State slates set for 7 local squads

YAKIMA, Wash. — State basketball action picks up in earnest on Wednesday, with Davis heading off to the Class 4A tournament at the Tacoma Dome, the La Salle girls and White Swan boys taking the court at the Spokane Arena for the 2B tourney and four SCAC West teams — two in the boys tourney and two in the girls — joining the Class 1A party at the Yakima SunDome.

The Davis boys (20-7) are making their first trip to the Class 4A state tournament since 2004, and they’ll open play in the Tacoma Dome at noon Wednesday against Decatur (17-9). Decatur is a tournament regular that has earned its fourth consecutive tournament berth, but after starting the season 5-0, the Gators have gone 12-9 since, including losing three of their last six games.

The Davis-Decatur winner will advance to a quarterfinal meeting against the winner of an opening-round matchup between No. 7 Jackson and No. 9 Skyline.

Fans of local 1A teams won’t have to wait long, with the undefeated Granger boys (22-0), ranked second behind only Chelan in the final Associated Press poll, opening at 9 a.m. against Lakeside (11-13), with the winner facing a likely quarterfinal date with No. 6 King’s (19-6).

Mabton (15-8), SCAC district runnerup to the Spartans, will face perennial power Bellevue Christian (17-6) at 7:30 p.m., just before the game that will be — at least for the bulk of the state’s prep basketball fans — Wednesday’s most awaited first-round matchup.

The 9 a.m. boys game pits No. 1 Chelan (23-1) against defending champion Vashon (20-3), the only other team to hold the top ranking all season long. The Pirates fell from the top spot after losing in Nisqually League play to Cascade Christian, and then lost to the Cougars again in Tri-District play.

On the girls side, SCAC district champion Granger (21-1) drew a 12:30 p.m. first-rounder Vashon Island (18-7), a team the fourth-ranked Spartans beat 48-28 at the SunDome on Dec. 18. Zillah (15-8), which has come on strong in the latter half of the season, will play at 7:30 p.m. against one of the favorites, No. 3 Freeman (22-1).

In Class 2B at the Spokane Arena, the top-ranked La Salle girls (20-2) will open at 2 p.m. against Evergreen Lutheran, while the White Swan boys (18-4) get the early wakeup call for the 9 a.m. game against Soap Lake.

4A Boys
At Tacoma Dome
Auburn vs. Gonzaga Prep, 9 a.m.
Stanwood vs. Federal Way, 10:30 a.m.
Davis vs. Decatur, noon
Jackson vs. Skyline, 2 p.m.
Walla Walla vs. Lincoln, 3:30 p.m.
Wilson vs. Lake Washington, 5 p.m.
Eastlake vs. Lake Stevens, 7 p.m.
Kentwood vs. Mead, 8:30 p.m.

4A Girls
At Tacoma Dome
Rogers (Puyallup) vs. Lake Stevens, 9 a.m.
Lewis & Clark vs. Issaquah, 10:30 a.m.
Edmonds-Woodway vs. Auburn Riverside, noon
Federal Way vs. Chiawana, 2 p.m.
Newport vs. Kentwood, 3:30 p.m.
Puyallup vs. Mead, 5 p.m.
Marysville-Pilchuck vs. Garfield, 7 p.m.
Moses Lake vs. Bellarmine Prep, 8:30 p.m.

1A Boys
At Yakima Valley SunDome
Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) vs. Granger, 9 a.m.
King’s vs. Toledo, 10:30 a.m.
Nooksack Valley vs. Freeman, 12:30 p.m.
Ilwaco vs. Meridian, 2 p.m.
Lake Roosevelt vs. Cascade Christian, 4 p.m.
Burbank vs. Onalaska, 5:30 p.m.
Mabton vs. Bellevue Christian, 7:30 p.m.
Vashon Island vs. Chelan, 9 p.m.

