Dave Trimmer

Jenny Wilson isn't an outsider any more. Years from now, she'll be remembered at Central Valley.

Karie Pruett had had enough. Three years of losing to Kamiakin in the winner-to-state semifinals of the Lamb-Weston 4A Eastern Regional girls basketball tournament was about all she could handle.

4A Regional Call it do-or-die, winner take all, or the Greater Spokane League championship. Whatever the name, the GSL boys basketball season has come down to one game.

Alyssa Erickson (31) battles Tia Cochran (40) and Sara Buehler. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

St. George's Alyssa Henlye (23) reaches for a rebound over Waitsburg's Kelly McCaw (30) and Anne Bickelkaupt (40). Photo by Torsten Kjellstrand/The Spokesman-Review

FROM SPORTS REPLAY (Thursday, March 5, 1998): Jared Jones of Walla Walla was misidentified in Wednesday's report of the Blue Devils' boys high school basketball victory over Central Valley. Lewis and Clark's Luke Bowman tries to find a way through Wenatchee's defense. Second-seeded LC lost 78-62 at Eastern Washington University. Photo by Jason Clark/The Spokesman-Review

Balance wasn't just the buzz word of Greater Spokane League basketball coaches this year. Big Nine basketball coaches used the same word to describe their league. That makes the Lamb-Weston 4A Eastern Regional Tournament so interesting. The 11th annual tournament starts tonight, with four cherished state berths on the line for both boys and girls.

District 8 basketball More than 20 games ago, Greater Spokane League basketball coaches were bragging about their balance. The District 8 tourney confirmed it. Central Valley won the boys title with a 57-54 win over fourth-seeded Lewis and Clark and Mead took the girls title by edging Ferris 51-50 Friday night at the Arena.

Mead's Morgan Bennett fights off CV's Jenny Wilson, left, and Courtney Phinney. Photo by Jason Clark/The Spokesman-Review

By all accounts, Mat Classic X was a rarity. Not only was it bigger, with the addition of a fourth tournament, it was better. Adding six mats on the floor of the Tacoma Dome, actually improved the well-run wrestling extravaganza in some ways.

Matty McIntyre converted the second of two free throws with 3.8 seconds to play, giving the Greater Spokane League District 8 basketball tournament its traditional opening-round upset. The sophomore's basket and 19 points by workhorse Shane Hartnett lifted sixth-seeded Gonzaga Prep to a 45-44 win over third-seeded Mead on Tuesday in the boys bracket.

When David Sandberg won the 4A 190-pound wrestling championship Saturday night, his personal triumph made a statement for the Greater Spokane League. The North Central senior, who did not allow a point in four matches at Mat Classic X, was the fifth state champion for the GSL. The exclamation point belonged to the Central Valley Bears, who came from behind to capture the team championship by one point over defending champion Evergreen. Each championship was a special story, from the family affair surrounding Tommy Owen's win at 101, to John Reese's emotional collapse at 122. From Shane Cunanan's determination at 129, to Travis Pascoe meeting the challenge at 168. But nobody did it better than Sandberg, who had two pins on Friday and two shutouts on Saturday.

Getting down to business 1. Gonzaga Prep's Travis Pascoe dumps Enumclaw's Jeremiah Mills in his 16-12 comeback win in the semifinals. Photo by Jason Clark/The Spokesman-Review 2. CV's John Reese is all over Oak Harbor's James Warren in the semifinals. Photo by Jason Clark/The Spokesman-Review

University 101-pounder Tommy Owen, top, works Pasco's Charlie Wright for a State 4A semifinal victory. Owen went on to win the championship match. Photo by Jason Clark/The Spokesman-Review

3A The first championship match Saturday night was a 6-minute chapter of the 3A story at Mat Classic X. Moses Lake's Jaime Garza rallied in the third period to defeat John Sommer of East Valley 8-4. It was the Moses Lake Chiefs' superiority last week that allowed them to defeat the Knights this week in the State 3A wrestling tournament.

