Lady Bears Go Hard Way To Seattle

Anticipating a girls state tournament appearance two weeks ago, it took considerable perseverance for Central Valley to reach Seattle.

The Bears’ slide began after they earned a share of their sixth Greater Spokane League title.

Then Ferris upset them in their first district playoff game. The Bears lost again to Mead, forcing them to travel in the first round of the Lamb Weston East Regional tournament.

“We took the hard way,” said coach Dale Poffenroth. “It’s one of those deals where you have a good season at 18-2, a league championship, and get cocky.”

After narrowly losing to the state’s top ranked team, Kamiakin, CV was forced to win three times in two days.

“We knew we were going to come back,” said Andrea Kallas. “If you can compete with the best in state you can compete with anyone. It gave us more incentive.”

The team beat Richland 62-46 on Friday and Wenatchee 78-50 Saturday morning.

That put them up against Ferris, again, on Saturday evening for the state berth. Using just five players, CV, 21-5, prevailed 46-37 and is playing its second state tourney game today.

“The kids wanted a Ferris rematch because they were the ones that started the whole downhill spiral,” said Poffenroth.

GSL record-setting season and career scorer Crystal Lee added regional tournament and career scoring records by averaging 23.0 points in four games.

Lee, Kallas and Ginger Clark are the remaining three ball players from eight who were on varsity as sophomores.

“The three seniors are good kids who have worked very hard,” said Poffenroth. “They could have folded their tents.”

Not this group. This year’s state trip, CV’s sixth of the 1990s and seventh overall, is their reward.

Eagle emotions run gamut

Emotions were at all-time lows and highs last weekend for a group of West Valley seniors who had been waiting a long time for a State AA girls basketball berth.

They had a district championship within grasp, only to let it slip away against Cheney in double overtime.

The girls were inconsolable, withering in tears while the Blackhawks were celebrating near by.

“This isn’t the end of it,” coach Mark Kuipers told his team. “You can cry for awhile, then you’ve got to get ready and regroup.”

The next night in a 53-47 victory over Riverside the Eagles banged home eight 3-point goals, including three by fourth-year starter Dawn Salfer, who scored 17 points and helped the team to Tacoma.

“That’s our game,” said Kuipers of the long-range shooting, “but Riverside gave us all we could handle. I was holding on to the bottom of my chair.”

The Eagles, including Salfer, third-year varsity players Stacey Roberts, Kiesha Sowers and Cindy Simpson, had gone from the depths of despair to the height of elation.

In Tacoma these girls are navigating heretofore uncharted waters. WV’s only other girls appearance was back in 1988.

“This whole thing is new for them,” said Kuipers. “I’ve been there before with the boys.”

But he also said he has high expectations for the balanced and veteran team.

Agony of defeat

West Valley has had the dominant Frontier League boys basketball program since 1986, winning 9 championships in 12 years.

District playoffs have been fickle for the Eagles, as four state appearances suggests.

But none was more frustrating than last weekend when the Excell Foods district finalists lost twice to end their season.

In what was likely coach Joe Feist’s finest coaching moment among many, the Eagles came within a whisper of their fifth state trip.

They had league champion Colville reeling, a team that beat WV twice by an average of 19 points per game during the regular season.

Rallying from an early 12-3 deficit, WV led by three points and had the ball with 3:27 remaining before losing Friday’s pivotal game.

“In all my years of coaching it was the best game plan,” said Feist, without boasting. “For 29 minutes we had them right where we wanted and didn’t get it done.”

What made the outcome exasperating is that WV’s 47-44 lead needn’t have been so close.

A team that made seven baskets outside 20 feet, paid the price for misfiring on 16 of 27 free throw attempts. Had they made just six of those, the Eagles would be with the girls team in Tacoma.

“I hurt for our kids,” said Feist. “I don’t think they missed them on purpose.”

It is a hurt that won’t soon go away.

Titan season shorted

Short-handed at season’s end with two starters on the sidelines, one because of illness and the other because of a suspension, U-Hi’s regional playoff effort didn’t stand a chance.

The Titan season ended with a 53-46 loss to Eisenhower in which seniors Erik Carlson, Nick Earling and Andy Dunham gave their all.

But with a supporting cast left thinned, it wasn’t enough.

C’mon spring, say ladies golfers

Weather permitting, the golf season for area ladies clubs is two weeks away.

Valley View 9-Holers begin Wednesday, March 26, with a 9 a.m. breakfast at Sak’s Restaurant, 15606 E. Sprague, with golf to follow.

New members are welcome. Call 924-3526 or 924-4497 for information.

Liberty Lake Ladies 9-Holers will breakfast at the club house March 27 at 8:30 p.m. followed by golf.

Members are asked to make their own tee times. New members can join by calling 891-6780 or 255-9334.

, DataTimes