Busy, It's suppose to be Winter Break right?

Playing sports really digs into some of that vacation time, doesn't it. Plenty of high school basketball action involving many of our Southwest Washington girl's teams.

Heritage suffered their first lost of the season to Mt. Tahoma 52 - 51 yesterday afternoon. Three of Heritage's starters, Chawncy McClenan, Amber Myers, and Clara Russell fouled out and had to watch the T-wolve's loss a nail bitter, bye 1 point in the final minutes. Coming back to tie the game after being down by 10 with 4 minutes to play, key eras down the stretch, and big shots by Mt. Tahoma ended Heritage's undefeated season. Heritage was lead by Justine Joudrey with 17 points.

In another 1 point nail bitter, Hockinson held of Elma in a back and forth game. This was a great test for the Hawk's as they get ready for league play. Elma has a good team, and after some early season unbalance blow outs for Hockinson, their last 3 games have been close wins bye 1, 2 & 1 point respectively. Daron Dean lead the Hawk's with 12 points, and Lejla Mlivic had 10.

Although I'm sure, having a great time in Hawaii, Mountain View has drop five games in the tropics, including two yesterday. The bright spot for the Thunder has been Caitlynn Patterson getting her sea legs under her, and averaging close to 17 points a game, with two 20 point games. They play one more game today, before heading home.

LaCenter lead by Hannah Trigg's 21 points defeated West Anchorage, Alaska in the Ilwaco tournament 52 -42. They end the tournament with a 1 - 1 record.

The shocker, Prairie dropping two in a row on the road, losing yesterday 63 - 57 to the host team Greeneville Tenn. Around her we're just not use to seeing the Falcon's lose, least of all two games in a row. Angela Gelhar had a big game for the Falcon's with 24 points, but no one else hit double figures in the lost. Prairie has one more game today before heading home.

In a non-league game at the Tiger tournament between two 3A league competitors Columbia River out played Camas 37 - 33. Laura Luther of the Chieftain's lead all scores with 12 points in the victory.

Also in Battle Ground at the Tiger Tournament, Ridgefield defeated the host team Battle Ground 50 - 42. Leading the scoring for the Spudder's was Nichole Kates with 16, and Anna Pengra with 14. Gabi Dixon lead the Tiger's with 10 points.

At the St. Martin's tournament in Olympia, Woodland crushed Sammamish 68 - 10. McKenzie Heberer tied the Sammamish team total out put with 10 points to lead the Beaver's.

Kelso defeated Mark Morris 40 - 27. No statics available.

High School Tournament Play; Happy Holidays

In Portland Oregon there has been a lot of talk about Franklin High School and the Schimmel sisters, June and superstar Shoni. Mom coaching the team and how now they are a force in Oregon. (Although Shoni went down with a span ankle early in the game) Union High School step up and knocked off Franklin in the Gresham Tournament with a huge, come from behind, 29 point 4th quarter. Final score 76 - 69. Megan Dire had a break out game with 26 points, Janae Davis with her normal solid game of 17 points, Kynnedy Mosley added 15, and Bre Sorenson had 13. Congratulations and thank you for representing Vancouver proudly. The Titan's will face Reynolds at 6:00pm.

In Tennessee, the Prairie Falcon's ran up against the tournament defending champs Wilson-Central High School of Tenn. and where defeated 61 - 52. Heather Corral drop in 14 points in the lose. Prairie got off to a bad start and although closing it to 6 points in the 3rd quarter they could never quite get back into the game. The Falcon's will play the host team Greenville HS later today.

In the Tiger Tournament in Battle Ground, Kiley Thomas had 13 points and Gabi Dixon's tough play and 13 points lead the host team Tiger's to a 59-51 victory over Camas. Emily Thomas lead the Papermaker's with 18 points. Battle Ground faces Ridgefield at 7:00pm tonight and Camas will face Columbia River at 5:30pm.

Aloha from Hawaii, is the word from the Lady Thunder of Mountain View playing in a tournament in the tropics. After a warm up game Sunday, Mt. View played a double header Monday and drop both games to Hawaiian teams. In the first game Evie Everett lead the team with 10 points in a close 34 - 33 lose. The second game wasn't so close as the Thunder fell 82 - 43. Caitlynn Patterson had another 20 point performance (her second on the island). Mt. View plays another double header today. Good luck.

The Woodland Beaver's were just over matched by the senior lead team of Black Hills High School 71 - 30. The tournament continues this afternoon from St. Martin's University with Woodland facing Sammamish.

