Girls: Lynden (17-7) vs. W.F. West (21-3)
YAKIMA — When W.F. West takes to the court Thursday in its State 2A Girls Basketball Tournament opener, there could be a feeling of deja vu.
The Bearcats — in their fifth-straight state tournament and looking for a third-straight appearance in the championship game — face Lynden Thursday, the same team they beat in the semifinals last year. And they could face East Valley, their 2014 first-round opponent, in the semifinals.
There’s no question that the Bearcats are built for this type of thing, led by a pair of NCAA Div. I signees and a bevy of guards trained to get them the ball. They’ve run their record to 21-3 and have their sights set on leaving another mark at the Yakima SunDome.
“If you’re a team built on outside shooting, you’re not going to score as much over there,” W.F. West coach Henri Weeks said. “It’s a three-day tournament. Kids get tired, and there’s so much space since you’re in a dome that the hoop looks tiny compared to when you’re in a gym.”
The Bearcats are led by University of Portland signee Julie Spencer, a senior and the Evergreen 2A Conference MVP averaging 14.9 points per game, and Tennessee State-bound Tiana Parker, who notched 13.9 points per game to go along with over 10 rebounds and 5 blocks a game. Parker was the first player off the bench on last year’s championship team.
“People must have been mad at me last year to be bringing a player like Tiana off the bench,” Weeks said. “With the lineup we had starting and then to have her come in, they just must have been shaking their head.”
While the guards aren’t as numerous this year for the Bearcats, they’ve still been consistently strong contributors. Jessica McKay handled Burlington-Edison’s press well in the regional round of the playoffs and averaged 9.7 points a game during the season, while sophomore Shasta Lofgren added 8.4 points and Payton Kelly was an All-League second-team pick.
“We made some adjustments after the Mark Morris loss and utilized those against Burlington-Edison well,” Weeks said. “We used our bench more in that game and we’ve been through all the growing pains throughout the season, seeing how everyone fits together.”
Now that the stress of the regional round is over, Weeks said his team’s had plenty of state experience and knows what to expect in the SunDome.
Lynden (17-7) beat Black Hills, 53-43, in regionals. W.F. West knows it’ll have to focus on the Lions’ two top players, guard Elisa Kooiman (16 points a game) and 5-10 forward Kaitlyn Mark (14 ppg).
“They are going to really try to bracket Tiana and Julie,” Weeks said. “They’re going to try to be physical and try and keep us from keeping the ball in there.”
But if history and Saturday’s regional game against Burlington Edison — a 50-33 victory — is any indication, that’s easier said than done.
The Bearcats have seen that type of defense before — and it’s just another potential bit of deja vu for a Yakima-tested team.
Boys: Okanogan (20-4) vs. Morton-White Pass (24-0)
The Timberwolves didn’t have too much to worry about as far as the WIAA’s draw on Sunday was concerned. They have the unique distinction of being the one team in the tournament no one else wants to play.
Morton-White Pass will start the official defense of its State 2B championship on Thursday morning at 10:30 a.m., against Okanogan.
The Bulldogs are led by three-sport standout Jimmy Townsend, a 6-foot-4 forward averaging 23.7 points a game — and the star tight end/linebacker on the Bulldog football team that defeated Napavine in the state championship game in Tacoma three months ago.
Okanogan, ranked No. 4 in the state, beat Wilbur-Creston, 66-53, in the regional round, but lost to No. 5-ranked Brewster in the District 5/6 championship game.
The winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal matchup will move on to the semifinals and face either Northwest Christian (Colbert) or Auburn Adventist at 3:45 p.m. Friday in the state semifinals. Northwest Christian, coincidentally, was the last team to beat the Timberwolves, in a loser-out consolation game in Spokane by a 62-59 margin back on March 1, 2013. Morton-White Pass has since won 51 games in a row, and is the only District 4 boys team still playing.
Zach Walton, a 6-foot-5 senior forward, leads Morton-White Pass with 19.7 points and 7.8 rebounds a game, along with 3.1 steals a contest. Kaleb Poquette, a 6-foot-4 junior guard, averages 16.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4 assists a game, while Kolby Dunlap averages 10.9 points a game.
Walton and Poquette were both starters in last year’s championship game, where the Timberwolves beat defending state champion St. George’s, 54-51.
Girls: Napavine (20-5) vs. Okanogan (24-0)
A lot of teams might be less than thrilled with facing the top-ranked team in the state in the first round.
Napavine has taken a different approach.
“If you’re going to go over there with ambitions to play three days,” Tiger coach Jeremy Landram said, “you at least want a shot at the No. 1 team.”
Landram took a carload of players to Renton on Sunday to be on hand for the WIAA’s state tournament draw, where it was announced that Napavine (20-5) would face undefeated, top-ranked Okanogan in the first round.
“It was just a fun time. The girls had a blast,” Landram said, “and drawing Okanogan is kind of cool.”
The Bulldogs (23-0) ran the table in the Central Washington 2B League, and beat White Swan (55-39) and Mabton (60-51) in the District 5/6 playoffs before blasting Life Christian Academy, 60-19, in regionals.
White Swan and Mabton, coincidentally, are also both in Spokane this week.
Five-foot-11 post Jill Townsend leads Okanogan in scoring at 20.1 points a game, and Jordyn Boesel, a 5-foot-9 point guard and daughter of coach Bryan Boesel, averages 13.7 a game. Both players are sophomores, and Okanogan has just one senior on the roster.
“They’re probably the favorite to win it, going in,” Landram said. “We played them this summer, and did fairly well — a 6-point game — but summer basketball doesn’t really mean anything.”
Townsend’s presence in the paint presents a matchup similar to what Napavine faced on Saturday against Lind-Ritzville/Sprague, when the Tigers managed to outrebound a bigger Bronco lineup by a 57-33 margin.
“If we don’t rebound, it’s going to be a long night, keeping her off the boards,” Landram said of Townsend. “If we’re able to rebound the same way, and apply the pressure, and do all that, I like our chances.”
Kenya Lorton, a sophomore, leads Napavine in scoring at 14.5 points a game, while Mollie Olson, a freshman, averages 9 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists a game. Devanie Kleemeyer, a junior, added 10 points and 8 rebounds a contest for a Tiger squad without a senior on the roster.
The Tigers are also in the same half of the bracket as No. 2-ranked Colfax (23-3), the defending state champions, and White Swan.
“The top half of the bracket is absolutely brutal,” Landram said. “But, again, you go all the way over there, it’s not going to be a joke for us.”
