Dave Trimmer

Jeanne Helfer

GSL girls basketball With a playoff berth on the line, Shadle Park played like it does in practice. University left its game at practice. The Highlanders clinched a spot in the Greater Spokane League girls basketball District 8 tournament by blitzing the Titans 74-53 at U-Hi on Friday night. "We play that good in practice every week," Shadle Park senior leader Sara Harchuck said. "We just finally did it in a game. We're going to play that way the rest of the way."

Honorees at the Youth Sports Award Luncheon: Clockwise from top left: Chad Adamson, CV football; Katie Lee, Ferris volleyball; Tyree Clowe, CV, Junior Male Athlete of Year; Rick Giampietri, CV, Junior Coach of Year; Joy Turner, Lake City, Certificate of Excellence and Jared Lawrence, Sandpoint, Certificate of Achievement. Photo by Jason Clark/The Spokesman-Review

GSL boys Adam Hooper's free throw bounced high off the rim, dropped down and bounced around before finally falling in. Finally, the bounces went Rogers' way. The Pirates needed every bounce they could get to escape from North Central with a 69-68 victory Tuesday night.

GSL boys It's not often a player can score eight points, give up 24, foul out and still have a good game. Jeff Dixson was the exception. The 5-foot-9 Gonzaga Prep senior set the tone as the Bullpups rolled to a 68-57 win at North Central in a key Greater Spokane League boys basketball game Thursday night.

We have had our differences with Dale Poffenroth in the past for the way his Central Valley girls basketball teams have wiped out some of the weaker teams in the Greater Spokane League. However, we can't help but have a little sympathy for the Bears. Tuesday, two weeks from the opening game of the District 8 tournament, CV plays its only regular-season game in the Arena. The opponent is winless Mt. Spokane. Poffenroth did everything he could think of to get a different matchup for the Arena game but the complexities of a basketball schedule made that impossible. Now he faces a dilemma of how to play the game. CV doesn't need to press the Wildcats but the way the Bears shoot - and must shoot - they'll have to get a lot of shots up against the unfamiliar backdrop of the Arena. That's especially true with leading scorer Rikki Jackson going 2 for 12 at home Tuesday night against Lewis and Clark. The Bears are vulnerable when shots aren't dropping and they need more than Jackson and Jenny Coyle, who picked up the slack against LC with 17 points. Small guards Courtney Phinney, Michelle Grafos and Jenny Wilson have to contribute. Look for the Bears to score big against Mt. Spokane but the fallout should be directed at the schedule-maker. Stretch run As promised, the Greater Spokane League basketball season is in the home stretch with four races neck-and-neck. The first goal is to make the top six to advance to the district tournament. With five games to go, three boys teams are tied for the final two spots and five girls teams are within two games of one another for three berths. The second goal is to finish in the top two and get an automatic berth in the regional tournament. The girls have a three-way tie for first and the boys have two teams tied for second, a game behind the lead and a game ahead of fourth place. The first round of district has No. 3 vs. No. 6 and No. 4 vs. No. 5, loser-out, winner-to-regional games. Boys top two: Rivals Ferris and LC are tied for second, a game behind CV. Both are finished with CV but both face Mead, which is a game behind, and end the season facing each other at the Arena. Boys top six: Rogers, Gonzaga Prep and North Central are 7-6. All three have Mead, Rogers has CV, NC has Ferris and Prep has both. Head-to-head, NC plays Prep tonight and Rogers on Tuesday and Rogers closes with Prep. Girls top two: CV, Mead and Ferris are tied for the lead. CV swept Mead, Ferris swept CV and Mead beat Ferris with the rematch at the Arena on the 17th. Girls top six: Shadle Park and LC are 7-6, University is 6-7 and Rogers and G-Prep are 5-8. All five teams have two games remaining with the top three. Four of the five teams have two games left with others in the pack and Rogers has one. Surprisingly, tonight three teams play the top three and two others play the bottom two out of the race. Head-to-head showdowns start Tuesday and four of the five have two games.

