State Participants May Visit Local Elementary Schools

If State B basketball organizers have their way, tournament participants will attend school during the event’s March 5-8 run.

Tom Stebbins of Vision Marketing, a Spokane promotional company, is coordinating an effort to bring State B boys and girls players into local elementary schools.

Stebbins spoke of the plan last week, when the tourney’s steering committee met at the Arena.

Organizers hope State B players impress upon youngsters such notions as staying in school and avoiding drug use. In turn, youth may coerce friends and adults into attending tournament games.

Stebbins said 20 grade schools have expressed interest in the plan.

In other meeting notes, tournament director Clayton Dunn said tournament draws will be at 10 a.m. March 2 at the Ridpath Hotel. Both tourneys will again be side-by-side at the Arena. Games are scheduled for the same times as last year, although late changes are possible.

Dunn said attendance numbers could be healthy if teams such as Reardan and Ritzville continue to succeed. The committee is concerned about District 9’s allocation of just one boys team.

“Every year that his happens, that has a significant fiscal effect on us,” Dunn said of a lack of qualifying Whitman County League teams.

Road to state nears

The first state-qualifying tournament, the District 4 (southwest) girls, begins Feb. 12.

State allocations this year are: District 1-2-3 (northwest) boys and girls, four; District 4 boys and girls, four; District 5 (south central) boys and girls, one; District 6 (north central) boys two, girls one; District 7 (northwest) boys and girls, four; District 9 (southeast) boys one, girls two. There are 14 boys teams and 10 girls teams in District 9.

Taholah coach leaves post

Taholah boys coach John Brings Yellow resigned in late January after five of his players were slapped with suspensions because of behavior problems during a Jan. 16 loss to North Beach.

Clocking out in Walla Walla

The timekeeper had a rough go at last Friday’s Waitsburg-DeSales doubleheader on DeSales’ court.

In the girls game, DeSales went to the free-throw line trailing by three with 20 seconds left. The first shot went through, but the home Irish noted 16 seconds had ticked away. Waitsburg won 45-43 when DeSales had no chance for a decent final field-goal attempt.

In the boys game, regulation ended in a tie and nobody noticed when the timekeeper set the overtime for 3 minutes, rather than the accurate 4. Waitsburg protested when DeSales won 54-53, but clock mistakes cannot be corrected unless they are pointed out immediately.

Best of the B’s

Through Jan. 25, the reported state leaders among Class B boys basketball players were: Jed Johnson, Neah Bay, 26.4 points per game; Jon Johnson, North Beach, 14.5 rebounds per game; Parker Barth, Pateros, 7.6 assists per game; and Thomas Sawyer, Clallam Bay, 4.9 steals per game.

The local reported leaders: John Galbreath, Ritzville, 22.1 ppg; Mark Rickard, Republic, 13.1 rpg; Galbreath, 5.4 apg; and Rickard and teammate David Hanks, 3.9 spg.

Girls state leaders: Katie Davis, Manson, 26.5 ppg; Linette Rain, Lopez Island, 14.8 rpg; Wenchi Liu, St. George’s, 7.5 apg; and Sunny Porter, Willapa Valley, and Becca Beard, King’s West, 4.9 spg.

Local leaders, besides Liu: Tricia Lamb, St. John-Endicott, 21.8 ppg.; Jo Cory, Liberty, 10.1 rpg; and Carmen Evans, Valley Christian, 3.5 spg.

, DataTimes