1A Girls
At Yakima Valley SunDome
Cedar Park Christian vs. Okanogan, 9 a.m.
Connell vs. Seattle Christian, 10:30 a.m.
Vashon Island vs. Granger, 12:30 p.m.
Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) VS. Toledo, 2 p.m.
Chelan vs. Bellevue Christian, 4 p.m.
Lynden Christian vs. Rainier, 5:30 p.m.
Zillah vs. Freeman, 7:30 p.m.
Onalaska vs. Nooksack Valley, 9 p.m.

2B Boys
At Spokane Arena
Soap Lake vs. White Swan, 9 a.m.
Pe Ell vs. Bear Creek, 10:30 a.m.
Waitsburg-Prescott vs. Napavine, 12:30 p.m.
Life Christian vs. Davenport, 2 p.m.
LaConner vs. Toutle Lake, 4 p.m.
Asotin vs. Entiat, 5:30 p.m.
Willapa Valley vs. Chief Leschi, 7:30 p.m.
Colfax vs. Liberty Christian, 9 p.m.

2B Girls
At Spokane Arena
Napavine vs. Darrington, 9 a.m.
Reardan vs. Entiat, 10:30 a.m.
Liberty Chr. vs. NW Christian (Lacey), 12:30 p.m.
Evergreen Lutheran vs. La Salle, 2 p.m.
Orcas Island vs. Wahkiakum, 4 p.m.
DeSales vs. Colfax, 5:30 p.m.
Toutle Lake vs. Tacoma Baptist, 7:30 p.m.
Liberty Bell vs. Asotin, 9 p.m.

Leland was a Valley Legend

Educator was a fixture on the fairways, lanes ||

YAKIMA, Wash. — By all accounts, Hazel Leland was an exemplary educator. She was thorough in her knowledge of whatever she taught, and effective in her ability to convey it to students.

Leland also was a keen competitor, winning the Women’s City golf championship no fewer than seven times and also claiming numerous bowling honors.

So perhaps it was this marvelous mix — educator, communicator and competitor — that made Leland an authentic Valley legend.

“I went to YVC (Yakima Valley College) to play baseball,” said one of her former students, Davis teacher and coach Pete Orgill. “But she inspired me and gave me a love for health education. And now I’ve been teaching it for 35 years.”

Leland, who passed away Feb. 19 at age 84, no doubt had similar impacts on countless students she encountered during her teaching and coaching career at Yakima High School and YVC — now Davis High and Yakima Valley Community College — respectively.

Born in Superior, Wis., Leland came to Yakima in 1948 to join the high school’s faculty. The following year she encountered a student teacher from Washington State named Bill Faller.

“She gave importance to what she was teaching,” said Faller, who himself became a teacher and coach of legend at YVCC. “I think she had the same approach to her activity classes. She was very serious about the modern dance classes she taught, and she taught bowling, golf and badminton, too. When she retired, I took over her badminton classes.”

A graduate of Bemidji State University (Minn.) in 1948, Leland was inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame in 1980. She earned her master’s degree from Central Washington University and taught at Yakima High from 1948-57 and at YVC from 1957-87. Leland was YVC’s men’s golf coach from 1957-62.

She also had a contagious enthusiasm, one which transcended the classroom.

Jerry Ward, also a YVCC colleague, recalled in an e-mail that when his first daughter was born in 1971, he passed out cigars in the faculty lounge and that Leland was the only one to light up.

That story drew a hearty laugh from yet another of Leland’s contemporaries, Bobo Brayton.

“I never knew Hazel to smoke or drink,” he said in a telephone interview from his ranch outside Pullman, “but that sounds like her. What a wonderful woman to work with. I taught with Hazel for five years at the high school, then another five at the college. Great gal, great teacher.”

Brayton recalled that Leland and Mabel Sherar were faculty members at Yakima High. The college gymnasium now bears Glen Sherar’s name.

“She really loved what she was teaching,” Orgill said, “and I could tell I wasn’t the only person in the class who felt that way. I’d even call her at her house at night with questions, and she was glad to answer them.

“And I’m just one person. Imagine how she’s affected others, and how she’s affected the whole world. She’s changed it. She made it a better place.”

Ward mentioned in his e-mail that Leland’s concern for his family was not extinguished with her celebratory cigar.

