Familiar faces for Knights, Eagles
Freddie Rehkow saw a familiar face at his first visit to WIAA headquarters for the state Class 3A girls basketball tournament draw: former Ferris coach Art Rojas.
Rojas was there to see where his Hudson’s Bay team would be seeded and who they would play.
Freddie, meet Art.
In their first state tournament appearance, Rehkow’s East Valley Knights (10-14) will play Rojas’ Hudson’s Bay Eagles (19-6) at 12:30 p.m. in Key Arena at Seattle Center.
“I was hoping that Art and I could help each other out a little bit,” Rehkow said. “Instead we have to play each other. That’s OK. I’m glad to be playing someone I respect as much as I respect Art.”
Of course, there’s a downside to playing an opponent familiar with you.
For example, Rojas knows not to pay too much attention to the Knights’ season record.
“That’s one thing Art said right off the bat,” Rehkow said. “He said ‘I’m definitely not taking your record for granted.’ He knows we have to go up against University and Lewis and Clark night in and night out.”
The Knights needed a rally in the Tri-Cities to earn the school’s first entry in a girls state basketball tournament at any level – scoring back-to-back wins over Kennewick and Kamiakin within a 24-hour span.
“The interesting thing is that our girls have changed their goal,” Rehkow said. “At first their goal was to get to state. After we beat Kamiakin, they told me that wasn’t enough. They said they want to keep winning.”
The tournament’s only undefeated team, 24-0 Meadowdale, looms as the likely opponent for the EV-Hudson’s Bay winner. Powerful Auburn Riverside plays the tournament opener against Issaquah.
The winner of the past two championship games, Chief Sealth, is 22-3 and a favorite to reach the finals once again. However, the school was stripped of those back-to-back titles by the WIAA after a recruiting scandal.
In the boys tournament, North Central (8-17) also opens against Hudson’s Bay. NC, making its second-straight state tournament appearance, plays at 4 p.m. at the Bank of America Arena at the University of Washington.
Seattle Prep won last year’s Class 3A title, stopping O’Dea’s bid to win three consecutive championships with a 47-37 win in the final game. The two teams are seeded to meet in the first of two semifinals.
Lakes (21-2), which opens the tournament at 9 a.m. against Rainer Beach (18-7), enters the tournament on a 19-game win streak.