In the Ilwaco Tournament, LaCenter will face West Anchorage, from Alaska after defeating Warrnenton in the semi-final game yesterday. Also Hudson's Bay will be playing in Stayton Or., Kelso will face cross town rival Mark Morris, Elma comes to visit Hockinson, and Heritage will host Mt. Tahoma from the Tacoma Wa. area.

Busy weekend kicks off busy week

Over this weekend, Prairie kicked off tournament play in Tennessee with a victory over Chucky Doak HS out of Tenn. 47 - 41. Junior forward Lindsey Levanen had a double/double with 15 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Falcon's. Mountain View lost in Hawaii 54 - 47. Caitlynn Patterson lead the Thunder with a double/double 20 points and 14 rebounds. Both teams resume tournament play today. Also over the weekend Hockinson held on for a 2 point victory over Aberdeen 54 - 52. Amanda McCarty score 21 points and Daron Dean had 10 with 14 rebounds to lead the Hawk's. There are a number of other teams playing games or are in tournaments today, Woodland in Olympia at the St. Martin's make up tourney, Union is in the Gresham, Or. tournament, LaCenter in the Ilwaco tourney, Hudson's Bay down in Stayton Or. for a tourney, Battle Ground is hosting the Tiger Tournament with Camas playing in that tournament also. We will attempt to keep you on top of scores and highlights. click this link for this weeks schedule via the Columbian newspaper.

It's Warming up...

The snow is thawing, temperatures are rising, balls are bouncing, we're getting ready for hoops again. There will be plenty of make up games from the snowy two weeks we've had. So some very busy schedules lay ahead for the first week of January, but hey, we live in the Northwest, we're use to it. (smile) Tournament games get started today, Prairie's in Tennessee, and Mt. View is in Hawaii. Last night Ridgefield lost to Portland Christian 58 - 53 Anna Pengra had 17 points Farrine Scott and Nicole Kates had 11 for Ridgefield in defeat. Local high school teams are having practice, slowly but surely we are getting back into the swing of things.

College Hoops
I'm still taking a group of young ladies to the University of Portland vs University of Idaho game this Sunday at 2:00pm. If you'd like to attend contact me ASAP.

A compelling story, beating the odds

A local girl, in the Portland area, that deserves recognition , beating the odds. Check this story out. Click the link

University of Portland vs University of Idaho

Watching women's college basketball games are important for aspiring high school athlete's hoping to obtain a college scholarship and play at the next level some day. We are putting together a trip to the University of Portland for this Sunday December 28th at 2:00pm. The Viking's will be playing the University of Idaho Vandal's. If you'd like to attend with us, contact me Jay Foreman either here via a comment or email at lanpdx2003@yahoo.com or you can text or call me at 360-991-2566.

Not much in the way of HS sports news

Here's an article you may want to read. From the Columbian Sports.

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE

A light schedule anyway, hoping to get a few of these games in, if the kids can get out of town. Good luck Mt. View, Prairie & Ridgefield.

Impact Players for the Holidays

Due to the weather and the lack of activity in Southwest Washington basketball, We will re-post all the impact players posted since October through the Holiday's. I hope you enjoy getting to know a little about these players.

Ex-Prairie Superstar Ashley Corral on T.V.

This Friday night USC's women of Troy will face the Blue Demon's of Duke University in women's basketball at 8:00pm on FSN from The Galen Center in Los Angeles. (Check your local cable, dish, or direct-tv listings) Ex-all everything Prairie guard Ashley Corral (now at USC) is averaging 25 mins. per game, 11.3 points, and 4.6 rebs.

Ok "Mother Nature" what cha gonna do?

Big games were scheduled for today, including NBGN Power Rankings #1 Prairie visiting #2 Heritage. But will we have to re-schedule because of weather? I'm sure by this afternoon we'll hear from the "powers that be" informing us which way it will be. But looking out my window right now, "Mother Nature" is saying no games tonight. Safety first. Yesterday, Tuesday's schedule was postponed due to weather, although there weren't very many games sceduled. Tonight, Wednesday's games schedule had the above mentioned Prairie vs. Heritage, Columbia River going to play at Evergreen, Camas traveling up to Kelso (probably not), and Fort Vancouver visiting Skyview. I say it's better to era on the side of safety.

YOU PICK IT - Poll results
Honestly I'm kind of surprised by the voters thinking Heritage will upset Prairie. I realize this site has a strong Heritage following but I really thought Prairie's prestige and history would sway voters toward them, especially after the way the Falcon's handled Skyview earlier this week. It will be interesting to see how the game plays out. Good luck to all the girls.

