STORY & PHOTOS BY GLENN NELSON
The beginning of this week always begs the question of whether bigger truly is better. We think so.
Oh yeah, we're talking school size, by the way.
Tschlene Curry of Mt. Tahoma |
The State 3A tournament tends to be a player's event. At smaller schools, the talent is more uneven and teams, games and even entire tournaments can be dominated by a single player.The 4A schools, on the other hand, feature more depth and skilled players, making for generally better executed games and, most of the time, more parity in the ranks.
In those regards, this has been a typical season in Washington state 4A girl's basketball. So much so that the no-longer-defending champion Garfield Bulldogs didn't even make the field. That leaves us with the awkward situation of having two of the favorites, Lincoln and Woodinville, each owing its lone loss to a team, Garfield, not even in the tournament.
Hmmm.
Which is to say, take what you are about to read with a grain of sugar (we prefer to be sweetened, not seasoned). This breakdown, after all, is a vehicle to discuss teams relative to each other, to toss out names and style points. In other words, to generally enhance your enjoyment of the tournament.
Unless, of course, I'm just an uncanny prognosicator. In such event, feel free to flood my Inbox with congratulatory emails.
Our crystal ball has a few fingerprints on it, but this is what we think we see:
First Round, Wednesday, March 8
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Lincoln over Roosevelt
Lewis & Clark over Gig Harbor
Eisenhower over Mt. Tahoma
Auburn Riverside over Lake Stevens
Woodinville over Puyallup
Prairie over Jackson
University over Bellarmine
Kentwood over Meadowdale
Samantha Tinned of Lincoln |
Samantha Tinned's star power has been such a fixture at the 4A tournament, yet one could be hard-pressed to recognize her anymore. Not only is she playing for a different school, Lincoln, she sometimes has a different role as subordinate to teammate Alex Montgomery. She's gotten things rolling lately, which is bad news for Roosevelt, which will have to try neutralizing her post game with 6-foot-3 Husky commit Mackenzie Argens. They probably means Aerial Evans, the heart and soul of the Rough Riders, has to occupy her time with Montgomery.
Two other matchups stand out as intriguing. Eisenhower has three Division I signees in Laiken Dollente, Marianne Lombardi and Claire Faucher and a glossy, 26-1 record, but has been relatively untested this season. The Cadets are in for a shocking first-round matchup against a team in Mt. Tahoma that is so unorthodoz, it's difficult to prepare for. Tshlene Curry is an explosive scorer, Ranesha Pate a box-score stuff and sophomore Shauneice Samms a pogo stick in the middle and on the glass. There will be lots of shots and lots of turnovers.
Auburn Riverside coach Adam Barrett had to take a big gulp when his team drew Lake Stevens. Like his Ravens, the Vikings are an excellent defensive team and the two clubs will pressure each other all over the court. If sophomore Mary Ochiltree, a long, deadly shooter, gets off, Lake Stevens could enjoy a nice tournament run. However, Auburn Riverside has a determined and experienced star in Julie Futch and, even more crucial, an inside presence in Stephanie Wilber for which Lakes Stevens has no answer.
We see competitive games all around, except, unfortunately, for Bellarmine Prep, which got tossed into shark-infested waters by drawing powerful University as its first-round opponent.
Quarterfinals, Thursday, March 9
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Lincoln over Lewis & Clark
Auburn Riverside over Eisenhower
Woodinville over Prairie
University over Kentwood
Consolation Bracket
Roosevelt over Gig Harbor
Mt. Tahoma over Lake Stevens
Jackson over Puyallup
Meadowdale over Bellarmine
If you can attend only one day of the tournament, this would be it. It's only the second day, so the players still will be fresh and now the matchups get very interesting and competitive. And bring some Gatorade because, watching this wonderful day unfold, you're going to sweat as much as the athletes.
The fun begins in consolation play, as Roosevelt and Gig Harbor will play the snot out of each other, Mt. Tahoma and Lake Stevens will stage a highlight-reel track meet and Jackson's Kristi Kingma and Puyallup's Tabitha Tomlinson will engage in a battle of super-soph point guards.
Over in the championship bracket, some powers will have to start tumbling. We see the largest fall going to Prairie because, although she likely will play, Ashley Corral will be constitute a medical miracle if she's anywhere close to 100 percent after suffering a sprain of her chronically weak left ankle on Saturday. That's not going to hurt Prairie so much at the offensive end because, even if Woodinville pressures, Al Aldridge's group is disciplined enough to eat it up. At the defensive end, Prairie already is hard-pressed to extend, which is a disaster against Woodinville, which features a player in Amanda Best whose range dictates game planning, much as you would for a dominant post.
