Freeman Hosting Tourney

Sat., Dec. 26, 1998

By Mike Vlahovich mikev@spokesman.com (509) 927-2180

Basketball is on hiatus for most Valley teams until the new year, with Freeman’s boys and girls teams the exception.

The Scotties host their annual Christmas Tournament with teams from Bonners Ferry, Deer Park and Lakeland on Tuesday and Wednesday.

First-day game times are at 2, 4, 6 and 7:30 p.m. with winners playing Wednesday in the championship games and losers playing a consolation game.

Freeman’s boys enter the tourney with three straight wins over Great Northern League teams after a 2-3 start.

Jared Pope, averaging 13.8 points per game, has been a constant for a team that has shuffled its lineup since the beginning of the year.

He had games of 15, 16 and 15 points during wins over Chewelah, Riverside and Medical Lake.

The latter, by a 69-46 score, avenged a loss to the Cardinals six days earlier.

Freeman’s improved girls are 4-4 heading into the tournament.

It’s been a group effort among nine players with none averaging in double figures, but five different players having done so at least once this year.

Heather Wilkerson is scoring at a 9.6-points-per-game clip.

Lancers have company

Mountain View Middle School repeated as Valley Junior High wrestling champion.

But the balance of power shifted some during the All-League tournament, much of it within the East Valley School District.

While the Lancers had tournament success, they had to share honors with EV Middle School, which long had played second fiddle to its district counterpart.

The Lancers had 11 finalists and five champions in 21 weight classes. East Valley also had five champions among nine finalists.

Between them the two schools amassed nearly half of the top two finishes and had 15 top-four placers each.

Evergreen and Centennial had three champions each, the latter winning all its finals matches.

The Grizzlies and Greenacres had 11 top-four placers and Bowdish had one champion and 10 placers. North Pines had two champions.

Ties dot volleyball results

No team went unbeaten during the Spokane Valley Junior High volleyball season and the eighth- and seventh-grade leagues ended in ties.

Greenacres, upset by Bowdish the final week of the season, won ninth grade over Horizon with a 7-1 league record and 9-1 overall mark.

Centennial and Evergreen tied for the eighth-grade title with 6-1 league and 8-2 overall records.

The Falcons lost their perfect record in its final game against thirdplace Greenacres.

Greenacres and Mountain View also had 6-1 league and 8-2 overall records to share seventh grade title.

Bowdish was upset by Centennial and missed an opportunity to make it a three-way tie.

Coming up Tuesday

Basketball: Freeman Christmas Tournament, boys and girls.

Wrestling: Tri-County Invitational at Central Valley and Hillyard M-2 Mallet Tournament at Rogers, 9 a.m.

Wednesday

Boys Basketball: West Valley is at Coeur d’Alene, 6 p.m. Freeman Christmas Tournament concludes.

Girls Basketball: West Valley is at Coeur d’Alene, 7:45 p.m. Freeman Christmas Tournament concludes.

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