7th / 8th GRADE TEAM TRYOUTS - CANCELED
There was a scheduled tryout for Premier Elite's 7th/8th grade team. That tryout, due to weather has been postponed until a future date. We will keep you informed.

The Big story in the area, "The Weather"

Check, double check, and re-check again for your scheduled games this week. The weather is playing the biggest role. Expect game postponements and cancellations. Safety is the most important thing.

CABIN FEVER;
Athletes have a difficult time sitting still and relaxing when they'd rather be playing games that day. Although playing outside in the snow is fun and exciting for youngsters, be careful. Those slips and falls could ruin your season. Try burning off some of that energy in the house. Sit-ups, push-ups and stretching along with other 'in place' exercises, really pay big dividends later for your core strength. Try doing some over these next few days. Stay safe and we'll be watching you play again after the thaw.

Tuesday's Scores

The girl's basketball struggles at Evergreen continue as the Camas Papermaker's defeated the Plainsman 54 - 32, the Hockinson Hawk's flew over the Fort Vancouver Trapper's 58 - 27, the Woodland Beaver's dam broke in Portland as they got beat by Portland Christian 82 - 52, R.A. Long lost a close one to W.F. West 37 - 36. Black Hills blows Mark Morris out 71 - 28.

Monday's results; 2/15/08

Weather, bad weather, ice and snow, school closures, 3 games rescheduled. This promises to be one heck of a week. Evergreen vs. Camas, postponed till today Dec 16. Battle Ground vs. Fort Vancouver & Centralia vs. Washougal postponed, no dates given. Monday nights cold weather brought out some career high games from a few players here in Southwest Washington, Janae Davis 20, Kynnedy Mosley 18, both of Union HS, Caitlynn Patterson 19 for Mt. View HS, and Carly Perkins of Kelso HS with 30 points & 21 rebs....

Kelso went to Union in the tightest game of the night, and squeezed out a victory 59 - 57. Neither team lead by more than 5 points through out the game with the lead being tied or changing hands numerous times. In the first half junior post Janae Davis pick up her 3rd foul and Union was hamstrung in trying to compete without her services, ending the half down 28 - 24. Janae busted out the second half strong, scoring 16 of her 20 points, and along with Kynnedy Mosley 18 they were instrumental in bringing the Titan's back into the game and taking the lead in the 4th quarter. Kelso though just simply hit the big shots down the stretch. Carly Perkins was unquestionably the best player on the floor Monday night scoring 30 points, but that wasn't the just of her game. She grab 21 rebounds, block several shots, intimidated many more, and was just a huge presences. She was BIG when they needed her, even bringing the ball up the court a couple of times. It was her night. Congratulations.

Falcons vs. The Storm. Images of those two matching up in previous years had packed gyms and tight games. Although the gym wasn't as packed as previous years the competition was tough. Prairie was able to pull away down the stretch and win the game 53 - 39. Christine Sonners lead the scoring with 15 points for Prairie, Lauren Goecke had 12. The young Skyview team played tough and will learn and grow from this experience.

Mt. View after being down 3 at half time 22-19 to Columbia River, came back strong in the 2nd half to pull out a 41 - 34 victory. Lead by Caitlynn Patterson with 19 points and Haley Holboke with 13, the Thunder held River to 12 points in the second half.

Heritage used a balance attack to defeat Hudson's Bay 65 - 26. Four players scored in double figures with Chawncy McClenan, Natalie Harold, T.T. Martin, and TaShawna Gordon with 10 points each for the Timberwolves.

Tonight,
Weather permitting... Evergreen is at Camas, Fort Vancouver travels to Hockinson, Woodland goes to Portland Christian, Mark Morris plays Black Hills, & W.F. West visits R.A. Long

