Washington state (WIAA) 2A/1A notes: Naches Valley girls making most of return to state; upsets abound in 2A boys

Coached by a starter on Davis of Yakima's 2012 championship team, the Rangers toppled two-time champion Nooksack; three 2A double-digit seeds move on in 2A

Naches Valley coach LeVonte Allen talks to his team during Wednesday's game against Nooksack Valley in the Yakima Valley SunDome. / Evan Abell/Yakima Herald-Republic

Much of Naches Valley girls basketball roster wasn’t born the last time the Rangers made it to the Yakima Valley SunDome for the Class 1A state tournament.

Heck, most probably hadn’t picked up a basketball when NV coach LeVonte Allen was the 6-foot-3 broad-shouldered forward for the 2012 Class 4A state champion Davis boys.

Yet, here the Rangers are. And they’re making plenty of noise.

Five days after Naches Valley built a big lead against top-seeded Lynden Christian before faltering, the Rangers grinded out a 41-37 victory to out two-time defending champion Nooksack Valley.

“(Lynden Christian) was a game where we wanted to see where we’re at, we knew that there wasn’t anything to lose,” said Allen, his clothes soaked from a postgame dowsing. “Now we have a lot of faith going into these games. It’s not easy going there to the defending state champs, so they know there’s no room for error.”

The recipe looks an awful lot like the Pirates he played for under Hall of Fame coach Eli Juarez – not too big, solid offense, and plenty of defense.

“Being here as a player, I know points are at a premium,” Allen said. “The best defensive teams usually win.”

Key to that defensive effort was senior forward Maddy Jewett. The 5-foot-10 Jewett scored 13 points, eight rebounds and three steals, and battled Nooksack Valley 6-1 center Grace De Hoog, who eventually fouled out in the fourth quarter with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

“She did awesome,” Allen said. “Maddy has so much responsibility on this team she has to score, she has to play defense, she has to get steals, she’s a battler.”

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Prosser's boys basketball team during Wednesday morning's victory against Foster in the Class 2A state tournament in the SunDome. / Photo by Jerrel Swenning

Low seeds? No problem

The 2A boys bracket saw three double-digit seeds advance to the quarterfinals Wednesday, one after another.

No. 11 Columbia River got the party started by ousting sixth-seeded Lakewood 60-56.

Prosser, seeded 10th followed by pulling away from No, 7 Foster for an 88-66 victory.

Two-time CWAC MVP Koby McClure overcame an early spill that cut his chin to score a game-high 29 points and grab 10 rebounds to help the Mustangs, fourth in last year's tournament, advance.

“We were surprised by it, but were ready for the opponents we were going to face,” McClure said. “We knew we would have a tough road but we knew we could do it.”

This is the first season McClure has been without his brother alongside. Kory McClure also was a standout for the Mustangs, but graduated last spring.

“It’s a little different but we have an amazing team and I’m very grateful for that,” the younger McClure said.

Star senior Javon Barbee and No, 12 Franklin Pierce capped the seeding upheaval by eliminating No. 4 West Valley of Spokane. Barbee finished with 29 points.

The double-digit advancements were unique to the 2A boys. None of the other three tournaments in Yakima had one.

No. 12 Bellevue Christian nearly pulled off the feat by rallying late against fifth-seeded King’s, and forcing overtime on Drake Penberthy’s 3-point in the final seconds.

The Knights’ Andrew Gerbig continued the last-second heroics with a putback to give King’s a 69-67 victory.

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One of the resurfaced courts in the Yakima Valley SunDome. / Photo by Jerrel Swenning

New digs for the Dome

The basketball courts in the SunDome were resurfaced for the tournaments.

While one used to have green borders and the other red, with remnants of the Yakima Sun Kings still showing, both now have black trim and lines, and feature the WIAA logo in the center, two SunDome logos and SUNDOME on each baseline.

The work is so fresh, the smell of the coatings was strong.

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The scoreboard in the south end of the Yakima Valley SunDome. / Photo by Jerrel Swenning

Technical difficulties

A malfunction in the scoreboard on the south end of the SunDome made it difficult for fans watching to know the score, time remaining and other game information.

Advertising replaced the space where all that info normally is.

Tournament organizers said the issue was supposed to be fixed Wednesday afternoon. The company later said a piece was needed and it wouldn’t arrive to the SunDome until Thursday morning.

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