The Daily World
Montesano’s boys will be facing an unfamiliar foe. Taholah’s boys and girls will be featured in what amounts to a high-stakes co-ed doubleheader.
Those three teams will be traveling east of the mountains for state basketball competition beginning Wednesday.
Montesano (20-5) will face the Northwest School of Seattle (18-4) in a state 1A boys opener scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Yakima SunDome.
Somewhat incredibly, both Taholah teams will open against Almira-Coulee/Hartline in the state 2B tournament at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena.
The Chitwhin (19-3) and ACH (18-6) boys will collide at 2 p.m, while the Taholah (17-5) and ACH (22-3) girls are scheduled to take the court at 5:30 p.m.
Immediately after Saturday’s win over Northwest Yeshiva, Taholah head coach Karl Braden was concerned about the size ACH would bring onto the court. But after getting some time to scout his next opponent, his sights turned to the Warriors’ talented guard, Gabi Isaak. Isaak has been the leading scorer for her team this season and will present a challenging matchup for players like Denise Curleybear, who may have to deal with Isaak’s scoring ability at the guard position.
ACH has had the habit of slowing down its opponent’s offense, which could make Wednesday’s matchup a low-scoring affair.
Braden said he dosen’t want his team to squander any opportunities to put up points by giving away the ball.
“We need to focus on turnovers, and we need to to focus on trying to break the press,” he said. “We kind of fell apart there for a while, two of our starters were out against Yeshiva in the third quarter.”
Circumstances conspired to create an interesting coincidence in which Taholah’s boys will also play ACH and have to deal with a talented player named Isaak.
Maguire Isaak is leading the ACH boys with almost 18 points a game and and 4.7 assists. In addition to the offense provided by Isaak, the Warriors boast some size and scoring with 6-foot-4 Payton Nielsen, who’s averaging 14.3 and 10.6 rebounds.
Taholah head coach Mike Rose said his boys will need to be preared to deal with some mismatches inside and pointed out that his guards will have to close quickly on ACH’s shooters on the perimeter.
“They do a lot of inside lobs. They have a couple of kids around 6-foot-4, so they have a good inside game, but they have a couple of guys who can shoot from the outside too.”
All three Grays Harbor teams are initially in the single-elimination phase of the two-tiered tournaments. Wednesday’s games will thus be loser-out, with the winners advancing to the double-elimination bracket on Thursday. The state tourneys in all classifications run through Saturday.
Montesano-Northwest isn’t exactly a traditional state match-up. The Bulldogs are making their first tournament appearance in boys basketball since 1982. Northwest, an independent day and boarding school that features an international enrollment, will be making its state debut.
While the Emerald City League, which Northwest won this season, has traditionally not ranked among the state’s toughest, the Seattle club has fared well this year against upper-division foes. Northwest owns victories over a pair of Seattle Metro League teams, Ballard and Roosevelt, and lost by only six (70-64) to Lynden Christian, the state’s top-seeded 1A team.
Northwest also possesses one of the state’s most unusual mascots — the House.
Isaiah Jeannot, a 6-foot-4 senior, was his league’s Most Valuable Player award recipient. Jamie Cockburn, a 6-3 senior, scored 16 points in Saturday’s 69-51 regional loss to Zillah.
“They’re big, they’re athletic and they’re quick,” Montesano coach Doug Galloway said after scouting Saturday’s regional contest. “I think they like to run, but they don’t mind slowing down because they do have good size. They’re patient and they can shoot from the perimeter.”
The Bulldogs don’t plan any significant deviation in their standard game plan in an effort to take it to the House.
“We have to keep in front of them, we have to take care of the ball and we have to rebound,” Galloway said. “As always, we’d like to get out and run a little bit.”
With the exception of the final three quarters of a district semifinal loss to King’s Way Christian, the Bulldogs have played some of their best basketball of the season of late. They possess a multitude of weapons, with seniors Trevor Ridgway and L.J. Valley and Seth Dierkop and sophomores Sam Winter and Tanner Nicklas sharing the scoring load.
“I think we’re communicating better defensively, whether it’s verbal or non-verbal,” Galloway observed. “And I think we’re doing a better job of blocking out.”
The winner of Wednesday’s game will face fourth-seeded Royal in Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Pairings:
Class 1A Boys
Wednesday
9 a.m. — Montesano vs. Northwest School. 10:30 a.m. — King’s Way Christian vs. Cascade Christian. 12:15 p.m. — Mount Baker vs. Bellevue Christian. 2 p.m. — King’s vs. Newport.
Thursday
9 a.m. — Winner Montesano-Northwest vs. Royal. 10:30 a.m. — Winner King’s Way-Cascade Christian vs. Lynden Christian. 12:15 p.m. — Winner Mount Baker-Bellevue Christian vs. Zillah. 2 p.m. — Winner King’s-Newport vs. Freeman.
Class 1B Boys
Wednesday
9 a.m. — Tulalip Heritage vs. Cedar Park Christian (Mountlake Terrace). 10:30 a.m. — Naselle vs. Tacoma Baptist. 12:15 p.m. — Mount Rainier Lutheran vs. Pomeroy. 2 p.m. — Taholah vs. Almira-Coulee/Hartline.
Thursday
9 a.m. — Winner Tulalip-Cedar Park vs. Yakama Tribal. 10:30 a.m. – Winner Naselle-Tacoma Baptist vs. Sunnyside Christian. 12:15 p.m. — Winner Mount Rainier Lutheran-Pomeroy vs. Odessa. 2 p.m. — Winner Taholah-ACH vs. Muckleshoot Tribal.
Class 1B Girls
Wednesday
3:45 p.m. — Yakama Tribal vs. Selkirk. 5:30 p.m. — Taholah vs. Almira-Coulee/Hartline. 7:15 p.m. — Columbia Adventist vs. Mount Vernon Christian. 9 p.m. — Entiat vs. Mount Rainier Lutheran.
Thursday
3:45 p.m., — Winner Yakama Tribal vs. Sunnyside Christian. 5:30 p.m. — Winner Taholah-ACH vs. Colton. 7:15 p.m. — Winner Columbia Adventist-Mount Vernon Christian vs. Neah Bay. 9 p.m. — Winner Entiat-Mount Rainier Lutheran vs. Pomeroy.
