2024-25 Winter Sports Preview: Girls basketball capsules for Greater Spokane League

Capsules for the 2024-25 Greater Spokane League girls basketball teams.

In alphabetical order by classification. Records and standings from 2024-25 season.

GSL 4A

Ferris (11-11, 5-4, fifth): Second-year coach Courtney Gray has her entire starting lineup and all 10 letterwinners back from last season’s team, though leading scorer senior guard Kayla Jones – first-team all-league and an all-state mention last season – will start the season injured. “The team has built strong chemistry this off season, and girls are stepping up to fill their roles,” Gray said. “To be competitive we are relying heavily on our defense this year.”

Gonzaga Prep (22-7, 8-1, second): All-state point guard Aylah Cornwall is back for her sophomore season, joined by second-team all-league senior guard Olivia McIntyre. Coach Geoff Arte, in his third season with the Bullpups, has a total of eight letterwinners and three starters back from last year’s state qualifier. “Expectations are high, like always,” Arte said. “With only two bids out of Eastern Washington this year, you are going to have to be playing well in February to make it to the final 16.”

Lewis and Clark (10-13, 3-6, seventh): New coach Sydney Floriani was an assistant coach at Master’s University from 2018-23 and played a role in the Mustangs’ berth into the NAIA National Championship in 2022, a program record win-loss record, and their first every No. 1 NAIA ranking. “We have three key starters out with ACL injuries,” Floriani said, “but the sophomores are really stepping into new roles they didn’t fill last year.”

Mead (26-2, 9-0, first): Life after Teryn Gardner, the two-time league MVP and all-state guard, begins. Coach Quantae Anderson, in his 14th season, does have seven letterwinners back, including first-team all-league junior guard Addison Wells Morrison, who became an impact player last year and should thrive in more of a “go-to” role this season. “We only have two seniors,” Anderson said. “But we have varsity experience along with some key newcomers who will bring a fun dynamic to a team that won league and district championships in each of the last three seasons.”

GSL 3A

Central Valley (17-8, 7-2, third): The big news in the league is the transfer of University of Washington-bound Brynn McGaughy to the Bears from 2B Colfax. “The addition of Brynn is huge, of course,” second-year coach Jason Wilson said. “Brynn gives us size we sorely lacked. If we can stay healthy, I like our chances.” Joining the 6-foot-2 McGaughy are seven other returning letterwinners, including first-team all-league senior guard and defensive player of the year Eden Sander and four league honorable mentions, led by senior Gabbie Wilson and sophomore guard Drae Domebo.

Cheney (5-15, 1-8, ninth): Nine letterwinners and four starters return for coach Meredith Richards, who enters her second season with the Blackhawks. Senior Mia Ashcroft and juniors Sarah Hanson and Natalie Richards are returning starters.

Mt. Spokane (4-18, 2-7, eighth): Coach Jim Redmon begins his second season with the Wildcats with three starters returning, including senior wings Abby Priddy and Sloane Gardner, both of whom earned all-league mentions last season. “We need to shoot it better, we need to play better,” Redmon said. “We need to play together.”

Ridgeline (15-11, 6-3, fourth): Veteran coach Freddie Rehkow, the 2018 national coach of the year, takes over the girls program after three seasons guiding the boys team. All five starters and nine total letterwinners return from last year’s state qualifier, but first-team all-league sophomore guard Grace Sheridan starts the season injured. “This team has a lot of experience and talent coming back,” Rehkow said. “Look for this team to show defensive tenacity and up-tempo basketball. We will be highly competitive and hopefully make another run at state this season.”

Shadle Park (5-16, 4-6, fourth in 2A): Coach JT Johnson has seven letterwinners and four starters back from last year’s team, which makes the transition back to 3A. Leaders include four-year starter Addison Jahn and juniors Makenzie Fager and Tameria Thompson. “Our girls new to the team need to have a quick learning curve to help us achieve our full potential,” Johnson said. “We are not big and most girls will play numerous positions.”

University (11-13, 4-6, sixth): The Titans have eight letterwinners and four starters back from last season’s squad, including three all-league honorable mentions: seniors Sophie Carbajal and Kailee Alteneder and junior McKenzie Handran. “With six seniors, we bring back a lot of girls who have played a ton of minutes together,” second-year coach Angel Rivera said. “This league is in a great spot right now with some really good teams. If we commit to playing hard-nosed defense, we will be in the mix at the end of the season when it matters.”

GSL 2A

Clarkston (26-1, 10-0, first): Coach Debbie Sobotta guided the Bantams to a third-place finish at state last season, but has three all-leaguers to replace – including 2A all-state guard Kendall Wallace. Seven letterwinners return, though, including all-league seniors Ella Leavitt, Ryann Combs and Lexi Villavicencio, and junior Jaelyn McCormick-Marks.

Deer Park (25-1, 12-0, first in 1A): The Stags lost just one game last year – a three-point decision to Nooksack Valley in the state 1A title game. All five starters and 10 letterwinners return, including league MVP and all-state sophomore guard Ashlan Bryant. The Stags also get a prominent transfer in junior guard Jacey Boesel, who led Okanogan to the 2B state title game by averaging 19.3 points, 7.7 rebounds per game. “We are going to be very small again this season, but we are going to be very athletic, skilled, and deep,” coach KC Ahrens said. “Our theme this year it to ‘Aim Higher’ and not be content with past success.” The Stags bring a 28-game league win streak into the GSL.

East Valley (1-20, 1-9, sixth): The Knights return four starters for second-year coach Tierre Warren, including honorable mention all-league junior guard Italia Salina and senior guard Hannah Rasmussen. “Our strength will be our size in that we have a big frontcourt. Rebounding and post presence will be key for us this season,” Warren said. “I’m very optimistic and I think we will shock a lot of teams and people who have counted us out. East Valley isn’t dead. We are very much alive and I think we will rise out of obscurity.”

North Central (2-18, 0-9, 10th in 4A/3A): The Wolfpack will see a lot of turnover from last year’s team with five letterwinners and four starters graduating. Third-year head coach Joseph Kraus will lean on seniors Feather Auld, Allie Little and Bailey Cederblom to be leaders as the team gels. “The amount of varsity experience on our team this year is limited, but these girls are hungry,” Kraus said. “We will need to be patient and trust the process as we play each game, learning and growing from focusing on ourselves and what we can do better to improve night in, night out.”

Pullman (7-15, 5-5, third): Fifth-year coach Angie Barbour has six letterwinners and two starters back, including second-team all-league junior guard Grace Kuhle. She’ll be joined by other key returning juniors River Sykes and Eloise Clark, along with senior Bri Rasmussen. “We graduated two starting posts, so we will be smaller, but faster,” Barbour said. “We had a good summer of leagues and camps so we’re looking forward to a strong season.”

Rogers (5-16, 2-8, fifth): Seven letterwinners but just two starters return for seventh-year coach Lindsay Hernandez. “Seven returners from last year gives us a great amount of experience,” Hernandez said. “We have multiple girls that can handle the ball and shoot the ball, as well as girls that will come off the bench and play vital roles, which will make a big difference for us.” Seniors Harmony Ortiz and Hayley Ying will be counted on to lead.

West Valley (14-10, 8-2, second): League scoring leader Chloe DeHaro graduated, but coach Tyrone Ashley has six letterwinners and four starters back for his second season. “Losing Chloe to graduation is a huge loss,” Ashley said. “We have six kids who played a lot of minutes last season, but now we need to feed off their confidence and continue to grow from a slow start last season to a fantastic finish.” Seniors Willow Burrill and Macy Osborn and junior Brynlee Ordinario are key returners.