Plan Targets Shot-Clock Disparity

While high schools in Washington bend over backwards to treat male and female athletic teams equally, not everything is equal.

Some schools are trying to erase one of the discrepancies by proposing a change in shot clocks for basketball.

Two proposals before the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, offered by Great Northern League schools, could take care of that.

One would eliminate the 30-second shot clock for girls. The other proposes a shot clock for boys.

The decision will be made at the WIAA spring rep assembly next month.

Washington is one of five states to use a 30-second shot clock for girls. The others are California, Maryland, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Only five states use a shot clock for boys, including California (35 seconds), Idaho (35), Massachusetts (30), New York (35) and Rhode Island (35).

Other interesting amendments involve participation in state championship play, including B-8 football.

Schools in the 2A classification want to lower the number of statewide participants required to guarantee a 16-team state playoff from 48 to 40. The reasoning is that that classification has been hit hard by schools that “opt up,” or decide to play at a higher classification than called for by their enrollment.

Another proposal that deals with that issue would count the schools that opt up toward the total that determines the number of schools that can participate in a classification’s state playoffs.

On the other end, a group of 4A schools are requesting a 32-team format for football and basketball. The rationale is to give a proportionate number of students an opportunity to participate in playoffs.

A B-8 football proposal would maintain a minimum of 24 schools playing the sport. If the number of B-8 schools drops below 24, the nextsmallest schools at B-11 would be invited to play B-8 for a two-year period until 24 has been reached.

Basketball has asked that a tournament, where a team might play three or four games, be counted as two games toward the maximum total of 20 regular-season contests. Although presented by schools in the southwest part of the state, the plan could help GSL schools, which only get two non-league games.

Jolley good team

Brianne Jolley, the most valuable player in the recent girls State 2A basketball tournament, was also named to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s all-state first team.

The Lakeside senior led the Eagles to the state championship.

Rikki Jackson of Central Valley is on the P-I second team.

The other first-team members are Sheila Lambert of Chief Sealth, Jamie Craighead of Elma, Enjoli Izidor of Roosevelt and Cori Enghusen of Inglemoor.

Baskett honored

Gary Baskett, whose Mead boys track team has won the GSL title every year he has been head coach, is a finalist for the National High School Athletic Coaches Association coach of the year.

Baskett had been on the staff at Mead for six years when the Panthers started their remarkable run and he has kept it going the past 12 years. Mead has won 12 league titles, five state titles and three runner-up trophies under Baskett while running the team’s record in dual meets to 149-0 in 16 years.

As one of eight regional finalists, Baskett will attend the 33rd NHSACA National Awards Banquet in New Carrollton, Md., in June.

Shiny honor for Knights

The Harrier magazine has ranked East Valley’s girls cross country team No. 11 in its national super 25 poll.

The Knights won their fourth consecutive state championship last November in Pasco.

Saratoga Springs (N.Y.) and Yucaipa (Calif.) tied for No. 1 in the poll.

Talent show

Five regional AAU girls basketball tournaments will be played at West Valley High School this weekend with more talent in one place than at a state tournament.

Lambert, the consensus player of the year, is expected to play for the Spokane Stars 18U team, along with Enghusen, Izidor and Jackson.

Other team members include Big Nine MVP Jennifer Schooler of Wenatchee, a second-team P-I all-stater; Katie Davis of Manson, who scored 50 points in a B tournament game; Karie Pruett, an all-GSL first team pick for Ferris; and Alison Asher of Lake City in Coeur d’Alene, which placed in its state tournament.

Jolley is on the team but this weekend she will play for the Spokane Falls Elite. The other 18U team is the Central Washington Vikings.

The tournaments are national qualifiers. Spokane has 18U, 17U, 16U, 14U and 12U tournaments. The other girls tournaments are in Yakima.

The boys tournaments will be played next weekend.

The 17U Spokane Stars include Amy George of Ferris, the GSL co-MVP with Jackson; P-I all-stater Heather Reichmann of King’s in Seattle, and top players from Oregon, Idaho and Montana, as well as the best players from area teams.

Games begin Friday evening and continue Saturday and Sunday.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: State basketball attendance Day B 1A 2A 3A 4A Wednesday 10,666 8,082 6,653 16,235 14,148 Thursday 9,296 7,484 6,319 13,956 11,009 Friday 11,198 7,326 6,575 16,363 12,328 Saturday 8,883 7,183 6,141 11,980 9,702 Totals 40,043 30,075 25,888 58,534 47,187