LC's Pat Luce, left, and CV's Nate McFarlane attempt to tip the loose rebound to teammates in a key GSL matchup at Central Valley. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

1. Principal Fred Vogel, shown here directing his physical education class, is calling it quits at the end of the school year after a 32-year stint at Cusick High School. Photo by Jason Clark/The Spokesman-Review 2. Fred Vogel and his wife, Gloria, share some memories. Photo by Jason Clark/The Spokesman-Review

GSL boys The difference was subtle but significant. Central Valley slipped past Mead 65-61 Friday night simply because the visiting eighth-ranked Bears moved their feet better in the second half. "At halftime, Coach said to stop their penetration, they were killing us," CV senior Marc Hinckley said. "When we stopped the penetration of their guards, they couldn't dump the ball off."

CV's Michelle Grafos looks for help as Mead's Shannon Leaf (34), Allie Bailey, rear, and Danielle Zelinski, right, apply pressure. Photo by Jason Clark/The Spokesman-Review

Central Valley's Jake Hebden (32) takes a swipe at the ball, but Ferris' Andre Atkins comes away with the rebound. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

Ferris found the parking zone. Despite facing a zone defense, the Saxons scored 12 of their 20 baskets from basically layup range to knock No.3 Central Valley out of a tie with Mead for the Greater Spokane League lead in girls basketball with a 57-46 win at Ferris Tuesday night. "I think us and CV have a grudge," Ferris senior Kelly McCaffery said after matching her career high of 11 points. "I get pumped when we play a team that wants us as bad as we wanted them."

The Spokane Chiefs picked up some much needed depth for the Western Hockey League stretch run by making two trades before Friday's noon deadline. Spokane acquired a pair of 19-year-olds, goaltender David Haun from the Brandon Wheat Kings and defenseman Rick Berry from the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Katie Marquess and LC couldn't get around Megan Owen and U-Hi. Photo by Jason Clark/The Spokesman-Review

Amy George of Ferris drives toward the hoop against Mead in game Tuesday night. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

Mead was good inside, Ferris was better outside. An ability to knock down outside shots, led by the long-range shots of Tommy Servine, allowed the thirdranked Saxons to defeat Mead 61-48 at the Arena Tuesday night. Ferris ended the first half of the Greater Spokane League boys basketball season tied for first with No. 4 Central Valley, which pulled away from Rogers 71-64 in overtime at CV. After a high-speed first quarter, Ferris (10-1 overall, 8-1 GSL) used four straight Mead turnovers for a 9-0 run to break open the game in the middle part of the second quarter.

Ferris' Christy Martin finds a clear path to the basket in the first half, but in the end, it was the Mead Panthers who left the Saxons behind. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

Rust

A hard way to make a buck Hank Reece of Prineville, Ore., was hard-pressed to stay aboard the Brahma bull "Tic Tac Toe" during Sunday's final session of the Prorodeo Classic in the Arena. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

Cowboys gave the crowd at the General Store Wrangler Prorodeo Classic plenty to cheer about, but the loudest ovation at the Arena on Saturday night was reserved for a woman. When Patti Cusker was announced as a header in team roping, a portion of the crowd of 6,690 roared its approval. There was another roar when Patti and Jon Cusker turned in a time of 10.4 seconds, the fastest of the night and good for second place after two days of the three-day rodeo.

Bareback bronc competitor Jed McKinley of Colbert takes a wild ride aboard Scout on his way to a score of 72, second only to record-setting Clint Corey. Photo by Jason Clark/The Spokesman-Review

Veteran bareback rider Bob Logue will be among tonight's rodeo competitors. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Kennewick fired football coach Ted Homme, despite a seven-year record of 40-27. The Lions have had four straight losing seasons since making the playoffs in 1993. Homme replaced Ed Troxel after the 1990 season. That marks the third opening in the Big Nine. Last month, Eisenhower coach Greg Gavin, a one-time West Valley and Central Valley coach, and Davis coach John Balmer resigned. Other regional football openings include Gonzaga Prep, Cheney and West Valley. Gonzaga Prep will accept applications through March 1 and hopes to name a coach by April 15. Ossim Hatem, Mead's All-Greater Spokane League linebacker, has given an oral commitment to play at the University of Washington. "I liked the people, I liked the coaching staff, I fit in," the 6-foot-4, 240-pound linebacker said. "They've always had a good program." Hatem considered Washington State, Oregon, Iowa and Arizona State before his trip, when the Huskies told him he projected as an inside linebacker. "That was a plus, too," he said of the position. "I wanted to stay close to home. . . . I enjoyed myself there and I couldn't pass it up."

Shea Donaldson is back on the basketball court for the CV Bears. Photo by Jason Clark/The Spokesman-Review