Four teams enter the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association state basketball tournaments this week in hopes of raising a state championship trophy.
Here’s a quick rundown of the each team’s potential path to glory.
No. 5 Raymond (18-2) vs. No. 12 Mabton (18-8)
2B Girls — 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, Spokane Arena
After letting a fourth-quarter lead slip away in a regional-round loss to No. 4 Okanogan, Raymond enters the 2B Girls State Tournament with a win-or-go home game against Mabton.
The Eastern WA Athletic Conference champion Vikings beat No. 13 St. George’s 63-52 in the regional round and placed second in District 5 after suffering an 81-59 loss to No. 2 Warden.
Mabton are led by eighth-grader Alana Zavala (15.2 points per game) and freshman Esmerelda Sanchez (14.7 points per game) for what may be the youngest team to compete in the 2B girls tournament. According to maxpreps.com, Mabton does not have a single junior or senior on its roster.
If Raymond advances past the first round, the Seagulls will face No. 3 Colfax in Thursday’s quarterfinal round exactly 24 hours later.
Success for the Seagulls is dependant how they respond to a rare loss on Saturday, Feb. 26. After letting a six-point fourth quarter lead fall by the wayside in the regional round defeat, Raymond will need to make plays down the stretch to put good teams away if it is to advance to the final four.
No. 16 Willapa Valley (13-9) vs. No. 8 Pomeroy (14-5)
1B Girls — 9 p.m. Wednesday, Spokane Arena
The tournament’s Cinderella team — Willapa Valley — hopes to keep its glass slipper on a little longer when the Vikings open up tournament play with a first-round girls basketball game against No. 8 Pomeroy.
The Vikings pulled the upset of the regional round with a convincing 42-25 win over a bigger No. 9 Moses Lake Christian/Covenant Christian team.
In Pomeroy, the Vikings are facing a team that nearly pulled off an even bigger upset in the regionals after taking No. 1 Mount Vernon Christian to the brink in a 37-34 loss.
The Pirates have some height with three players 5-foot-10 or taller and, similar to the Vikings, play a defensive-minded game.
But length didn’t seem to matter in Willapa Valley’s regional win as the Vikings grit and determination — as well as a big-time, double-double performance by senior Lanissa Amacher — led to victory.
Offense has been hard to come by at times for the Vikings this season and if they are to survive and advance to the quarterfinals, they’ll need players, such as Chayse Coady, Ana Sanchez and Brooklyn Patrick to step up much as they did in the regional victory.
A daunting task, but doable as the Vikings have shown.
No. 4 Willapa Valley (20-4) vs. No. 11 Naselle (16-8)/No. 3 Northwest Yeshiva (15-3)
1B Boys — 9 a.m. Thursday, Spokane Arena
To the victor go the spoils, and in the case of the Willapa Valley Vikings, that means skip the first round and go straight to the state quarterfinals in boys basketball.
With the Vikings downing No. 5 Sunnyside Christian 65-59 in the regionals last weekend, Willapa Valley skips the elimination round and now has one less game to get through in what is typically a taxing tournament, with teams playing a game per day over the four-day tournament.
Naselle and the Vikings are very familiar, having faced each other three times this season with the Vikings winning all three games, including a 67-40 victory in the District 4 title game.
District 1/2/3 champion Northwest Yeshiva stumbled in the regionals, falling to No. 6 Moses Lake Christian/Covenant Christian 61-61 on Saturday, Feb. 26.
Willapa Valley has an excellent opportunity to make it to the state’s final four. The Vikings are deep, balanced and play an unselfish game of team basketball on both ends of the floor that can be a headache for opposing coaching staffs to game plan against.
Six Vikings score seven or more points per game, led by junior sharpshooter Riley Pearson (13 points per game) and senior leader Tyler Adkins (11.9 points per game), but Willapa Valley has had anywhere from eight to nine different players step up and make big contributions this season.
The fact that they’ll be well-rested makes them all the more dangerous.
Montesano’s McKynnlie Dalan returned from a knee injury to score 21 points and grab 15 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs to a regional round victory over Zillah. Montesano opens 1A state tournament play Thursday in Yakima.
No. 4 Montesano vs. No. 11 King’s (14-7)/No. 6 Freeman (16-6) winner
1A Girls — 3:45 p.m. Thursday, Yakima Valley Sundome
For a team that rolled through its regular season and district playoff schedule, the past two games have been anything but easy for the Montesano Bulldogs girls basketball team.
Yet, they find a way to win regardless of whatever adversity is thrown their way.
Monte got a huge boost with the return of all-league standout junior forward McKynnlie Dalan in a 59-52 regional round win over No. 5 Zillah on Saturday, Feb. 26.
And the Bulldogs needed her more than they would know as two-time 1A Evergreen League MVP Paige Lisherness sat most of the game due to foul trouble.
Though it didn’t happen much in the regionals, when Dalan and Lisherness are on the floor together, Montesano has been near unbeatable this season, hammering other teams on the boards and scoring points in the paint.
But when the game’s are close, Montesano relies on its pressure defense, the same defense where guards Jaiden King and Maia Young each recorded clutch steals in the last 30 seconds to secure the win over Zillah.
One area the Bulldogs need to clean up is its free-throw shooting, as their past few games have been closer than necessary due to shooting a combined 25-for-59 (42 percent) from the foul line.
King’s placed third in the Emerald Sound League this season and beat No. 14 Bellevue Christian 46-27 to advance to the state tournament.
Freeman, the reigning Northwest League and District 7 champions, are in the midst of a six-game winning streak and are led by 6-foot-3 junior Jaycee Goldsmith’s 13.7 points per game.
For the first time since late in the regular season, Montesano will be healthy with Dalan, Lisherness, King and a its contingent of contributors available for Thursday’s quarterfinal.
