Crusaders, Falcons overcome adversity

Injuries, as every coach and player knows, are part of sports. And at the B level, where depth is often in short supply, injuries can be downright disastrous.

So when the Northwest Christian boys lost senior post Josh Grewe in the season’s second game and the Sprague-Harrington girls lost sophomore wing Roni Jo Mielke in the middle of the season to knee injuries, the teams’ success could well have gone down with them.

But both teams rallied, put together impressive seasons – the Crusaders finished 24-3, the Falcons 22-5 – and both made state despite the losses of their key players.

“The team bounced back,” NWC head coach Ray Ricks said. “The biggest thing was that other guys stepped up and when they had to. Guys had to step up and focus more on rebounding and filling in some of gaps that Josh would have naturally provided as an athlete.”

For the Falcons, who only have two seniors on their roster, recovering from Mielke’s injury to make state also provided an opportunity for some of the younger players – there are five other sophomores on the roster – to earn some valuable playing time on a big stage.

“It gives girls state experience,” S-H head coach Ed Shields said. “Roni Jo was a freshman last year and one of our leading scorers on that state team; she has the experience. But these other sophomores … this is huge for them. They get experience in games with the huge crowds and a lot on the line.”

Being a sophomore, Mielke will be back next season. But Grewe, who was fourth in the Bi-County League in scoring last year when he played with Valley Christian and is now one of the Crusaders’ managers, will end his high school career cheering on teammates he was on the floor with for less than two games.

“Given all the things that have happened, he’s maintained a positive attitude,” Ricks said. “He’s willing to fill water bottles, do whatever to be part of the team.”

Morning glory

Early games are always one of the quirks of the State B Tournament. Some teams whose regular-season contests generally start between 5 and 8 p.m. will play as early as 9 a.m. for first-round matchups.

It’s always a concern for coaches who have to alter routines and deal with players who may be dealing with a bit of nerves the night before the state tournament.

But if there’s a team equipped to deal with an early game time, it’s Curlew’s girls. The Cougars spent the early morning of their winter break in the gym and are used to seeing the sun in the eastern sky.

“It changes (our preparation) a little bit,” said head coach Ted Torzewski. “The girls normally practice at 3, 4 o’clock. On the other hand, through Christmas break we practiced at 8 a.m., and they’re cattle rancher’s kids. Seven in the morning is sleeping in for them.”

Most teams aren’t as comfortable playing so early in the morning, particularly on what would normally be a school day with the students in classes.

“We just have to make sure we get the kids to bed early, then up and ready,” said Selkirk boys head coach Dick Zimmerman, whose team plays today at 10:30 a.m. “It is a concern, but we’ll be all right.”

Debutante’s ball

Talk about your parity in Washington State B basketball.

There are four teams making their first appearance at the State B Tournament this year, three on the boys’ side.

King’s West, Riverside Christian and Lind-Ritzville’s boys all earned their inaugural state appearance this year, though Lind-Ritzville’s entry is the first as a combined program at the B level. (Lind and Ritzville have made it to state as separate programs.)

On the girls’ side, Cusick makes its first state appearance after near-misses the previous two seasons.

Compare those teams to Willapa Valley’s boys, who are making their 27th state appearance, the most by any team in this year’s competition.

Big stage, big arena

With schools limited to 150 students for the B classification, it goes without saying most gyms these teams will have played in are not all that big.

So when you get to state and play in an arena that can hold more than 10,000 and has a tarp separating two courts, suddenly you realize you’re not in Coulee any more, Toto.

“I think the biggest thing it changes is the shot selection,” Almira/Coulee-Hartline girls head coach Mike Correia said. “With the basket, especially on one end, sitting out kind of in a void, it’s kind of vast all the way around. It’s not a real great background.

“But if you can overcome that, everything’s 10 feet high and the free-throw line is 15 feet from the hoop. Everything’s pretty much the same, it’s just a matter of getting in there and doing it.”

Dropping down, doubling up

This year’s State B field features six schools who last year were in class 1A and dropped down to the B classification.

Lind-Ritzville, Northwest Christian, Tacoma Baptist and Raymond all were in 1A last year. The NWC boys not only made the 1A tournament last season, but took home second place before dropping down to the B level.

Does that play to the advantage of these schools? Well, of the four teams – King’s West, Shoreline Christian, Toutle Lake and DeSales – whose boys and girls teams each earned State B bids, two – King’s West and Toutle Lake – were also in 1A last year.

In the meantime … shop!

If the walk downtown from the Spokane Arena is too far and the trolley downtown doesn’t interest you during your time away from State B action, fret not, NorthTown Mall has you covered.

NorthTown is offering a free shuttle service today, Thursday and Friday to and from the Arena, with passengers also receiving a gift bag. The shuttle leaves the Arena on the hour starting at 10 a.m. and leaves NorthTown every half hour with the last trip leaving at 9:30 p.m.