Lost in the myriad of matches taking place on the 24 mats during Mat Classic X was a historic event - Montesano sophomore Arielle Bradbury became the first female to compete in a Washington state wrestling tournament. "It's exciting to be the first girl to do this," she said. "But I try not to think about it or let it go to my head."

Lost in the myriad of matches taking place on the 24 mats during Mat Classic X was a historic event - Montesano sophomore Arielle Bradbury become the first female to compete in a Washington state wrestling tournament. "It's exciting to be the first girl to do this," she said. "But I try not to think about it or let it go to my head." A 101-pounder, Bradbury won a match, eliminating Eatonville's Austin Elliff 13-4 in the consolation round. Obviously, he's not the first to lose to Bradbury or she wouldn't have been here.

1. Lakeside's Aaron Laughery works to take down Port Townsend's David Farfan in first-round action at Mat Classic X. Laughery won the 148-pound match 9-2 and also won his quarterfinal match. Photo by Jason Clark/The Spokesman-Review 2. CV's Shane Cunanan makes quick work of Sumner's Jabez Proby. Photo by Jason Clark/The Spokesman-Review 3. University's Conor Jordan mashes Jacob Tester into the mat during the first round of Mat Classic X in Tacoma Friday. Photo by Jason Clark/The Spokesman-Review

1. East Valley's Mike Manuel, underneath, gets tangled up with Tyler Carner of Bainbridge in first-round action at the state wrestling championships in Tacoma. An injured shoulder force Manuel to forfeit. Photo by Jason Clark/The Spokesman-Review 2. Manuel is consoled after being force into an injury forfeit. Photo by Jason Clark/The Spokesman-Review

GSL boys It took six quarters and John Mietus for the Ferris boys basketball team to figure out Lewis and Clark's defense, but when it did, the Saxons earned a share of the Greater Spokane League championship. The Saxons blitzed the Tigers 39-19 in the second half Thursday night to roll to a 61-40 win at the Arena to close out the regular season. Fourth-ranked Ferris tied No. 5 Central Valley, a 73-46 winner at Shadle Park, for the league title but the Bears go into the District 8 Tournament next week as the top seed because they won the second meeting between the two teams. "I think we handled their pressure better," Mietus said after scoring a career-high 14 points. "They're a tough team and really D you up hard." LC, which won the first meeting 52-43, used that defense to lead through the first half until Ferris' Andre Atkins stole the ball and launched a half-court 3-point swish at the buzzer for a 22-21 lead.

GSL girls Gonzaga Prep has been facing do-or-die games in the Greater Spokane League girls basketball race for a month, so Thursday's regular-season ender at the Arena was nothing new. The Bullpups responded with a solid 61-41 win over Rogers, keeping their season alive for at least one more game. Prep will face University Saturday at 7 at North Central to break a tie for sixth place with the winner advancing to the District 8 tournament next Tuesday. "The girls have never said, 'loser-out game,"' Prep coach Mike Arte said. "The first part of the season we were so inconsistent. The main thing the last three weeks is we have been consistent and we've controlled the tempo of our games." In games against teams they were battling for the playoffs, the Bullpups went 4-0. That stretch started right about the time 6-foot point guard Juliann Laney could no longer be considered a freshman. "This game everyone came out ready to play," Laney said. "In other games, not everyone was ready." Facing a team they edged by one in the first round, the Bullpups (8-12 overall, 8-10 GSL) found themselves tied at 22 with 2:26 to play in the first half. A quick 9-0 burst, with Paulette Jordan scoring six points, proved to be critical. Despite finishing with just 11 baskets in 48 shots, the Pirates (9-11, 7-11) kept the spread under 10 until Laney took control early in the fourth quarter.

UNPUBLISHED CORRECTION: The name of football player Jeremey Williams is misspelled in this story. The correct spelling was confirmed by his mother.

1. Mead's Allie Bailey attempts to knife between Amy George (right) and Jenny Benzel (left) for a rebound. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Mead's Morgan Bennett plants a not-so-helpful hand on a shot by Amy George. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

Two nights left and too many games to watch. That's how the Greater Spokane League basketball season is going to end, if it ends on time. There's a better chance it will go into overtime after the final buzzer Thursday night than go straight into District 8 play next week.