Elite 11: You Go, Girls

STORY & PHOTOS BY GLENN NELSON
I've watched so much basketball lately that I just flattened a fly on my computer monitor and started chanting, "You got swat-ted ..."

And there is so much more to go, with the Washington State 4A tournament about to start. It's so much fun, it should be illegal.

Before we move on, I wanted to say a couple things about last week.

First, earlier this season, Roosevelt coach Bill Resler said this was Joyce Walker's best coaching job at Garfield. Then, on Saturday, he blocked her path to a repeat, State 4A title, that probably was remote anyway. But that's not the point. The point is, I agree with Resler, this was Walker's best season at Garfield, in spite of the way it ended.

This was a challenging season for Walker because it was one of great loss. First, of course, was the graduation of her great protoge, Malia O'Neal. Then the Tinned sisters, Samantha, the two-time, reigning State 4A tournament MVP, and Jessica, moved away. Jessica Tinned returned to the Tacoma Dome last week with Sehome, which claimed third. Samantha Tinned will be back with Lincoln, one of the favorites to win 4A. Finally, the day Garfield produced what arguably was its greatest win of the season, 58-56 over Woodinville in overtime, Walker buried her 82-year-old father, Warren.

Still, this season saw Walker grow as a coach. Forced to get the absolute most out of her team, she pushed a lot of the right buttons. She adapted and played her bench more. And she dealt with aplomb with a parent section that - how should we say this? - has plenty of "suggestions" for their coach.

Kathy Gibson of Issaquah

If it weren't for Chanieka Williams' late-season knee injury, the Bulldogs might still be alive and kicking. Instead, Garfield is on the sidelines, which doesn't seem right, as two of the tournament favorites, Lincoln and Woodinville, owe their only losses to Walker's Bulldogs.

Walker is the most visible of the female head coaches in the region, but she isn't the only good one. Penny Gienger coaxed a huge, 21-4 season out of a young, not tremendously talented Bainbridge team. Like Garfield, the Spartans were victims of upsets in the Sea-King District and didn't make state.

Kathy Gibson's Issaquah Eagles did make it out of Sea-King, of course, and nearly had a tournament for the ages. This is no knock on the Issaquah kids, because they showed guts and heart to supply a couple of leagues, and there certainly is talent in the group, but if you chose a squad to try to take State, especially knowing you had to knock off Chief Sealth, the Eagles wouldn't be it. Anacortes, with a little more size, might have come closer.

Still, Gibson played the hand she was dealt, went "all in" at the end and almost walked away with the pot. Her Eagles reflected her spirit. Not once, in the nightly baiting by the media, did she soft-peddle her team's chances of taking Sealth.

Throughout the tournament, Issaquah was meticulously prepared, the kids bought into the game plans and played hard and gritty. That's coaching. Gibson can be tough, but nurtures her players as well as anyone. She nearly turned sophomore Alyssa Shoji's brief case of the yips into a title-producing torrent and had a shoulder for Ellen Vertatschitsch after the Issaquah senior's missed shot at the buzzer.

Girl's basketball is a diffferent game, with many different parameters, than the boys' game. Women simply handle those parameters differently, and often better, than men. At the same time, as Gibson, Gienger and Walker aptly demonstrated, they can be just as adept, technically.

The HoopGurlz.com Elite Eleven high-school girls basketball team rankings are featured on KING-TV's Sports Blitz and The Seattle Times.

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HoopGurlz.com Elite Eleven

Washington State's Top Teams Without Regard to Classification
Records through Saturday, March 4

1. Chief Sealth (3A) Record: 29-0 Last week: 1
Comment: Anacortes, Issaquah showed they are not invincible

2. University (4A) Record: 22-3 Last week: 5
Comment: Good time to be peaking

3. Lincoln (4A) Record: 24-1 Last week: 4
Comment: District win over Prairie should be confidence boost

4. Prairie (4A) Record: 23-2 Last week: 2
Comment: Falcons will keep fingers crossed for Ashley Corral's left ankle

5. Woodinville (4A) Record: 22-1 Last week: 6
Comment: Heads into 4A believing it can win it

6. Issaquah (3A) Record: 23-6 Last week: NR
Comment: Any team that can come within three points of two wins vs. Sealth deserves to be here

7. Auburn Riverside (4A) Record: 20-5 Last week: NR
Comment: By a hair over Auburn Riverside; it's hard to ignore a 21-1 record in 4A

