 Connell 12 13 18 15 - 58 PULLMAN - Brossman 24, Umbreit 2, Mirkovich 0, Keck 2, Pedersen 9, Paulson 0, Rydbom 2, Couch 0, Neil 0, Curry 3, Johnston 4, Pollastro 0. CONNELL - D.Freeman 2, C.Freeman 14, Garcia 0, Clyde 0, Booker 0, Ewart 16, Smith 14, Wood 2, Grassi 0, Davidson 3, H.Taylor 2, C.Taylor 5.

Bold prediction: The Great Northern League will have a team in the semifinals of the boys State 2A basketball tournament. Well, not bold so much as can't-miss. Pullman and Medical Lake rolled to opening-round wins Wednesday at the Tacoma Dome, setting up today's 8 p.m. quarterfinal between the GNL neighbors. "I'm sure they have the confidence that they can play with us, and we're confident too," Pullman coach Ken Swanger said of ML after the fourth-ranked Greyhounds (20-3) outraced Cascade-Leavenworth 52-38. "I just wanted to get the first one," countered coach Dave Olzendam of the Cardinals (16-8) after a 71-59 win over Omak. "We were more worried about Omak today than anything coming up against Pullman." The teams split their league games this year, Pullman winning by four at home and ML by 12 at its place. Chewelah finished the year 4-0 against ML, but won't join the Cardinals in the quarterfinals. The Cougars opened with a 63-57, early-morning loss to second-ranked Foster. Pullman 52, Cascade 38 The Greyhounds worked their way past the Kodiaks of Leavenworth despite having season scoring leader Brent Cummings (21.5 ppg) available for less than 11 minutes because of foul trouble. Cummings picked up his third foul with 7:39 left in the second quarter and missed the rest of the half. During that time the Greyhounds surrendered what had been a 10-point lead, but they recaptured an edge with a 9-0 run for a 26-20 halftime lead. Foul No. 4 came moments after Cummings hit a fallaway jumper for a 28-20 lead with 5:32 left in the third quarter. The 6-6 junior forward stayed on the bench the rest of the way, as Greyhounds guards Ryan Harms, Aaron Linehan and Nate Brown took care of the scoring. "Our guard play has never been a weakness, although we do focus on the inside play," said Harms, who hit 8 of 14 from the field for a game-high 18 points. "It's good to see that we can have players step up and win without Brent," Swanger said. "We're not necessarily a one-dimensional team." Harms and Brown scored six quick points to open the second half, boosting the Greyhounds to a double-digit lead they never gave up. Brown added seven rebounds and five assists. Kodiaks junior Brandon Klump had 13 rebounds. Cascade 11 9 7 11 - 38 Pullman 14 12 9 17 - 52 CASCADE - Armstrong 0, C.West 0, McCauley 3, Rieke 9, M.West 2, B.Klump 7, Plute 0, Anderson 0, Lang 9, Pete 3, D.Klump 2, Darlington 3. PULLMAN - Brown 6, Cummings 9, Linehan 9, Camp 0, Bray 0, Harms 18, Myers 0, Randall 2, Weeks 0, Camara 3, Poole 2, Petz 3. Medical Lake 71, Omak 59 The Cardinals never trailed, as Omak couldn't stop guard Andre Jackson from penetrating for 22 points and had no answer for the Cards' 56-26 rebounding edge. Olzendam installed a 2-3 zone instead of his typical man-to-man defense. Inside men Brandon Moore, Jeff Nichols and Freddie Miller made the strategy pay off by combining for 42 points and 42 rebounds. "That was a difference for us, but I kind of liked what I saw," Olzendam said. The big four hit 27 of 49 from the floor to lead ML's 52-percent effort. Omak's last gasp, for all purposes, was on Anthony Matt's 3-pointer late in the first quarter. ML scored 21 of the next 30 points in the game. Jackson tore through the Pioneers for 11 points in the third quarter. The senior guard was sick Tuesday with a sinus infection. Omak's Pete Colomb hit his season average of 23, connecting on 10 of 19 from the field. Medical Lake 19 20 19 13 - 71 Omak 8 18 16 17 - 59 MEDICAL LAKE - Jackson 22, Brown 2, Headlee 3, Meeks 2, Miller 14, Nichols 11, Moore 17. OMAK - Hendrick 0, Short 8, B.Draggoo 5, Moulton 6, Colomb 23, Pearson 6, J.Draggoo 3, Gardner 2, Matt 6. Foster 63, Chewelah 57 Junior forward Yusef Aziz scored six of his 14 during a 14-2, third-quarter run as the Bulldogs (23-3) rallied past the Cougars (17-8). Chewelah led 40-35 after Andy Nitschke's 3-pointer with 5:42 left in the third quarter. Foster, of Tukwila, took the lead for good on Jamaal Gary's basket a little more than 2 minutes later. Chewelah center Josh Parrish scored 14 in the first half on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, but the Bulldogs held the 6-7 junior to two shots, and one basket, after halftime. "They worked a lot harder, fronted him up, and we didn't recognize it quickly enough," Cougars coach Drew Landram said of second-half defense on Parrish. No team had been within double digits of Foster since Steilacoom, 11 games ago. "It was kind of a battle of tempos," said Foster coach Grant Cussac. "They wanted to slow it down and we wanted to pick it up." Foster senior guard Keith Wheeler scored 15 of his 25 in the first half and finished with three 3-pointers. Senior guard Travis Meserve scored 21 for the Cougars, but missed 15 of 23 from the floor. "We made too many mistakes," said Landram, whose Cougars return at 9 this morning in a loser-out with Tenino (15-10). "We could have beaten them if we had minimized the mistakes. "But they have a good club. They'll be one of the teams to beat." Foster meets Naches (14-10) in today's 5 p.m. quarterfinal. Naches has won nine of its last 10. Chewelah 16 14 12 15 - 57 Foster 15 15 19 14 - 63 CHEWELAH - Landram 12, Forsberg 0, Meserve 21, Miller 0, Nitschke 5, Churape 0, Kinley 1, Sunday 2, Parrish 16. FOSTER - Aziz 14, B.Lyons 12, Gary 4, Clay 0, Wheeler 25, Jones 0, D.Lyons 8.