“Hazel always asked me about Julie over the years,” he said.

It has become popular among educators to implore their students to “make a difference.”

Hazel Leland made a difference.

And she did so for many, many people over a very long time.

Vikings make most of middle

Central men lose big early lead, but rally back to make it interesting ||

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Central Washington both started and finished strong in its regionally televised matchup with Western Washington on Sunday night.

In between, however, the Vikings had much the better of the action, and dealt the Wildcats a 90-86 GNAC defeat in Sam Carver Gymnasium.

Central’s loss, its fourth straight to its archrival and 15th in the last 22 meetings, left it 9-5 in conference play and 15-9 overall. The Wildcats were ranked seventh in last week’s NCAA Division II West Region poll and must finish in the top eight to make the playoffs.

Western, ranked 22nd nationally and second regionally, improved to 11-4 and 24-5.

“During the middle of the game we didn’t rebound very well,” CWU coach Greg Sparling said, “and we wanted to go inside more and didn’t. But the kids battled back in a very tough environment and on live TV, and I’m very happy about that.”

Jon Clift’s 23 points led four Wildcats in double figures, but Central was without junior guard Humberto Perez, its fifth-leading scorer, who’s out for the season with a broken hand.

Central scored the first 11 points to temporarily calm a raucous, sellout crowd, but the Vikings recovered to take a 44-36 halftime lead. WWU’s advantage reached 16 in the second half and was 80-70 with 54 seconds to play.

The Wildcats staged one final, frenzied burst fueled by four 3-pointers — two each by Clift and Toussaint Tyler. But Western, which was 30 for 35 from the foul line including 26 of 29 in the second half, made 10 of 11 free throws down the stretch.

Morris Anderson’s 22 points led the Vikings, who also got 17 points from Harold McAllister and 13 points and 10 boards from Rory Blanche. The latter two were reserves who helped WWU’s bench to a 47-11 scoring advantage.

“We extended the game,” Sparling said, “and if they’d missed a couple of free throws we might have closed it out. But what we have to do now is win our last two and give ourselves a chance to make the playoffs.”

The Wildcats close their regular season with home games Thursday night against MSU Billings and Saturday night against Saint Martin’s.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON — J.C. Cook 5-12 1-2 15, Sivak 3-6 1-2 7, Chris Sprinker 6-11 0-1 12, Jon Clift 7-15 4-6 23, Toussaint Tyler 7-13 2-2 18, Snowden 0-2 0-0 0, Clyde 3-3 1-2 7, Miller 1-3 0-1 2, Gibler 1-4 0-0 2, Nelson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-69 10-16 86.

WESTERN WASHINGTON — Webb 2-8 4-4 8, Zach Bruce 5-6 0-2 10, Vanderjagt 0-2 3-4 3, Morris Anderson 7-18 6-6 22, Ready 0-2 0-0 0, Harold McAllister 4-6 6-8 17, Rory Blanche 3-7 6-6 13, Cameron Severson 4-8 5-5 14, Mitchell 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 26-58 30-35 90.

Halftime — WWU 44, CWU 36. 3-point goals — CWU 10-20 (Cook 3-6, Clift 5-9, Tyler 2-4, Snowden 0-1); WWU 8-17 (Webb 0-2, Anderson 2-6, McAllister 3-5, Blanche 1-1, Severson 1-2, Mitchell 1-1). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — CWU 31 (Tyler 7, Clyde 5); WWU 44 (Blanche 10, Severson 7). Assists — CWU 11 (Clift 5); WWU 11 (Anderson 4, McAllister 4); Turnovers — CWU 9, WWU 14. Total fouls — CWU 25, WWU 16.

CWU splits with Western Oregon

ELLENSBURG, Wash. — Samantha Petrich and Kelsey Haupert combined for eight RBI in the first game of a doubleheader to help Central Washington’s fastpitch team to a split with Western Oregon.

Central won the first game 10-5, while dropping the second 9-5.

Haupert added two more RBI in the second game for the Wildcats (1-3, 1-1).

