Tonight (2/15): Hawks play for fifth straight district title; Bears and Blazers continue districts in Tacoma
Brad Wallace and the Hawks play for their fifth straight district title
Marcus Pavilion at Saint Martin’s hosts the District IV basketball championship games today beginning with the girls game at 6:00 PM between the #1 and #2 ranked teams in the state, Mark Morris and WF West, followed by River Ridge and Mark Morris for the second year in a row.
The Hawks have won four straight district titles and have appeared in the final game five straight years, their last loss coming in 2008 to Mark Morris. The Hawks enter tonight’s game at 16-6 overall having won 14 straight games, their last loss coming on December 14th to Capital.
Mark Morris has won six straight games, their last loss coming in a non-conference game against Lynden on the Marcus Pavilion court on January 19th. The Monarchs are 17-5 overall and lost just one game in the GSHL this season.
Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 PM.
In 4A district action, Olympia travels to Curtis High School in Tacoma to take on Union in a loser out game at 6:00 PM. Olympia fell to Tahoma in the first round on Wednesday while Union nearly completed an 18 point comeback before Todd Beamer pulled away for a 76-63 win. Union is 15-7 overall and 9-1 in the 4A GSHL.
After knocking off Auburn Mountainview on Wednesday, Timberline now faces a Lakes team that is 15-7 overall and finished 7-3 in the 3A SPSL and have won four straight. Their last loss came to Auburn Mountainview on January 25th. Tip-off at Franklin Pierce High School in Tacoma is set for 6:00 PM.
Thursday scoreboard: Shorthanded Saints battle but fall to #2 Western
Men’s basketball
Western Washington 76, Saint Martin’s 60 – Recap from SMUSaints.com
Wednesday scoreboard: Blazers, Hawks advance; Titans top Clippers twice
Boys basketball
4A West Central/SW Bi-District
Tahoma 68, Olympia 57
Olympia’s Brendan Leonard scored 19 points and Alex Johnson added 13 but Tahoma pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 68-57 win in Kent. Olympia drops into the consolation bracket and will face Union at Curtis High School in Tacoma on Friday night.
3A West Central/SW Bi-District
Timberline 53, Auburn Mountainview 40
Timberline kept their season alive with a 53-40 win over Auburn Mountainview at Franklin Pierce High School. Donaven Dorsey led the Blazers with 17 points and Elijah Sanders added 11. Timberline moves on to face Lakes on Friday night at Franklin Pierce.
2A District IV
River Ridge 46, WF West 39
Mark Morris 70, Capital 58
Washougal 59, Tumwater 52
With a trip to the District IV title game on the line, River Ridge and WF West were tied at 35 after three quarters. But the Bearcats went cold in the fourth and the Hawks left Centralia with a 46-39 win and will defend their District title on Friday night at Saint Martin’s. Brad Wallace scored 24 points in the win in while Brock Wade put up 27 for the Bearcats.
Keenan Williams scored 18 points for Capital but after a close first quarter, Mark Morris took control to take a 70-58 decision to move into the District title game. Jared Eidenmuller added 14 points for the Cougars who drop into the consolation bracket and will face a loser out game against Washougal on Saturday night in Longview.
Despite 15 points from David Cooper, Tumwater’s season came to an end with a 59-52 loss to Washougal.
Men’s basketball
Tacoma 76, SPSCC 69 – Box score
AJ Fuller scored 18 points and Scotty Ewing added 14 points in South Puget Sound’s 76-69 loss to Tacoma. The Titans shot a blistering 64% in the second half to pull away from the Clippers.
Women’s basketball
Tacoma 70, SPSCC 29 – Box score
Both McKenzie Raben and Kaneetah Pridgen notched double-doubles for South Puget Sound. Raben scored 10 points and pulled down 12 boards while Pridgen scored 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. But the rest of the Clippers scored just seven points and they fell to Tacoma 70-29.
Tonight (2/13): Boys district basketball; State Capital Museum hosts hoops history panel
The boy’s basketball districts continue today with four games, all a short drive from Olympia…
The Olympia boys basketball team squeaked into the playoffs on the last day of the regular season with a 55-54 win over Central Kitsap and will have to travel to Covington to take on Tahoma, the #2 seed out of the 4A SPSL. Tahoma fell to Curtis 74-53 in the SPSL championship game on Thursday and are 15-6 overall this season. Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM.
In 3A action, Timberline travels to Tacoma to take on Auburn Mountainview in a loser out game. The Blazers finished in third place in the Narrows League at 7-5 with a 12-8 overall record and won four of their last five games including key wins over Mount Tahoma and Wilson that helped them into the playoffs. Auburn Mountainview was 13-10 overall and went 7-3 in the SPSL. However, the Lions have lost three straight games and four of their last five. Tip-off at Franklin Pierce High School is scheduled for 7:45 PM.
Three area teams are still alive in the 2A District IV playoffs. River Ridge meets WF West for the third time this season, Capital takes on Mark Morris and Tumwater faces a loser out game against Washougal.
River Ridge and the Hawks split their season series with WF West falling 61-60 in Chehalis and walloping a Brock Wade-less Bearcats squad 73-50 in Lacey. Brad Wallace and the Hawks have won 11 straight games since their loss on December 18th to Centralia including their last second win against Washougal in the district first round game last week. The Hawks and Bearcats get underway at 7:45 at Centralia High School.
