Going Full Circle Five North Side Seniors Round Out Hoop Careers With Another Trip To State

The basketball careers of five North Side girls basketball players will end the same way it did four years ago when they were freshmen. On the court at the Tacoma Dome.

Lakeside High’s Brianne Jolley was in the lineup and Janel Long on the bench back in 1995 for the first of four trips to the state tournament.

Three Riverside players, Bernice Stime, Abbey Wood and Keshia Shorts, made history by playing during their school’s first-ever tourney appearance.

For Lakeside, state is old hat. Indeed, two other players, Linsey Heebink and junior Nikki Petticrew are playing for the third year.

This is the school’s fifth straight state trip. Lakeside has placed seventh, third and sixth in the last three tourneys. To date, its four-year record is 92-11.

“Actually, going to state is an expected thing,” Jolley said last week. “It’s never crossed my mind not going.”

Riverside’s route to its second state event has been circuitous and, as a result, not as expected.

The trio of players played as sophomores and juniors in the AA Frontier League where berths were at a premium.

“We’ve been so close the last couple of times,” said Stime, Riverside’s first 1,000-point scorer.

They finished second in league in 1996 but lost two district playoffs by a total of three points.

Last year, following a third-place league finish, the Rams missed state by one game, winning two of four playoffs but losing 53-47 to eventual state champion West Valley.

Going into Wednesday’s state opener, the girls had compiled a 65-28 career record.

By moving back to the newly configured 2A Great Northern League, Riverside had a better chance at finishing with a state appearance.

Getting there wasn’t easy. The team qualified as the league’s number three team.

But with a record of success unprecedented in girls basketball at Riverside, the four-year players deserved to end their careers the way they began. On a state tournament team.

Mead not as fortunate

While the two Great Northern League girls basketball teams are playing in Tacoma, Mead’s dream of reaching Seattle didn’t come true.

The District 8 champion Panthers lost twice in the regional playoffs.

The killer was the first-round 50-47 loss to Big Nine number-four-seed Kennewick.

Despite the long-range shooting of Danielle Zelinski, who had 17 points and five 3-point baskets, Mead’s fourth-quarter rally came up short.

The Panthers, who led 23-14 at halftime against rival Central Valley, lost 36-31 on Friday.

But first-year coach Beth Wing, who guided the team to a 17-7 record, can take some consolation in the fact that both teams that beat the Panthers qualified for state.

And Zelinski can take solace remembering Mead’s state-title team she played on as a sophomore.

Zelinski is one of seven seniors who graduate from this year’s team, including season scoring leader Allie Bailey, and regulars Staci Schuerman and Brandi Curry, who scored 11 points against the Bears.

Back next year are five players, including juniors Morgan Bennett, Becky Slater, and Shannon Leaf and sophomore Courtney Ferguson, around whom Mead can build.

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