Game 1

Western Oregon    100    400    0    —    5    8    3
C. Washington       300    043    x    —    10    8    0
Lessard, Reeves (6), White (6) and Bogardus. Hadenfeld, Reime (4) and Carter. HR — WOU, Rueck (1), Lessard (1). CWU,  Samantha Petrich (1).

Game 2

Western Orgon    500    301    0    —    9    11    0
C. Washington     002    201    0    —    5    8    2
Wood, Albrecht (4), Reeves (6) and Bogardus. Baxter, Reime (4) and Carter. HR — WOU, Sutherland (1).

Chico State sweeps Central

CHICO, Calif. — Chico State maintained its torrid hitting Sunday, beating Central Washington 14-9 and 20-1 to sweep a four game series.

Johnny Ray followed up his three home-run performance from Saturday by hitting another in the first game Sunday.

Central’s Kevin Walkenhauer hit his first homer of the season in the fourth inning of the first game.

In the second game Adrian Bringas had four RBI for Chico State (10-2), while Michael Schultz contributed three more.

In the four games, Central (2-8) was outscored 70-13.

Game 1

C. Washington    010    241    000    —    9    10    3
Chico State            321    021    14x    —    14    12    2
Stultz, McCanna (3) and Hammons. Lindebaum, Calhoun (5), Lechuga (5), Waldron (6), Fowler (9), Edelbrock (9) and Leon, Manlove (7). HR — CWU, Walkenhauer (1). Chico State, Evans (2); Hay (5).

Game 2

C. Washington    000    010    0    —    1    4    4
Chico State           306    245    x    —    20    22    1
Rovegno, Brown (3), Schiller (5), Reed (5) and Evans. Brahney, Newberry (6), Edelbrock (7) and Manlove, Mott (6). HR — Chico State, Bringas.

Knights Stand Tall for Title

Knights withstand rugged St. John-Endicott to claim third 1B title

YAKIMA, Wash. — Steven Broersma, the team’s best scorer, was in foul trouble. Tim De Vries, the team’s only senior, took an elbow to the face and was in and out of the game with a nosebleed.

Sunnyside Christian absorbed other shots too, Saturday night, delivered in the form of hard-nosed competition from St. John-Endicott during the Class 1B state title game in the SunDome.

At the end, however, the Knights were still standing.

 

Especially Steven Bosma, their steel-nerved point guard, who allowed himself an oh-so-slight grin after missing a free throw with his team 3.1 seconds away from its 49-43 victory.

“It almost felt good to miss that one,” the 5-foot-11 junior said while awaiting his turn on the postgame net-cutting ladder. “But that didn’t stop me from making the next one.”

Or five of the previous six, which decisively swung things Sunnyside Christian’s way in a see-saw game and sent third-ranked SC home with its 18th straight win and the school’s sixth state championship.

Among the three 1B crowns won by Sunnyside Christian during the tournament’s four-year existence, none came tougher than this one — Ryker Van Belle’s 2008 shot-heard-round-the-state notwithstanding.

“I knew it was going to be like this,” coach Dean Wagenaar said as his players rushed to greet their families and friends on the court’s perimeter. “I give a great deal of credit to St. John-Endicott for their toughness and their discipline, and there’s a reason they’re whatever they are (13-5) since they got the Miller kid (Warren) back. He’s a stud — an absolute stud.”

PHOTO GALLERY

Click here for more photos from this event

A talented 6-foot-4 senior, Miller recorded game-high totals of 23 points and nine rebounds despite a heavy brace protecting a surgically-repaired right knee that had caused him to miss SJE’s first 10 games.

After the Knights (23-3) had taken a 15-7 advantage, Miller started them back with a field goal and, just before halftime, canned a 3-pointer to bring the Eagles within 21-20.

He added two free throws early in the third quarter for a 24-21 SJE lead. And with 6:14 to play Miller scored a layup off an under-the-basket inbounds pass and sent Broersma to the bench with his fourth foul.

Despite only 21:04 of floor time due to personals, the 6-6 Broersma managed 10 points and five rebounds in support of 11 points each from Bosma and Trevor Wagenaar.

