Billy Moon has memories as a freshman varsity baseball player at University. He remembers his first base hit that came against Shadle Park. He remembers his first pitching outing, a save against Gonzaga Prep. The Titans were nursing a narrow lead and the little left-hander came in to face two dangerous hitters, David Kries and Bryan Karwacki, with one out.
The golden era of Greater Spokane League softball – pitching in particular, it can be argued – was ushered in during 1998 when all four State 4A berths went to Spokane teams. That year pitchers Cheryl Andrizzi (University), Jessica Murray (Shadle Park), Janessa Karstens (Ferris) and Kylie Curry (Ferris) led an unprecedented sweep of four state berths against Big Nine schools.
What can Greater Spokane League boys soccer players do for an encore? Last year there was a virtual five-way tie at the top and two teams qualified for state, where Mead reached the tournament round of eight by blanking Central Valley 2-0.
David Sanders has dealt with pain, both physical and emotional, for a great deal of his life. Kismet led him to a career helping others deal with theirs. Basketball consumed the life of the Greater Spokane League career scoring leader at Central Valley and starter at Washington State until a hip injury diagnosed before his senior year in college left him in chronic, debilitating pain.
Having spent six years with North Central football, Brian Gardner knew what he was getting into. Since finishing 4-6 in 2004, the Indians have won just four more times. That said, he’s ready to be their head coach.
They’ve played basketball together with success since elementary school and been on varsity all four years at Shadle Park. Now seniors Lindsay Niemeier, Bianca Pope and Tori Dezellem, in their final road trip together, have reached the Promised Land. The bus pulled out Tuesday for Tacoma and the State 3A girls basketball tournament, the Highlanders’ (19-5) first appearance since 2000. They open today at 5 p.m. against Ferndale (16-7), which features 6-foot senior Ashley Honeycutt, a four-year starter who averages 19.6 points per game.
When the basketball season began, West Valley girls coach Lorin Carlon said he believes only one team member was old enough to hold a driver’s license. “We have three more now,” he said, “but they can’t haul anybody around.”
Shadle Park’s boys basketball team insisted on taking the hard road to state, and now the Highlanders are facing a hard road at state. The Highlanders (20-5), who lost to Rogers in the Region 3A championship game and had to come back in consolation to earn their second-straight state trip, have drawn top-ranked Franklin in the 9 a.m. state opener Wednesday at the Tacoma Dome.
TACOMA – Lewis and Clark’s fifth-place State 4A girls basketball trophy finish may have been a product of the resolve of three seniors, as coach Jim Redmon repeated daily this week in the Tacoma Dome. But give junior Daisy Burke props for her magic that helped the Tigers escape Bellarmine Prep 60-55 in Saturday morning’s first trophy game.
TACOMA – Gonzaga Prep basketball players enjoyed their stay so much at the boys State 4A tournament, they decided to extend it. The Bullpups (26-4) went to overtime for the second time in the tournament, this time victorious 72-64 over Inglemoor on Saturday afternoon at the Tacoma Dome for the fourth-place trophy.
TACOMA – For a half and a little beyond, the Lewis and Clark-Kamiak girls basketball game Saturday at the State 4A tournament resembled a game of Pong. Bodies and basketballs were bounding around as teams struggled with continuity.
TACOMA – A hangover from Thursday night’s emotional and physically draining loss to Garfield threatened to derail Gonzaga Prep on Friday afternoon. Stagnant and trailing 10-0 against Curtis in a potential season-ending game, the Bullpups found resolve.
TACOMA – Two teams with similar nicknames vied for Top Dog when the Bullpups from Gonzaga Prep and Bulldogs from Garfield squared off Thursday night in the State 4A boys basketball quarterfinals. They also employed similarly patient offensive styles and in-your-grill defense. Shots were hard to come by and few were uncontested. Who would come through in the overtime test of wills?
TACOMA – It’s typically uncertain how a team will rebound physically and mentally following a first-day loss during the state basketball tournament. Lewis and Clark rebounded literally for its 62-31 win over Jackson and remained alive during consolation play Thursday afternoon during the State 4A girls tournament in the Tacoma Dome.
“It was definitely one of the strangest basketball games I’ve been a part of,” Rogers boys basketball coach Tim Wood said. At the same time, the Pirates’ victory over West Valley-Yakima last weekend in the 3A regional semifinals was one of the most exciting, Wood said.
TACOMA – To chants of “You’re not ready!” from rowdy Decatur fans, Gonzaga Prep didn’t appear to be early in its first game Wednesday at the State 4A boys basketball tournament. The Bullpups fell deep into a hole, trailing 17-2 just more than five minutes into the game and things looked bleak.
TACOMA – Three-time defending State 4A girls basketball champions Lewis and Clark didn’t easily relinquish the crown. But a 13-point first-half deficit proved a mountain ultimately too high to climb. The Tigers (25-3) were beaten 61-48 by quick and opportunistic Federal Way in the 8:30 p.m. finale Wednesday in the Tacoma Dome.
Success for the Gonzaga Prep boys basketball team has been akin to a mathematical equation. The whole is equal to the sum of its parts. The Bullpups have a point guard with pedigree, a shooting guard with cachet, a rangy perimeter defensive stopper and versatile posts. Throw in bench contributions for any eventuality and you have the ingredients of a state qualifier.
Three straight State 4A basketball championships alone put Lewis and Clark’s girls basketball among the storied programs in state annals. The Tigers’ streak of seven straight appearances at the annual tournament in Tacoma places them in company with Greater Spokane League heavyweights Central Valley and Mead, as well as the best of them all, Prairie.
Last year’s loss to Garfield-Palouse in the State 1B girls basketball tournament stung Colton, which had finished first in league over the Vikings in the regular season. “When you get there you’re so excited, when you don’t win you’re disappointed,” said coach Clark Vining. “We played them four times and maybe it stings a little bit more.”
Imagine the idea of a 21-year-old, just three years removed from playing high school basketball, becoming head coach of her alma mater. Imagine the pressure of inheriting a team of gifted players so close in age, one of them her younger sister. That was the situation Freeman’s Ashlee Taylor stepped into. Rather than be daunted by the task, Taylor has guided the Scotties to a perfect 23-0 regular season and, in her first try, their fourth trip to state in five years.
Greater Spokane League coaches knew that their status as No. 3 seeds from the eastern region would do them no favors during Sunday’s State 4A basketball draw. But the respect accorded Lewis and Clark’s three-time state champion girls must have counted for something.
In her first trip to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association offices in Renton to take in the State 1A girls basketball draw, Freeman first-year coach Ashlee Taylor took time for a little shopping. She didn’t find anything at the outlet mall in North Bend, but did purchase a pair of jeans and some purses in Bellevue.
KENNEWICK – Gonzaga Prep took a different approach to its basketball game this weekend from the one it had while being humbled at home on Tuesday. As a result, the Bullpups on Saturday turned the tables on the Richland Bombers with a 66-53 victory and qualified for next week’s State 4A tournament in Tacoma. “We definitely were overconfident,” said Bullpups shooting guard Sean Fischer, of that first-round regional 4A basketball loss to the Bombers. “We thought we didn’t have to play hard to beat them.”
KENNEWICK – Lewis and Clark’s three seniors echoed the same refrain. They were not about to let the season end. The trio took command Saturday during two basketball wins. LC’s youngsters took their cue from the three and within 10 hours the Tigers (25-2) avenged both of their losses and earned a seventh straight trip to the State 4A basketball tournament.
