Four boys teams and three girls teams will represent the Northwest Conference in this year’s 1A and 2A state championships that tip off at 9am sharp, Wednesday, in the Yakima SunDome.
The Meridian and Anacortes boys will need wins on Wednesday to move in to the quarterfinals, and the double-elimination portion. The rest are already there, based on their wins in the regional round.
Of the seven teams from the NWC, there has to be at least five that you could list as “top shelf” contenders. It could be more. It’s not less.
This “preview” won’t list everything, just whatever I could find in a short amount of time that I thought was vital to the circumstances.
In chronological order:
Wednesday, 1030am on the boys floor, #10 Meridian (14-11), a regional winner over #15 Life Christian, takes on #7 Seton Catholic (17-6), a regional loser to #2 Lynden Christian.
You would have to consider the Trojans “on a roll” by their miraculous win over Nooksack Valley to take the #2 spot in the district tournament, then their regional win.
But Seton Catholic will be tough to deal with. They are very young (one senior, non-starter), quick, athletic, and have certainly hit the weight room.
The most imposing player for the Cougars is 6-4 freshman Kaiden Wilson. He averages in the mid to upper teens, depending on where you look. He has 3-point range, and can also feed the rim from the top, down. The Lyncs may be the only 1A team in the state who can match up with him, physically.
The Trojans will have their top scorers ready to fire, juniors Talon Jenkins and Jaeger Fyfe. But the Trojans continued success will be the play of the rest of the roster, specifically three seniors, such as in their most recent games.
Senior post Christian Clawson has come into his own, scoring 15 points in each of the last two games. Senior guard Cohen Fuller had 12 points, including the winners against Nooksack. And senior point guard Taran Burks knocked down 11 points against Life Christian.
The Trojans don’t have to beat the Cougars in weightlifting. Their chances are much better in basketball. This is an elimination game, with the winner taking on #1 Zillah, Thursday at 1030am.
At 715pm on Wednesday, the #5 Anacortes Seahawks (20-6) have an elimination bout with #12 Columbia River Rapids (18-7).
The Rapids knocked out #13 White River on a last second 3-point shot, while the Seahawks fell to the #4 Renton Bayhawks in regional play.
The Rapids finished second in the Greater St. Helens League, behind #6 Mark Morris. The Rapids and the Monarchs split their regular season games, and Mark Morris took the district title over the Rapids.
Columbia River does not have anyone pushing 20 points for a scoring average, but they do have balance with four players between eight and 12 points.
The Seahawks should have enough to advance to a Thursday matchup with #3 North Kitsap, at 715pm.
On Thursday at 2pm, the #2 Lynden Lion girls (24-1) will play the survivor of Wednesday’s game between league rivals, #9 Ridgefield (20-3) and #8 Columbia River (18-7).
Even though they had the better record, the Spudders finished second in the league to the Rapids. Of the Spudders’ three losses on the season, two were to the Rapids.
The Rapids lost the district championship game to #3 WF West, while the Spudders defeated Washougal to advance to regionals.
If you are a volleyball fan, you will know that Columbia River, Ridgefield, and Lynden are all at, or near, the top of the state every year. Over the years, it’s usually the Spudders who have 6-2, or 6-4 girls playing volleyball. But on the basketball roster, however, their tallest players are 5-10.
The Lions have a great opportunity and should roll into the semifinals.
Also, at 2pm on Thursday, on the other side of the big black curtain, the #2 Lynden Christian Lyncs boys (22-2) will take on the winner of Wednesday’s elimination game between #9 Kings (16-8) and #8 Tenino (14-6).
The Knights and the Lyncs have quite a state tournament history, not to mention having played each other in the last three championship games, the last two won by the Lyncs.
They played each other at Kings in the first game of the season for both teams. The Lyncs won 69-57, playing without the services of seniors Jeremiah Wright and Kayden Stuit.
The Knights won their regional game over #16 Lakeside (9 Mile) 43-25.
Tenino boasts two big scorers in 6-3 junior Noah Schow who puts up 27 points per game, and 6-2 junior Austin Gonia at 17 a game.
The Beavers lost to Seton Catholic in the District 4 championship game, 67-63. In regional play, they lost to #1 Zillah, 65-39.
The Lyncs will combine their talent with a plan and move on to the semifinals.
#1 Nooksack Valley girls (23-1), the defending 1A champions, take the floor at 530pm on Thursday. They will take on the winner of Wednesday's elimination game between #10 Seattle Academy (15-9) and #7 Bellevue Christian (22-2).
The Vikings only losses came to the hands of Squalicum, and to #2 Deer Park in their regional game. Their very impressive record includes only two teams above the 1A classification.
Information on Seattle Academy is even sketchier. They finished second to Kings in the Chinook division of the Emerald Sound League. Kings won all three matchups by 30, 16, and 15 points, as a reference.
The Pioneers don’t seem to be resting on last year’s title. The hunger, and the talent, is certainly still there.
Thursday at 530pm is also time for the 2-time defending champions to take the floor. The #1 Lynden Lions (21-4) will play the winner of Wednesday's game between #10 Sammamish (18-8) and Rogers of Spokane, (16-6).
Rogers lost their regional game to Grandview, on the Greyhounds floor, 72-63. After a first quarter lead, the Pirates suffered through the short end of a 24-9 second quarter that resulted in the final outcome.
The Pirates roster is made up of all juniors and seniors. They have three different players who have scored 20-plus points in a game, late in the season.
Brady Krebs, a 6-3 junior, scored 22 points in the loss to Grandview. Hartman Warrick tossed in 20 in a district tournament win over Pullman. And Devin Holyfield, a 6-6 senior wing, scored 20 against East Valley-Spokane.
Sammamish finished second in the KingCo 2A Conference and lost two of their three meetings with Renton. They won the first meeting 76-74, then lost the next two by scores of 79-66, and 80-77.
After a district semifinal loss to North Kitsap by two points, the Redhawks beat Bremerton for third place.
The Redhawks also had some big scorers late in the season. Rayan Showki, a 5-9 senior, poured in 32 points, off the bench, against North Kitsap. He scored 15 against Bremerton.
Keith Kariuki, a 6-3 senior, scored 17 against Bremerton and 21 in their regional win over WF West. Anthony Boddie, a 5-11 junior, scored 18 against WF West. Sammamish beat the Bearcats in their regional game, 70-63.
Sammamish and Rogers are tough, quality teams. But the Lions know how to “tournament.”
The final NWC team to take the SunDome floor will be the #3 (18-7) Lynden Christian girls. They will play the winner of #13 Eatonville (16-5) and #4 Kings (16-10), Thursday at 715pm.
The Cruisers finished second to Montesano in the Evergreen 1A League. They have a 22-point per game scorer in 5-6 junior guard, Bailey Andersen. Lillian Bickford is a 6-4 junior who averages 9 points a game. The Cruisers advanced with a regional win over Seton Catholic, 40-36.
Though a 16-10 record, the Knights still own the Emerald Sound League. They lost to #5 Wapato in their regional game, 63-58.
Friday could have boys and girls games between Kings and Lynden Christian.
Your opponents are out there devising ways to attack your defense, and ways to slow down your top scorers. As I have said many times, those third, fourth, and fifth options are mighty important in big games. When the "role players" come through, you've really got something.
My only hope is that you didn’t have to read this while killing time stuck on Snoqualmie Pass. If you were, then I’m happy to help.
Drive carefully, everyone!
~ Ted House
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