In the tropical heat of Auburn High School’s Gym #3, the D-1 Elite girls took to the court against the Washington Swarm in a game that came down to the wire. From the opening minutes, it was obvious that it would be a close game; though both teams scored within the first minute of the game, they remained at a stalemate for over seven minutes. Continue reading…
In the opening minutes of Sunday afternoon’s game at Sumner High, before the score keepers had even figured out how to add points to the scoreboard, the Swarm jumped out to a 4-0 lead against the girls of WEST Academy. However, WEST quickly regrouped and formed a stout, physical defense holding the Swarm scoreless for the next five minutes, while sinking their own two free throws. (4-2) Continue reading…
For the state title, the Richland Gunners and Tahoma Bears hit the hardwood (or something very similar in appearance) on a court in the Spokane Convention Center. It must have been about the final game played in the tournament, because when I looked up from the action in the second half, I realized that the surrounding courts in the cavernous hall were all deserted, and all remaining eyes were on this game. Continue reading…
In their final game of the tournament, the Lake Washington Kangs lined up against the Inglemoor Vikings on court 12 of the Spokane Convention Center. The two teams were well matched; both athletic, and only a couple of the Kangs players were significantly taller than the Vikings. As the first half got under way, defense didn’t appear to be the priority for either team, but the score remained tight: 11-11 after the first six minutes, and at halftime, the scoreboard read 24-20, with the Kangs just ahead, though there was some dispute about the board’s accuracy. Continue reading…
On Saturday evening, the Woodinville Lady Falcons met Vikings on one of the dozen courts checkered across the floor of the Spokane Convention Center. Last November, these two teams met and the Vikings won in an unusually low-scoring game (19-15), and it appeared during the first half that we were in for another close battle-of-the-defenses. After the first eleven minutes of the game, the Viking’s #1 lofted in her layup to tie the game at 10-10, and although the Falcons pulled ahead in the final minutes of the half, the difference was still just a single shot coming out of halftime (13-15). Continue reading…
Under the yellow lights of the Valley Christian gym on Saturday afternoon, the Tahoma 7th grade girls faced off against a strong team from Issaquah. Through the opening minutes of the game, it looked as though the game would be a close one: Tahoma scored early, but the Eagles evened the score up at 8-8 and again at 10-10. Continue reading…
Keeping with tradition for St. Patrick’s Day morning, a rejuvenated Vikings team trekked out to the green-walled gym of Salk Middle School to take on the Meadowdale Mavericks. Again, Inglemoor got out to a strong start, leading 6-0 after three minutes of play, and building their lead to 14-2 with six minutes to go in the half. In the closing minutes of the first half, though, Meadowdale held the Vikings scoreless and started fighting their way back, closing the gap to 14-5 at halftime. Continue reading…
Friday evening, the Vikings and Rip City kicked off the state tournament in the moody light of Spokane’s Warehouse athletic center. It was a physical game, and the referees didn’t even attempt to rein it in. Girls on both sides of the ball grabbed arms, pushed, and fought their way to the net. Inglemoor started out strong, building a 10-5 lead, but the Lapwai girls caught up midway through the half and kept the score close through halftime. Continue reading…
On Sunday afternoon, in their third game of the weekend, the Vikings faced the Lancers of Kennedy Catholic at Inglemoor High School. Despite an uncontested tip-off, the Lancers quickly jumped out to a 6-0 lead after just a minute and a half of play, hitting three from the paint and relying heavily on muscle on defense. After some adjustments, though, the Vikings closed the gap to a single point (6-5) with about two minutes left in the quarter. But the Kennedy Girls were not through, and in the remaining two minutes of the quarter, they put nine more on the board, closing the quarter ahead by 10 (15-5). Continue reading…
On Tuesday, the Gateway Guardians hosted the Evergreen Timberwolves in a game that started out slowly, with Gateway playing strong defense but slumping on shooting. Evergreen hit two free-throws over the course of the quarter, leading the scoring 2-0 at the end of the first. Continue reading…