8. King's (2A) Record: 22-2 Last Week: 8
Comment: Impressive win over Lynden Christian, which beat 3A Anacortes, Sehome

9. Lewis & Clark (4A) Record: 22-4 Last week: 10
Comment: Lost twice in nine days to Univerisyt by combined 27 pts

10. Eisenhower (4A) Record: 26-1 Last week: 3
Comment: Lack of battle testing could hurt chances in 4A

11. Kentwood (4A) Record: 23-3 Last week: 9
Comment: Prairie showed young Conquerors may not be ready

Dropped: Garfield (4A) 18-6 (formerly No. 7), Meadowdale (4A) 21-2 (formerly No. 11)

The Wait List

Anacortes (3A) 22-5, Bainbridge (3A) 21-4, Bellevue Christian (1A) 23-2, Black Hills (3A) 19-8, Burlington-Edison (3A) 21-7, Chelan (2A) 22-1, Colfax (1A) 24-4, East Valley (2A) 23-0, Ellensburg (3A) 21-9, Freeman (1A) 22-4, Garfield (4A) 18-6, Gig Harbor (4A) 19-6, Gonzaga Prep (4A) 21-5, Hanford (3A) 21-6, Holy Names (3A) 19-9, Inglemoor (4A) 18-5, Jackson (4A) 20-4, Kennedy (3A) 19-6, Lake Stevens (4A) 21-2, Lindbergh (3A) 22-6, Lynden Christian (2A) 21-2, Meadowdale (4A) 21-2, Mount Tahoma (4A) 19-6, Puyallup (4A) 21-3, River Ridge (3A) 25-3, Roosevelt (4A) 20-5, Seattle Prep (3A) 17-15, Sehome (3A) 20-7, Tumwater (3A) 17-9, White Pass (1A) 25-2, White River (3A) 20-7

New to list in bold

Dropped: Lakes (3A) 20-5, Mount Si (3A) 18-8, Snohomish (4A) 17-6, Skyview (4A) 18-8

Previous Elite Eleven Rankings
Feb. 27: A What-If 3A
Feb. 21: 4A Projections
Feb. 13: 3A Projections
Feb. 6: Kneed to Know
Jan 30: Tenuous Team
Jan 23: Running It Up
Jan 17: Class (4A) Bias
Jan. 9: Tests Loom
Jan. 2: Mostly Cloudy
Dec. 26: Time for Adjustments
Dec. 19: Abes-Bulldogs Redux
Dec. 12: No Hope for 2A, 1A?
Dec. 4: Bulldogs Left Waiting
Nov. 21: Prairie Tops Debut Rankings

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Our Complete 2006 State 4A Tournament Coverage Menu:

A 4A Family Affair
Katelan Redmon's timely but unexpected 22 points help land a state championship for her and her uncle, Lewis and Clark coach Jim Redmon.

4A Tournament Recap
MVP, all-tournament team with profiles and comments, all scores and statistical leaders.

Lewis & Clark and Prairie reach the State 4A championship game with great size and defense.

Stock on the Rise
The Kentwood junior has been the talk of the State 4A tournament and a hit with college coaches and scouts.

Pick Your Poison
When considering the candidates for 2006's darlings of destiny, Angie Bjorklund and University stand out from the pack.

Remember the Titans
When considering the candidates for 2006's darlings of destiny, Angie Bjorklund and University stand out from the pack.

Wednesday 4A Photos
Images from furious first-round action at the Tacoma Dome.

The Wolfpack is Back
One amazing youth basketball team helped produce three of the region's top young point guards, plus the core of the Jackson High School team that qualified for the State 4A tournament for the first time in its history.

4A Bracket Breakdown
How we see the tournament unfolding, round by round and game by game, to a University vs. Auburn Riverside final featuring stars Angie Bjorklund and Julie Futch.

Elite Eleven: You Go, Girls
Three women - Joyce Walker, Penny Gienger and Kathy Gibson - enjoyed outstanding, role-setting seasons in girl's high-school basketball..

State 4A Team Capsules
Essential information on tournament participants, with power rankings by HoopGurlz.com (not predicted finish). Individual team capsules also can be accessed by clicking team name from front-page list of qualifiers.

Commit List
Know where all the seniors are headed after the tournament. We have the most complete list anywhere of Division I commitments by players from Washington and Oregon.

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