SC, unable to find an offensive rhythm against Eagles’ coach Rick Winters’ man-to-man defense, trailed 32-28 late in the third quarter, but got crucial hoops from Wagenaar, De Vries and Kevin De Jong to hang in.

De Jong’s inside hoop off a Bosma feed pushed SC to a 38-34 edge with 4:38 to play, but Miller’s basket at 2:16 tied it at 40.

Broersma muscled a shot home through a forest of arms at 1:42, however, and after De Jong rebounded an errant Miller three, Bosma began his pressure free throw clinic.

After making one of two at 1:07, he ran down a loose ball and was fouled again seven seconds later. This time Bosma made both for a 45-40 Knights lead.

SJE’s Ben Harrison connected on a deep 3-pointer with 45 seconds left, but Bosma again was fouled and made two at 0:35. Broersma, sent to the line after another Eagle miss was deflected out of bounds to Sunnyside Christian, made one of two for a 48-43 cushion with 27 seconds remaining.

He then rebounded one miscast by SJE (16-12), and wisely got the ball to Bosma for something of a curtain call.

Asked his formula for success, Bosma paused and said, “You’ve just gotta get your legs into it. After that, it’s all mental. You have to be mentally tough.”

Physically, too.

“Our trainer says my nose might be broken,” said De Vries, who kept statistics as an SC freshman and rode the bench as a sophomore. “It still hurts.”

But not as much, obviously, as if the Knights had lost.

“It’s hard,” Wagenaar said. “It’s hard to win state championships. And I’ll tell you, we earned this one. Steven Bosma was rock solid, De Jong worked so hard inside and Ryker came up with some big steals.

“And despite all that, Warren Miller put that team on his back and almost took them all the way home.”

The Eagles might have made it, too, had it not been for Bosma’s poise and his teammates’ perseverance.

SC’s backcourt at the forefront of victory

Knights’ guards key victory over SJE ||

YAKIMA, Wash. — When the teams took the SunDome court for Saturday’s Class 1B boys basketball championship, anyone could see St. John-Endicott didn’t have anyone the stature of Sunnyside Christian’s 6-foot-6 Steven Broersma or 6-foot-5 Kevin De Jong.

By the end of the Knights’ 49-43 victory, though, it was their guards who were standing tall. Because they were the difference in the game.

With Broersma saddled with foul trouble and De Jong shackled by the Eagles’ stingy defenders, the game was ultimately won by guys like guards Steven Bosma (11 points), Tim DeVries (3-for-4 from the field) and Ryker Van Belle (7 points, 6 rebounds, four steals) and forward Trevor Wagenaar, whose 11 points included a 14-footer that ended a 6-0 SJE run and a 15-foot fallaway that broke a fourth-quarter tie.

“The game plan was to try to work the ball inside to our big guys,” said Van Belle. “But they were playing tough ‘D’ inside. They’re a tough team.”

And, on offense, the Eagles were also taking the ball right at Broersma.

“That was the plan going in. To win, we knew we had to get their big guys in foul trouble,” said Eagle senior Warren Miller, whose 23-point, nine-rebound game confirmed his selection as tournament MVP. “We went inside after 51 (Broersma), hoping to get him on the bench with fouls.”

They achieved their desired result — two quick fouls on the Knights’ 6-6 scoring star in the first quarter, a third before halftime and a fourth early in the final period. And with 6:14 remaining in the game, when Broersma picked up foul No. 4, the score was tied 34-34.

On the Knights’ next possesion, Wagenaar found himself in a sticky situation 15 feet from the basket. “The (defensive) guy was in my face, the shot clock was running down,” he said. “I had to do something.”

So he elevated for a fadeaway that found nothing but net. A half-minute later, Bosma made an assist dish inside to De Young for a basket and a four-point lead, but Miller came right back with back-to-back scores to knot the game again. It was 40-40 when, with only 1:45 remaining, the 5-9 Van Belle found himself in the lane among the long-limbed tall guys, and went up — but not to shoot. Instead, he hit a perfectly-timed pass to Broersma for an easy layup.

