Quick hits

WIAA to honor Rypien, Hays

An athlete and a coach with Inland Northwest ties are part of the WIAA’s 2006 Hall of Fame class that will be inducted April 26 in Yakima.

Shadle Park High’s Mark Rypien is one of four athletes who will enter the Hall, though he’ll be the only one who was all-state in three sports (football, basketball and baseball).

Rypien went on to play football at Washington State University and became a Super Bowl MVP with the Washington Redskins.

Bill Hays, most prominently known for his football and basketball success at St. John, is one of two coaches entering the Hall. Hays also coached at Newport.

Schools on the move

With the advent of the 1B classification next fall, one of the Bi-County’s three 1B schools-to-be, Sprague-Harrington, has begun the process to move into the Whitman County League. The fate of the other two, Almira/Coulee-Hartline and Odessa, is to be determined.

The remainder of the schools in the Bi-County will be 2B schools.

Asotin, the only current Whitman County school that will be 2B, is beginning the process to move back to the Blue Mountain Conference.

Great Northern League

Pullman’s boys (16-1, 9-0, ranked second in state) have clinched the GNL boys basketball title, their second consecutive. The Greyhounds’ matchup with second-place Lakeside (10-7, 6-3) on Tuesday will be the undercard to the GNL game of the year, when the two girls teams meet. Sixth-ranked Lakeside (13-4, 9-0) has won nine straight games, including a 40-38 win at Pullman on Jan. 24. The ninth-ranked Greyhounds (13-4, 8-1) bounced back from that loss to win three in a row, holding teams to 34 points a game during that stretch.

Northeast A

It will be a battle of the league’s top two basketball scorers Friday, as Freeman (15-3, 3-2) heads to Newport (5-13, 2-3). Freeman’s Jessie DePell (18.1 points per game) led the league most of the season, but has since been overtaken by Newport’s Maria Barranco (18.3). Kettle Falls’ Brandon Holibaugh (17.1) leads the boys, while teammate Jason Azzarito just moved into second place at 14.4.

The Bs

Bi-County League: The league basketball tournament’s first round starts Friday and Saturday, with a couple of hot teams to watch as the eight get pared down to four for the District 7 tournament. The Almira/Coulee-Hartline boys (11-8) finished as the fifth seed, but the Warriors have won their last five, led by 23.6 points a game by Greg Giese during the streak. Lind-Ritzville’s boys (13-7), who started 2-4 in the Bi-Co, have won 10 of their last 12. … On the girls’ side, sixth-seeded Reardan (9-11) has won four of six, including three wins over playoff teams.

Panorama League: Four of the eight boys and girls basketball teams from the Panorama go to the District 7 tournament. Republic’s boys and Cusick’s girls are the defending tournament champions.

Whitman County League: League basketball tournament play kicks off Friday in Endicott, as the Nos. 4-7 seeds battle for the fourth and final berth to next weekend’s District 9 tournament.

Asotin (13-8, 6-6), which lost a tiebreaker to LaCrosse-Washtucna (11-9, 6-6) for the No. 3 seed Tuesday, is favored to advance on the boys’ side, while Colton (14-6, 7-5) is the favorite for the No. 4 girls berth. The Wildcats have swept all three teams below them in the WCL standings and also have a victory over top-seeded St. John-Endicott (15-5, 10-2). L-W, Tekoa-Oakesdale and SJE have already locked up D-9 berths and will play for seeding.

GSL game of the week

Ferris girls (8-10, 5-6) at Shadle Park (10-8, 5-6), Friday, 5:45 p.m.

Six teams from the GSL make the District 8 4A tournament. These two, along with Mt. Spokane, enter the final week of league tied for the final spot. The winner of this game takes a giant step toward the postseason. The Highlanders will host Mt. Spokane on Tuesday, while Ferris travels to Rogers.

Area game of the week

Colfax (15-4, 4-1) at Kettle Falls (16-3, 4-1), 6:30 p.m., Saturday

To the winner go the spoils in the Northeast A League when Colfax heads north to Kettle Falls for the final league game of the year in a battle of Bulldog boys. Kettle Falls won the first matchup on Jan. 21, 63-46 at Colfax, behind the 26 points of Brandon Holibaugh. But a 43-41 loss at Freeman Jan. 27 has allowed Colfax to catch up, making Saturday’s game important.