And now for the finale of our state-tournament recap, covering the small schools from Class 2B and 1B. We covered Class 4A and 3A here and Class 2A and 1A here to get this miniseries kicked off.
There may be one or two more things coming on the blog later this week, but this for all intents and purposes concludes our coverage of the Washington prep basketball season. So pardon the navel-gazing, but: A very major thank you to anyone who’s read anything I’ve written on this site, and a very major thank you to everyone who’s encouraged me to keep it up. I wasn’t sure what the future would hold writing-wise when I left TDN last fall, and it’s been a blast to be able to continue covering all these kids and their teams. It seems like local news organizations are just going to keep scaling back their coverage of prep sports, so hopefully, going forward, this can continue to be a place people can arrive at by random Google searches to read interesting things. It’s important stuff that a lot of people care about, and I have a lot of fun writing about it. So again: thanks for reading.
2B Boys
Results
First: Northwest Christian
Second: Mossyrock
Third: Brewster
Fourth: Life Christian
Fifth: Lind-Ritzville/Sprague
Sixth: Morton/White Pass
Recap
By the time Northwest Christian had maneuvered past Morton/White Pass in round one and pulled off a stunning 73-58 upset over No. 1 Brewster — which included a 20-point lead going to the fourth quarter — the championship game against Mossyrock was a piece of cake. The Crusaders stomped the Vikings, 75-48, winning their sixth title in the past eleven years. But Mossy still should be awfully pleased with a runner-up finish. The breaks finally stopped going the way of two-time defending champ MWP, as the T-Wolves lost by five points in the quarterfinals to NWC and by two points in the fourth-place game to Life Christian. Those Eagles responded with two big consolation wins to take home fourth place after a surprising 62-57 defeat to Lind-Ritzville/Sprague in the quarters.
Three to watch next season
Northwest Christian
The classification’s premier power will be back once again next year. With 6-foot-7 Asher Cox and 6-foot-4 Nolan Burns, the Crusaders will have the size to hang with anyone.
Life Christian
A top-notch junior class led by Luke Lovelady (21.6 points per game) will return as seniors, so the Eagles will again be one of the very best teams in the state.
Napavine
The four leading scorers return, including dominant post Wyatt Stanley and point guard Peyton Stanley. At first glance, the Tigers might be the favorites in the new-look Central 2B.
1B Boys
Results
First: Neah Bay
Second: Almira-Coulee-Hartline
Third: Sunnyside Christian
Fourth: Garfield-Palouse
Fifth: Yakama Tribal
Sixth: Seattle Lutheran
Recap
The result itself may not have been an upset, but the margin of victory certainly was. Neah Bay won the state title with a 73-48 smackdown of ACH, which entered the game as the undefeated No. 1 team in the state. The Red Devils now have a title and a second-place finish in the past two seasons. Sunnyside Christian and Yakama Tribal both pleasantly surprised with wins in the quarterfinals — a particularly impressive run for a Yakama team that hovered around .500 during the regular season. On the other side of the coin, a bit of a disappointing weekend for Seattle Lutheran, which entered the tournament with just one loss all year and harbored real championship aspirations but ended up in sixth.
Three to watch next season
Neah Bay
With two of its top three scorers returning, there’s no reason to think this perennial power will take a step back.
Wellpinit
Garfield-Palouse hammered Wellpinit in this year’s regional round, but a large chunk of a team that finished 16-5 will be back.
Seattle Lutheran
The Saints will have every chance to avenge this season’s subpar showing in Spokane. High-scoring forward Josh Meyer should be one of the classification’s very best players.
2B Girls
Results
First: Okanogan
Second: Napavine
Third: Mabton
Fourth: Toutle Lake
Fifth: Wahkiakum
Sixth: Colfax
Recap
As a team from the Central Washington 2B League that completed its undefeated season and seized a much-expected state title, the Okanogan girls were able to do what the Brewster boys were not. As per usual, do-everything star Jill Townsend was the biggest reason why. Outside of the Bulldogs, though, this was a tournament dominated by the Central 2B League. Napavine took second — and gave Okanogan a real test in the championship game before losing 60-51 — Wahkiakum snagged fifth, and Toutle Lake took fourth, yet another in a long line of impressive finishes by the Ducks in various sports. The Mules, meanwhile, ended up taking a very minor step back after their runner-up finish in 2015. As long as Peyton Souvenir is running the point, they’re a force to be reckoned with.
Three teams to watch next season
Napavine
Guards Melissa Lee and Mollie Olson will give the Tigers the best backcourt in the Central 2B, which in turns means it will be one of the best in the state.
Kalama
After a fourth-place finish in their Class 1A finale, the Chinooks should be primed for state-title contention in 2B with star posts Kaelyn Shipley and Parker Esary back for one final run.
Wahkiakum
Like we said: As long as Souvenir’s here, the Mules will have a chance, and she’ll also have plenty of help coming back next year in the form of Maddy Mace, Macie Elliott, and others. We don’t feel bad listing three teams from the Central 2B, because it’s clearly the classification’s best league.
1B Girls
Results
First: Colton
Second: Republic
Third: Sunnyside Christian
Fourth: Almira-Coulee-Hartline
Fifth: Evergreen Lutheran
Sixth: Taholah
Recap
For the eighth year running, Colton is the best team in the state’s smallest classification. Republic was a worthy runner-up, though, recording double-digit wins over Mt. Vernon Christian and Evergreen Lutheran in its first two games in Spokane. Overall, teams from the east side of the state were dominant, earning the top four spots. Tulalip Heritage was probably the biggest disappointment, losing by 34 points to Sunnyside Christian in the quarterfinals and losing to Almira-Coulee-Hartline by 21 points in consolation action. In fact, ACH was thoroughly dominant after a loss to Colton in the first round, adding a 31-point win over Taholah in the fourth-place game.
Three teams to watch next season
Colton
Considering there were more freshmen who played major minutes for the Wildcats this season than there were seniors, this seems like a safe bet.
Republic
The Tigers could very well be Colton’s stiffest competition once again. Guard Shania Graham can score, and 6-foot-1 post Carlie Rittel gives them some serious size.
Sunnyside Christian
Only one senior graduates from a team that went 26-1, its only loss coming to Colton. Moral of the story: Expect familiar faces atop the Class 1B ranks in 2017.
Okanogan will return to the 1A ranks next year.
Ah, missed that, thanks for the heads up.