With All Else Equal, Aa Girls Get Floored

Same site, same crowd, same times.

Equality is supposed to be the byword at Class AA basketball tournaments.

Anyone sitting high enough in the Tacoma Dome stands can watch every boys and girls game.

The girls have every advantage given to the boys, it seems, except for one crucial case.

The boys play on the same court reserved for Seattle SuperSonics home games.

The girls get an older, Washington Interscholastic Activities Association-owned court that has more dead spots than a lawn soaked with gasoline.

Lakeside’s guards smirked during warm-ups Wednesday as they attempted to locate the deadest dead spots. Cheney’s players said they forgot about the bad area when the game began. That’s fine until someone tries to plant a leg, and there’s no give underneath.

Nobody can prove a direct link between the mediocre floor and injuries, but at least five girls injured their knees after 12 games.

The worst mishap, to Stanwood point guard Angie Schmitt, was a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the left knee that will sideline the senior for six to nine months.

Schmitt’s replacement in the starting lineup Thursday, freshman Angie O’Connor, injured her left knee late in the first quarter of a quarterfinal loss to Blanchet. O’Connor was assisted off and the early diagnosis is a sprain.

Chief Sealth junior forward Fono Keni, the Seahawks’ second-leading scorer, re-injured her right knee Wednesday.

“I asked for a floor inspection before our game (with Stanwood),” said Blanchet coach Terry Wilkinson. “The floor manager suggested that I put my request in writing and submit it to the WIAA.”

“I’d like to see research into that floor,” said Stanwood coach Garry Carlson, who sat next to his two injured players all game. “I’d definitely like to look into it.”

“The WIAA does a tremendous job in staging these tournaments,” Wilkinson added, “but I think there are tremendous concerns with that floor.”

The misadventures continued Thursday, when Cheney’s Jenny Hoots sprained her ankle and Anna Getz ended her season with a damaged knee. Also, Enumclaw’s Shannon Hoyt ripped up her knee. Then Friday, all-time tournament scoring leader Takiyah Jackson of Franklin hurt her heel, Blanchet starting guard Shannon Ryan sprained her ankle and Enumclaw top scorer Dawn Tinney twisted her ankle.

Devin Dice disagreed with the conclusion many people drew from the rash of injuries. The tournament trainer agreed that the floor is less than perfect, but emphasized that it had nothing to do with the injuries.

Possible record

Getz’s wondrous field goal on Thursday, estimated at 83 feet, will become a national high school record if it gains official recognition. Steve Patterson of Central High in McMinn County, Tenn., made a shot of 79-2 in 1971.

Watts at high voltage

Much ado was made of Lake Washington star Donald Watts’ 360-degree slam dunk that capped his 23-point effort against Juanita on Thursday.

Nothing was said of his petulance the next night against Sammamish.

He had driven to the basket for a game-ending shot that fell short, then displayed his temper because no foul was called.

The “show” included swinging at and kicking the basket support at game’s end. He then left the floor without waiting to shake hands and kicked a chair on his way out. In the runway, the University of Washington-bound Watts tossed a garbage can against the wall.

A team official went to get him and he tossed a chair on the way back in.

Watts turned in a clutch performance at the free-throw line against Juanita and had 53 points in two games to carry his team.

His performance was tainted by glorifying a dunk that had no bearing on the outcome Thursday and by his temper tantrum the next night.

Project Sturing

The Idaho Vandals are going to have their hands full with freshmanto-be David Sturing, and not just because he’s 7 feet tall. Considered a project, Sturing turned heads as Lake Washington won its first two games, with Sturing making 12 of 21 shots for 26 points, grabbing 16 rebounds and blocking eight shots in relatively easy wins.

Then, in the Kangaroos’ biggest game, a semifinal matchup with Sammamish, the big guy disappeared, making just 1 of 5 shots with three of the misses being 3-pointers. He also grabbed only five rebounds in more than 28 minutes.

Worst of all, his attitude and hustle were obviously lacking.

More ties to Spokane

High-scoring Deke Moen, a burly 6-4 Hudson’s Bay High School athlete bound for the University of Oregon, is the son of Steve Moen, who played for Spokane’s Lewis and Clark in the mid-1960s.

Dad coached a state qualifier at Mountain View High School. Son averaged 17.5 points per game for Hudson’s Bay during the season and had a 26-point game in his team’s seventh-place state finish.

Well-traveled Braves

It’s hard to explain where WIAA geographers came up with the location for Kamiakin.

On the map that accompanies the boys team picture and roster in the AAA program, the eastern Washington high school supposedly hails from Mukilteo, a northwest Washington town. The girls are rightly located in Kennewick.

Sad duty

It’s a rare non-appearance for the Ferris boys. But coach Wayne Gilman was in attendance Thursday - to return the large trophy that went with winning last year’s tournament.

“That’s my sad duty,” said Gilman, whose teams have played in seven events and placed six times.

Early to rise

Mead’s girls are so accustomed to rising in the early morning to walk before their basketball games that coach Jeanne Helfer said attending school will be easy once the Panthers return home.

“It’ll seem like noon to them,” she said prior to Thursday’s win.

Smarts overcome tradition

Seven players on the Evergreen Plainsmen have 4.0 grade-point averages, and the team has a tournament-best 3.75 overall.

Evergreen beat Richland Thursday, even though the Bombers warmed up in the garish green and gold-striped pants of the school’s 1979 state title team.