Winners of five straight games, Capital next faces Mark Morris who were 7-1 in the GSHL and 15-5 overall. Both teams are coming off of relatively easy wins over Hockinson and Centralia in the first round. The two teams square off at WF West High School in Chehalis at 7:45 PM.
Tumwater’s season could come to an end tonight when they face Washougal at Centralia High School at 6:00 PM. The T-Birds fell to 6-15 overall with their loss to WF West in the first round while Washougal lost at the buzzer to River Ridge and fell to 14-7 overall.
And finally, if you are sticking around town, the State Capital Museum hosts a panel discussion about the history and future of basketball in the Northwest. “Basketball in the Northwest: Past, Present and Future” will feature Sonics great Slick Watts, his son and Washington Huskies star Donald Watts and Saint Martin’s men’s basketball coach Keith Cooper. The discussion starts at 6:30 PM and there is a $2 suggested donation and youth basketball players are free. For more info, click here.
Tuesday scoreboard: Rough night at districts for local girls
Girls basketball
3A West Central/Southwest Bi-district
Bonney Lake 33, Timberline 31
In a defensive battle, Timberline held Bonney Lake to just 21 points through three quarters but could only manage 16 points themselves. The Blazers nearly matched their total through three quarters in the fourth but it wasn’t enough as Bonney Lake held on for a 33-31 win ending Timberline’s season. Sarah McKee led the way for the Blazers with nine points.
2A District IV
Mark Morris 60, River Ridge 48
WF West 48, Black Hills 39
River Ridge took a 30-17 lead at the half but a 14-0 run in the third quarter led #1 Mark Morris back and propelled them into the 2A District IV championship game on Friday night at Saint Martin’s. The Hawks drop into the consolation bracket and will take on Hockinson in a loser out game on Saturday.
Black Hills dug themselves a hole in the first half and could not dig themselves out despite outscoring WF West 29-19 in the second half, dropping a 48-39 decision to the state’s #2 team. Hope Mortensen scored 14 points in the loss and the Wolves will have a date with Centralia on Saturday in a loser out game.
2B District IV
Wahkiakum 50, Northwest Christian 39
Northwest Christian’s season comes to an end with a 50-39 loss to Wahkiakum.
Tonight (2/12): Hawks, Wolves face #1 and #2; Blazers, Navs hope to play on
The girls basketball district tournaments continue today with all local teams playing out of town just a short drive away while Black Hills hosts a pair of 1A games…
In 3A action, Timberline travels to Tacoma to take on Bonney Lake in a loser-out game. The Blazers went 10-10 overall including an 8-4 Narrows League record that was good enough for second place. Meanwhile, the Panthers finished 13-9 overall but just 5-5 in the SPSL. Tip-off at Franklin Pierce High School is scheduled for 6:00 PM
In 2A District IV action, both River Ridge and Black Hills face daunting challenges. The Hawks will be in Chehalis to take on #1 ranked Mark Morris while the Wolves will be in Centralia to face #2 ranked WF West. Both games tip at 7:45 PM. The winners will move on to the championship game at Saint Martin’s on Friday night while the losers will fall into the consolation bracket.
And at Rochester High School, Northwest Christian faces Wahkiakum at 8:00 PM in a loser out game in the 2B District IV game.
Here in town, Black Hills hosts a pair of 1A games beginning at 6:30 PM. The first features a loser out game between Rochester and Elma and game two pits Montesano against Woodland at 8:00.
PHOTOS: Dropkick Donnas vs. Blunt Force Trauma
Photos from the Oly Rollers’ Dropkick Donnas bout with Bellingham Roller Betties’ Blunt Force Trauma. The pictures aren’t great, admittedly, because I’m still struggling with the lighting in Skateland! so I tried some different settings that often did not work. I also had my two year-old with me limiting where I could be to take pictures. Still, there are some fun ones in here.
Sunday scoreboard: Dropkick Donnas dominate; Saints swept
Roller Derby
Oly Rollers Dropkick Donnas 359, Bellingham Roller Betties 208
The Dropkick Donnas led from wire to wire knocking off Bellingham’s Blunt Force Trauma 359-208 to kick off the Oly Rollers’ 2013 season at Skateland!
The bout was slowed down considerably by the the two teams and on-track officials as they seemed to be trying to adapt to new rule changes implemented by the WFTDA for this season.
Check back tomorrow for a small photo gallery.
College baseball
UPS 5, Saint Martin’s 4
UPS 16, Saint Martin’s 9 – Recap from SMUSaints.com
Today (2/10): Oly Rollers morning bout; Saints baseball doubleheader
The Oly Rollers open their 2013 season this morning when the Dropkick Donnas face off against the Bellingham Roller Betties’ Blunt Force Trauma.
Doors at Skateland! open at 10:30 AM and derby action gets underway at 11:00. Tickets are $15 at the door, children eight and under get in free.
Across town at The RAC, the Saint Martin’s baseball team continues their series against UPS with a doubleheader starting at 11:00 AM. The Saints lost their home opener to the Loggers yesterday, 12-0.
Oly Sports 