Christa Brossman shouts encouragement to her teammates. Photo by Roger Ames/The Spokesman-Review

Lakeside coach Lisa Schultz knows a mess when she sees one. And Omak's girls created a mess in State 2A basketball tournament bracketing by losing to Connell Saturday night. The Pioneers entered their district championship game against Connell with a 21-0 record, but became a No. 2 state seed after losing 48-37. The end result, following Sunday's statetourney draw, sent top-ranked Omak (21-1) into the evening bracket with No. 2 Lakeside (21-1) and No. 3 Elma (22-1).

Chief Leschi had no tournament history, but that didn't stop the Warriors from completing their historic march Saturday night. A team with no discernable weaknesses, Leschi bolted to a 13-2 lead and pulled away from Valley Christian 70-51 in the title game of the 56th boys State B basketball tournament.

St. John-Endicott and Curlew played a nothing-to-lose game Saturday afternoon that left both teams with the glow of winners. SJE (23-6) came out on top on the Arena scoreboard, 63-60 in double overtime, but opposing coaches Darrell Miller and Steve Brown were both overjoyed with the class their teams displayed.

Curlew's Seth Cribby draws the foul after tripping in front of St. John-Endicott's Grant Bafus. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

Friday's matinee, Kramer & Kramer, earned rave reviews during its Arena screening. Point guard Scott Kramer set the early pace with 10 first-half points as baby-faced Odessa assured coach/dad Myron Kramer that his first Tigers basketball team in 24 years would reap a state trophy. "To me, the best part was to be able to get these kids here and enjoy this tournament as a participant, rather than a ticket-buyer," the veteran Odessa football coach said after a 62-38 loser-out win over Snohomish County Christian. Odessa (20-10), which starts all underclassmen, will play Darrington (18-10) at noon today for fifth and eighth places at the boys State B basketball tournament.

1. The battle between guards Borin Lach (22) of Chief Leschi and St. John-Endicott's Grant Bafus is exemplified by this scramble for a loose ball. The Warriors won many such scrambles, advancing to tonight's title game against Valley Christian. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Valley Christian's Michael Spuler drives the lane Friday night against Curlew's Jeremy Groth during VC's win that sent the Panthers to the state championship game against Chief Leschi tonight at 9 in the Spokane Arena. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Curlew's Gunner Olsen, left, and Jeremy Groth go up on the offensive backboards in Thursday's game with LaConner. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Erich Prazak of Curlew drives the baseline to score. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

1. Curlew coach Steve Brown brings a winning touch to the Cougars, who have put aside selfishness in pursuit of a common goal. Photo by Jason Clark/The Spokesman-Review 2. Curlew's Jeremy Groth offers words of encouragement to teammate J.B. Olsen. Photo by Jason Clark/The Spokesman-Review 3. Jon Anderson was a freshman on Curlew's last State B championship team, which cut down the nets in the Coliseum in 1972. "After I graduated (the talent) really took a dive," he said. Photo by Jason Clark/The Spokesman-Review 4. The present-day Cougars have relied on starters like Gunner Olsen, left, and Jeremy Groth to carry their depth and apply defensive pressure on the way to the State B. Photo by Jason Clark/The Spokesman-Review 5. Curlew's 1972 State B championship team will forever be remembered in the school's trophy case. Photo by Jason Clark/The Spokesman-Review

Who are these guys? One of the craziest State B tournament weeks in history brings to Spokane nine teams (out of 32) that haven't qualified before. Stranger still, just two boys and four girls teams return from 1997.

Ritzville's Amy Fitch hounds opposing guards like Wenchi Liu of St. George's. Photo by Jason Clark/The Spokesman-Review

Ritzville girls assistant coach Steve Wellsandt had this premonition. Wouldn't it be bizarre, Wellsandt mused, if we drew Tekoa-Oakesdale in our State B opener.

St. George's Wenchi Liu gets a big hug from assistant coach Michelle Shea after sinking a last-second basket. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review