Area Teams Open With East Valley

State A Tournaments

Vastly different East Valley (Yakima) teams will challenge local entries when WIAA/U.S. Bank Class A basketball tournaments begin Wednesday at the Tacoma Dome.

The seventh-ranked Riverside girls (19-5) open against the top-ranked EV Red Devils (23-0) at 6:30 p.m.

Medical Lake (17-5), making its sixth consecutive state appearance, inaugurates the boys tournament at 9 a.m. against a Red Devils team that squeezed in with an 11-12 record.

Medical Lake, which finished seventh last year, is in a half of the bracket with just two ranked teams: No. 7 Castle Rock (18-4) and top-ranked Foster (20-2).

Should Riverside pull an opening-day upset, the fourth-ranked Foster girls (22-1) would likely come next.

The route appears challenging to the area’s other participants, Lakeside’s girls and Chewelah’s boys.

Tenth-ranked Lakeside (21-3), in its second consecutive trip to state, opens the girls tournament at 9 against Charles Wright (16-7). Third-ranked Ilwaco (19-1) likely awaits the winner.

Chewelah (17-8) drew sixth-ranked Zillah (19-4) and would face either fifth-ranked River View (19-4) or fourth-ranked Cashmere (18-4) in the quarterfinals.

The 16-team, double-elimination tournament concludes Thursday.