Dave Trimmer

TACOMA – Most layup drills take a few minutes of warmup time before the beginning of each half. Shadle Park’s layup drill lasted for 32 minutes of real time.

The Washington State and Idaho women’s basketball teams head into their conference tournaments this week with contrasting story lines. Idaho (13-14), seeded fourth, plays fifth-seeded Utah State (15-14) today at noon at the Western Athletic Conference tournament in Reno, Nev. The teams split in the regular season and the winner is likely to face regular-season champion Fresno State, which lost to Idaho twice.

The reaction to Rogers making it to the State 3A boys basketball tournament was succinct from the man who was coaching the Pirates in 1975, their last official appearance. “It’s about time,” Dick Kinzer, 78, quipped. That’s not disparaging to the seven coaches who followed in his footsteps once he stepped down in 1983, because he also zinged himself.

With time to sit and watch the first two days of the West Coast Conference women’s basketball tournament unfold, Kelly Graves, coach of five-time regular-season champion Gonzaga, found something to worry about before the competition even began. “We don’t have a chance to shoot on the court until the morning of our game,” he said. “We’re playing somebody that has at least one game, maybe two, on the court. We play 30-some games on a lot of different venues, so it shouldn’t affect our kids, but it can.”

Corey Baerlocher has known nothing but success since taking over the girls basketball program at Colfax after the 2002 season. The Bulldogs were fourth in the State 1A tournament his first year and again last season – and champions the four years in-between.

Northwest Christian starts after its fourth-straight State 2B boys basketball championship and sixth straight state trophy at 4 p.m. Wednesday when the tournament opens at the Spokane Arena. Colfax goes after its first State 2B girls basketball championship and 11th trophy in a row at 9 p.m.

The program would have been the same – trophy, senior speeches and net cutting – but it wouldn’t have been the same without the win. Gonzaga finished strongly, with superior play by its superstars and clutch baskets from Janelle Bekkering, to cap its unprecedented fifth consecutive West Coast Conference women’s basketball championship with a 77-67 win over San Diego Saturday afternoon before 2,914 fans at McCarthey Athletic Center.

Lewis and Clark coach Jim Redmon spent Friday worrying about how his team would respond 24 hours after their 54-game winning streak was snapped. The players spent the day picking each other up.

Lewis and Clark coach Jim Redmon spent Friday worrying about how his team would respond 24 hours after their 54-game winning streak was snapped. The players spent the day picking each other up.

A little attitude goes a long way. After sleepwalking through the first half of their District 8 4A winner-to-regional, loser-out game at Squinty Hunter Fieldhouse Friday night, the Lewis and Clark Tigers roared back to extend their boys basketball season one more week for the first time since 1999.

Tonya Schnibbe’s basketball game at Eastern Washington on Thursday night could become more than just a homecoming game for the former University Titan. With eight assists, the 5-foot-6 Weber State junior will break the Wildcats’ single season record of 168. It could happen, considering her average is 7.32 helpers a game.

Two words that explain Gonzaga’s improbable 70-67 home-court loss to West Coast Conference rival Portland on Sunday afternoon just became synonymous with heart and desire. Tara Cronin.