4A State Tournaments

March 10-13

Tacoma Dome

Radio: KEZE 96.9 FM for GSL teams

Boys

Defending champion: Garfield

Top-ranked team: Evergreen (22-0)

Returning teams: Garfield, Wilson (second), Evergreen (fourth), Franklin (fifth), Ferris (eighth), Davis, Bellarmine, Lincoln.

Central Valley (22-3) vs. Bellarmine (21-4), 3:30 p.m.: The Lions went 0-2 at state last year, but only had three seniors on that team. Back are 6-foot-10 Tyler Brown, who has battled injuries and averages just 6.4 points; 6-8 Jesse Keely (10.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg) and 6-2 Isaiah Simmons (9.3 ppg) on the frontline and leading scorer Brendon Merrit, a 6-4 guard (17.5). Quick point guard Kenny Williams (10.6) is also back. Brown is headed to Pepperdine. “They’re a tough matchup; they’re a big physical team. They have a real quick point guard and good shooting guard,” CV coach Rick Sloan said. “We have to stop penetration and limit them to one shot.”

Ferris (23-2) vs. Decatur (15-11), 7 p.m.: The Gators were fifth in WestCo district tourney after finishing seventh in the South Puget Sound League tournament. Their top scorers have signed football scholarships at Boise State. Fullback Wes Nurse, a 6-foot guard, averages 12 ppg and 6-4 center Kevin Louwsma, a lineman, averages 10 points and seven rebounds. Jon Patty, a 6-1 forward, averages 11. Also on the roster is Corey Smith, who is going to Montana State for football. “Their coach describes them as being athletes but not necessarily skilled basketball players,” Ferris coach Wayne Gilman said. “They have a couple Division I athletes that work hard and ended up having a good season. It’s hard to say who they would be like, offensively they’re a little more free flowing than most anybody in these parts.”

Notable: Decatur students attend games in orange jump suits. The style moves to the bench because coach Keith Cooper said he would wear one the first game if the unheralded Gators made it. CV and Ferris could meet in the semifinals… . Garfield and Evergreen are in the other bracket… . Gonzaga University signee Jay Sherrell, a 6-8 post, averages 13.1 ppg, 9 rpg for Bethel… . He’ll be matched up with 6-11 Stanford signee Curtis Borchardt of Eastlake, who averages 27.3 ppg, in the first round… . Despite the presence of Borchardt, Eastlake has seven losses, but four are to Garfield, one to Mercer Island and one to Cascade-Everett… . Ferris could see Franklin in the second round. The Earthquakes, led by Jimmie Haywood, beat the Saxons for fifth place last year. Haywood, a 6-3 guard, averages 20 points and is headed for Oregon State. In a loser-out game, the Quakes were down 10 with less than 2 minutes to go and Haywood scored 11… . Franklin plays Lincoln, led by WSU-bound 6-2 guard David Adams, who scores 19.8 ppg… . The two favorites are led by junior guards, 6-5 Ed Roy of Garfield and James Davis of Evergreen… . Another sight to see, 6-10 Ross Benson of Cascade-Everett, a Saint Mary’s signee.

Girls

Defending champion: Prairie

Top-ranked team: Roosevelt (25-2)

Returning teams: Prairie, Bellarmine (seventh), Central Valley, Rogers-Puyallup, South Kitsap, Tahoma.

Mead (21-4) vs. Rogers-Puyallup (22-4), 9 a.m.: The Rams went 0-2 at state last year, eliminated by Ferris. Their top returnee is 5-10 guard Michelle Betschart, who averages 15.7 ppg. Natalie Steck, a 6-foot forward, adds 9 points. Rogers coach Jeff Kindle is leaving coaching to be the athletic director next year. A second-round game would be against defending champion Prairie or Bellarmine, which was seventh last year. “I just figure at this point we have to expect to play good teams,” Mead coach Beth Wing said. “They shouldn’t be there if they’re not good.”

Central Valley (22-3) vs. Tahoma (17-9), 8:30 p.m.: A battle of Bears, Tahoma went out in two last year, CV went 1-2. Tahoma was fourth in the South Puget Sound-North and sixth out of a district that advanced seven teams. The Bears are led by 5-7 guard Jacqueline Bennion at 21 ppg, 7 rebounds, 6 steals and 4 assists; 5-4 Michelle Demetruk, 5-4 guard, at 18.4 ppg, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals; and 5-7 junior Carly Glockner at 10.5 ppg and 4 rebounds. The size matchup is favorable with Tahoma’s tallest player 5-11. Tahoma averages 70 points, but gives up 59; CV hasn’t lost when scoring 50. “Tahoma is a whole different breed of ball game; they don’t run an offense; they don’t have an offense,” CV coach Dale Poffenroth said. “Three passes and up it goes. Their goal is to shoot at least 80 shots and shoot probably 40 3s.”

Notable: Heavily favored Prairie is in Mead’s quarterfinal… . Interesting first-round game, Prairie (20-2) led by 6-2 Courtney Cushing (16 ppg) against Bellarmine (22-4) led by 6-2 Julie Butler (21.2), both stars signed with Santa Clara… . There are two UW signees, Kamiakin’s 6-1 Emily Autrey (22.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg) and 6-3 Kelley Berglund of Port Angeles (19.1)… . Other D-I players to watch are Natasta Allen, South Kitsap (Hawaii); Lindsey Foster, SK (Northern Arizona); Ann McCall, Cascade-Everett (Wyoming); Lindsay Wilson, Roosevelt (Iowa State); Emma Haywood, Kent-Meridian (Montana State); Alyssa Tarsiuk, K-M, (Pacific); and Erica Moldenhauer, Prairie (Portland).