In the other quarterfinal games, Lincoln's two bigs should trump Lewis & Clark's very good one in Heather Bowman, Auburn Riverside's pressure should crack Eisenhower and University could have its biggest struggle of the tournament against Courtney Vandersloot and Kentwood.
Semifinals, Friday, March 10
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Auburn Riverside over Lincoln
University over Woodinville
Consolation Bracket
Roosevelt over Mt. Tahoma
Jackson over Meadowdale
Lewis & Clark over Eisenhower
Prairie over Kentwood
Stephanie Wilber of Auburn Riverside |
Back in the first round of district play, Lincoln coach Kevin Strozier was serving a one-game suspension for an ejection and spent that evening at Auburn Riverside's game against Skyview. Point is, these two teams have been eyeing each other all year. Strozier's Abes have won two meetings by a grand total of three points, but we expect Riverside to pull out a zone defense that, though partialy expected, will throw Lincoln for a loop.
The other semifinal will feature a couple of guard- and wing-oriented teams, but we figure the best of them all, Bjorklund, to take it. It won't come without a fight, however.
The consolation bracket still will be worth following. Roosevelt and Mt. Tahoma will be fun, and we figure in a head-to-head between two unorthodox teams, the Rough Riders' organized chaos will prevail. Jackson and Meadowdale hook up for a third time this season and the battle between Kingma and the Lady Mavs' Eryn Jones always is a war. Though the Mavs' Caitlyn Rohrbach trumps the small-ball angle, Jackson will have burgeoning confidence, while Meadowdale may start to show wear from the late-season loss of starters Cambria Smith and Latrina Woods and its consequently diminished depth.
Championship, Saturday, March 3
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Championship: University 62, Auburn-Riverside 59
3rd/6th: Lincoln 65, Woodinville 60
4th/7th: Prairie 54, Lewis & Clark 47
5th/8th: Roosevelt 60, Jackson 58
Tonya Schnibbe of University |
Who knew back in December that we may have been watching a State 4A championship preview in Auburn? Back then, Bjorklund was playing her first game after healing from a stress fracture in her left tibia. Riverside controlled the game, but buckled at the end and Bjorklund was Bjorklund. She hit a game-tying three with 22 seconds left, then three free throws during the final 10 seconds to ice a University win. Now that Bjorklund actualy has her conditioning and timing, and University has adjusted its team chemistry, we like the Titans again. And we only like Riverside to be here if its girls are not unduly pressured, as can be the case.
Bjorklund will take over the MVP reigns from Tinned, though the Lincoln post will acquit herself well. The Abes may be disappointed with a third-place finish, but in this field, it will be a major accomplishment, as will Woodinville making the Final Four. Prairie will place, as usual, but we'll wonder about next year, as the Falcons lose much size and experience, especially in Idaho-bound Katie Madison.
Roosevelt will take fifth over Jackson in what could be a preview of next year's final or semifinal. Both clubs are young and, like Seattle Prep a week earlier, will benefit from the tournament experience, particularly when it results in a trophy.
Our Complete 2006 State 4A Tournament Coverage Menu:
4A Tournament Gallery
Dozens of images from one of the most competitive State 4A tournaments in years, starting from the championship game and moving back to the beginning.
Elite 11: Tigers Roar
Lewis and Clark had the best combination of size, guard play, defense and coaching in the state this season.
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.
Practice Makes ... Third
Dara Zack practiced for the moment and came through for University, earning the Titans their highest finish at State.
'Desperation Mode' for Ike
After a quarterfinal loss, Eisenhower tossed all inhibitions aside, and plotted a course to fourth place.
Block Party for T-Birds
Mount Tahoma's unorthodox, frantic style, led by Shauniece Samms' shot-blocking, powered the T-Birds through the consolation bracket for a fifth-place finish.
Big and Defensive
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
There is so much to fear from the four 4A semifinalists, it's difficult to choose which to fear most.
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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Glenn Nelson is the publisher of HoopGurlz.com and the editor-in-chief of Scout Media (www.Scout.com), an online sports network and magazine-publishing company and subsidiary of Fox Interactive Media. Glenn also founded and coached
the Dragons and Northwest HoopGurlz select girls basketball teams. He previously was a longtime, national-award-winning basketball columnist and writer for The Seattle
Times. His work also has appeared in several national magazines and books. He is co-author of "Rising Stars: The Ten Best Players in the NBA" (Rosen Publishing, 2002).
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