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Elma's Brandi
Thomas, shown here against Prosser in last year's state
tournament in the SunDome, is headed to Washington State
University to play for the Cougars.
GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic
file |
"This bunch really does stay loose and that's a big
help," said Carlon, whose Eagles bring a 22-0 record to the SunDome for the
Class 2A state tournament. "As coaches we use that, and remind them that the
most important game is the next game."
In a tournament as deep and loaded as many can remember
in recent years, one would think a 22-0 team filled with juniors might be in
for a rude awakening.
With these juniors, think again.
When they were mostly sophomores last year, the Eagles
flew into the SunDome under the radar and quickly made a name for themselves
with a third-place trophy, losing only to eventual champion Lynden in the
semifinals.
Bouncing back from that semi loss, West Valley defeated
Prosser 63-49 with all but four points coming from underclassmen.
"Prosser was an excellent team and for our kids to
respond like that really carried into this season," Carlon said.
The Eagles, led by the 6-foot junior tandem of Shanique
Nilles and Hannah Love, has three wins over '09 state placer Pullman, the
most recent coming in the district final, 41-35.
"Every Pullman game came down to the last minute and a
half," Carlon noted. "The kids have shown they're pretty tough in those
situations. But there are so many good teams -- Archbishop Murphy, River
Ridge, Elma -- they're all very capable in my eyes."
Archbishop Murphy (21-2) started the season with losses
to 3A Mercer Island and 4A Kamiak and hasn't dropped one since.
The Wildcats were 26-0 last year before losing the
state-title game to Lynden and they graduated three starters. But coach John
Barhanovich reloaded with five senior starters, including college-bound
Shelby Lyman (Cornell) and Samantha Pettinger (Pacific).
"They're an experienced group and very unselfish --
that's been the driving force behind our record," Barhanovich said. "We
played extremely well in district and in the final (beating
Burlington-Edison 53-43) I'm not sure if we played a better game all season.
As a coach you wonder, can we keep that going?"
Trouble is, West Valley and Archbishop Murphy play in
the final two games Wednesday, meaning they could meet in Thursday's
quarterfinals.
Which is good news for River Ridge (22-1), which plays
in Wednesday's 9 a.m. opener and resides in the opposite semifinal bracket
from the evening heavyweights.
The Hawks, who were 2A state champs in 2007 and '08,
started 18-0 before taking their lone loss of the season against Chehalis.
River Ridge was 0-2 at state last year but returned all five starters under
new coach Tom Kelly, who took over after 20 years at White Pass.
The fast-paced Hawks own three wins over Elma (19-4),
which placed fourth last year and returns WSU-bound Brandi Thomas.
