Brackets are set for Wednesday, get ready for State B, part two

The brackets have been posted and it’s officially time for state B, part two.

It’s sure going to seem strange without the Whitman County schools in Spokane for this week’s state 2B tournament, which begins Wednesday at the Arena.

In the boys’ draw, defending state champion and top-seeded Northwest Christian (25-1) will meet a familiar opponent in Willapa Valley (15-8) at 5:30 p.m.

“We’ve played (Willapa Valley) the last two years in the state tournament,” NWC coach Ray Ricks said. “We knocked them off in the first round last year, which was kind of an upset because they were a No. 1 seed, but the year before that they beat us in the semifinals.

“For us, we probably will try to get some film and information but we’re going to go out and try to play our game the best we can. We’re not going to focus so much on the other team but do the things that have gotten us through all season.”

The Crusaders are on opposite ends of the bracket, as expected, from rival opponent and second-seeded Republic (25-2), which faces Mossyrock (15-10) at 12:30 p.m.

St. George’s (20-8), the third seed from district 7/9, will play No. 1-seeded Evergreen Lutheran (21-4) at 2 p.m.

If the Dragons and Republic both win in the first round, they will meet in the second round on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. If they both lose, the teams will meet at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday.

Republic coach John Gianukakis says his team will be taking things one game at a time, even though his team will be heavily favored against a fifth-seeded Mossyrock team.

“We’ll take the state tournament one game at a time,” he said. “You never know who you’re going to play the next day. Hopefully we play the winner of St. George’s and Evergreen Lutheran in the second round, but we’ve got to win our game before we can think about that.”

On the girls’ side, top-seeded Liberty (24-2) drew a tough Waterville (20-3) squad in the first round. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.

“We’re going to have to play solid defense, they have a couple of really strong players and we need to keep the ball out of their hands,” Liberty coach Christy Henning said. “They are a very well-coached team that moves the ball extremely well. They’re a lot like us in terms of a strong inside-outside game and it’s going to be a really good matchup.”

Reardan (18-9), the second seed from district 7/9, plays fifth-seeded North Beach (19-6) at 9 a.m.

Fourth-seeded St. George’s (18-10) will face King’s West (16-4) at 9 p.m.

Liberty and St. George’s are on the same side of the bracket, and could potentially meet in Friday’s semifinals.

Brackets can be viewed online at www.wiaa.com.