As State B descends on Spokane Arena this Thursday, there
are sure to be plenty of compelling storylines that will play out. With tipoff
for the first game scheduled for 9 a.m. and the final contest at 9 p.m. on both
Thursday and Friday, the first two days of the tournament promise to be
action-packed, as 32 teams vie to keep championship aspirations afloat.
Here is a random
assortment of items to keep in mind as you follow the action:
Underdog story: Yakama Nation (Girls 1B) is making its first
ever tournament appearance. While other teams can undoubtedly lay claim to the
title of underdog, Yakama Nation makes a good case. According to this Yakima
Herald story, the team's coach, Sharon Johnson, and the top two scorers,
Lynndell and Athena Wapsheli, are all newcomers to the school. Yakama Nation
opens the tournament on Thursday at 9 a.m. against Pateros.
Player to watch (boys): Brandon Gfeller has been to state in
each of his four years at Colfax and this season the Montana-bound guard will
look to lead his team to its second-straight title. A 6-foot-4 guard, Gfeller
is deadly from 3-point range.
Player to watch (girls): Before she heads south to play for
Arizona State, Kelsey Moos will compete in yet another State B Tournament for
Reardan. Moos will lead the charge for the Indians as they attempt the first
three-peat in girls 2B history.
Tournament record I hope is broken: Ty Egbert of Lake
Roosevelt blocked 24 shots in a 2011 tournament game. You read that right, 24 shots. It does not
come at all as a surprise that Egbert set the 2B State Tournament record with
that performance. To give that number some perspective, the NBA record for most
blocked shots in a game is 17, done in 1973 by Elmore Smith. Now that would be
fun to watch.
Tournament record I hope is not broken: The 2B girls
tournament record for shots in a game is 41, courtesy of Selkirk's Lynn
Nicholas in 1983. With all due respect to Nicholas, it can't be incredibly fun
to watch someone hoist up 41 attempts, especially because we know she didn't make
more than 17 (the tournament record is 18, by Katie Davis in 1998).