“That was pretty big,” Van Belle said. “That got the momentum going back our way.”

It also gave the Knights a lead they never relinquished. They made six of eight free throws down the stretch to put the game away.

And those guards? The little guys?

Sunnyside Christian coach Dean Wagenaar grinned at the question.

“They were huge.”

2/27/10 Sunnyside Christian-St. John-Endicott Photo Gallery

Photos from Saturday’s Class 1B boys state championship game between Sunnyside Christian and St. John-Endicott in the Yakima Valley SunDome in Yakima, Wash.

A Win-Win Situation for SC, Bickleton

YAKIMA, Wash. — Winners or losers, it didn’t matter.

There were smiles on the faces of all the players after Saturday’s fourth-place game in the Class 1B girls state basketball tournament.

For the victorious Sunnyside Christian Knights, the reason was obvious — a fourth straight state trophy for this group of seven seniors and 12th overall following their 53-35 victory over Bickleton in the SunDome.

“Because of that, this was very important,” said guard Julie Long, who scored 11 points and was one of those seniors who never failed to reach a Saturday at state. “We knew this was our last time out and we wanted to make sure we left it all out there on the court.

 

“It’s been great; I’ll miss it for sure.”

On the other side, the Bickleton Pirates were smiling because they had come much farther than anyone had expected after ending a 29-year state drought, winding up seventh — their fifth trophy in as many state trips.

“We came here to get a trophy and we’re leaving happy,” said junior forward Katelynn Clinton, who capped a stellar four days with a tremendous all-around game that featured 21 points, nine rebounds, four blocked shots and three steals.

PHOTO GALLERY

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“This is just a wonderful feeling,” Clinton continued. “I’m so proud of the girls. They played hard and they never gave up.”

Saturday’s game was well-contested, but in the end, the experienced Knights bested their Greater Columbia 1B League rivals for the fourth time this season — although this was the closest of those contests.

“Actually, we didn’t,” Long said of underestimating Bickleton because of that past success. “The amount we’ve won by has been less and less each time.”

Saturday, Bickleton (18-9) held its own for 20 of the 32 minutes, outscoring the Knights (19-8) 29-27 in that time. However, that 12-minute span — starting late in the first quarter and spilling into the early portion of the third quarter — doomed any upset hopes the Pirates harbored after grabbing a 7-4 lead.

Sunnyside Christian started the 26-4 run with 10 straight points, including four each from senior posts Renee Dalrymple and Marisa Broersma, and closed it with a 14-0 burst, including six more from Dalrymple, who led the Knights with 12 points.

“We had a shaky start, but after that it flowed,” said Dalrymple, soaking in the postgame celebration. “With all these seniors, it was really important for us to get this trophy but to also just enjoy the moment.”

“We really wanted to beat Sunnyside Christian, but that second quarter just killed us,” Clinton said.

“We probably played better in the first, third and fourth quarters than we ever have against Sunnyside Christian,” Bickleton coach Emily Barnhart said. “They’ve been to state and know … what it takes, but it was fun for us to complete like that today.”

As the players filed out to find family and friends, each coach was left with a different view of their girls.

Knights coach Smeenk paused to look back and reflect on this senior group’s work ethic and accomplishments.

“That’s probably the hardest part — saying goodbye to all those seniors,” Smeenk said. “We figured that those players have put in about 400 days in the gym since they started. They’ve worked hard for what they’ve accomplished.

“We’ve had a great time, and it’s been a great experience.”

Barnhart’s vision was towards the future with a team that has just three seniors, and returns Clinton and starting point guard Star Kibby.

“This prepares us for next season,” she said. “I’m sure the girls want to come back, and this experience has let them see what it takes and how to prepare.

“We’ve already accomplished a lot of goals, and I think we’ve got a chance to be even better next year.”

2/27/10 Sunnyside Christian-Bickleton Photo Gallery

Photos from Saturday’s Class 1B girls state fourth-place game between Sunnyside Christian and Bickleton in the Yakima Valley SunDome in Yakima, Wash.

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