The true test of Power Rankings, on the court

Prairie High School, for years now, the true power of Southwest Washington girl's high school basketball, will be put to the test this week. I applaud the Falcons for taking on the best Southwest Washington has to offer. In previous years most teams measured themselves by how many points they lost by, when playing Prairie. This year may be different. In this, the last full week of inter-league competition before the holidays and those holiday tournaments, of which most teams will be participating, Prairie faces two of the top 4 teams in the Power Ranking.
First of all #4 Skyview pays a visit to the Falcon's nest for a non-league game, on Monday night. Then Thursday night #2 Heritage will host Prairie in this week's "YOU PICK IT" game. Skyview, although youthful will test Prairie as they have annually with their pressure defense and quickness. Lead by freshman Nikki Bond, and senior Kailee Oliver, this will be an exciting game. With Heritage and their mixture of maturity with seniors Chawncy McClenan, & Amber Myers, and young talent Justine Joudrey & TaShawna Gordon, and freshmen T.T. Martin & Emily Myers they should make for quite a foe for the Falcons of Prairie. But remember Prairie is still Prairie. Currently ranked #4 in the state (mostly because of Seattle bias, they should be higher) they have simply reloaded with talent themselves. Lindsey Levanen is one of the most talented big's in Washington, surrounded by strong players Angela Gelhar, Kristen Munson, Christine Sonners, Lauren Goecke, Alexis Prestwich and of course the "air apparent" Heather Corral. Don't count this team out for winning another state championship.
This will be a good week to see exactly where all these teams stand. How it all shakes out. Who's ready for prime time. I'll be there, you should too.

Tonight;
Evergreen goes to Camas, Skyview's at Prairie, Kelso travels to Union, Mountain View and Columbia River hook up, Heritage is at Hudson’s Bay, Battle Ground's at Fort Vancouver, Centralia comes to Washougal,

This week's schedule full of games, via the Columbian sports page

Weekend results;

Union defeated Evergreen 56 - 26, Megan Dire, Janae Davis, Bre Sorenson all scored in double figures. Prairie defeated Battle Ground 83-33 in the "rivalry" games Friday, and Columbia River defeated a team from The Dalles 55 - 35 and Mark Morris lost to W.F. West 46 - 25.

On Saturday, a team from Juneau, Alaska blew into town with the cold weather and defeated Ridgefield 76 - 35. Lauren Landerholm's 10 points lead the Spudder's.

Hockinson and Camas hooked up for a Saturday night contest that saw the home team Hawks jump out to a 16-2 first quarter lead and hold on to defeat the Papermakers 59 - 35. The Hawks are a mature team, coach Priebe has them sharing the ball, playing tough defense and trusting each other. Lejla Mlivic's 14 points lead Hockinson, but they saw great play from a number of players, Amanda McCarty had 12, Michelle Haagen 10, Ashely Haden 9 first half points, and Daron Dean 8 points and 13 rebounds. Camas was lead by Melissa Williams 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Thursday results,

A night of blow outs. Thursday night saw an array of lopsided basketball. None of the games played were competitive by half time. It was defensive pressure against guards that could not handle it.

Heritage rolled over Columbia River 47 - 22 with out sophomore sensation Justine Joudrey (out with a back injury). Chawncy McClenan has decided to place her stamp on the pre-season with another double/double in points & rebounds, scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds and just showing off her overall athleticism both on offense and defense. Heritage is now 5-0 going into next week's show down with Prairie.

Kelso easily got by Ft. Vancouver 62 - 29. Carly Perkins lead all scoring with 17 points, Caitlynn Jackson (recovering from knee surgery) came in off the bench and got 8 points. Shamarica Scott scored 14 points for Fort. The defensive pressure of Kelso was just to much for the Trappers who only scored 5 points in the 1st half, zero in the 2nd quarter.

Camas also used a pressure defense to defeat Mt. View 47 - 33. In what was the closes final score of the night, the Papermaker's jump out strong, early against the Thunder, 31-9 at half time, and never looked back. Camas was lead by Amy Faulkner's return with 11 points. The Papermakers had a total of nine girls score. Mt. View was lead by Evie Everett's 14 points.

LaCenter's quickness simply overwhelmed Woodland's size 70 - 44. Hannah Trigg was on fire in the first half scoring 20 of her 26 points. The Wildcat's lead at the half 41-20. And in the second half Lauren Baker took over scoring 13 of her 20 points, Katrina Chamberlian added 12, and the Beaver's were finished. Woodland's Charity Arn finished with 10 points to lead the Beaver's.

Hudson's Bay struggling to find there way, couldn't handle the pressure of Skyview's defense and lost 76 - 30. The Storm with a talented young team just step up the defense and there was nothing the Eagles could do. Nikki Bond had 17 points, Kailee Oliver 13, and Macey Mukensnabl added 11 to pace the Storm. Bay is finding some scoring from Ramona Vercher who had 10 points last night.

Tonight;
Prairie's rivalry with Battle Ground resumes, Union's rivalry with Evergreen continues, and Columbia River host The Dalles.

Locals playing at the next level;
Skyview grad Jill Jagelski now at Carroll College in Montana - playing 20 mins pg, ave 3.2 pts, team 6-4

Chelsea Porter graduate of Prairie now at Regis University in Colorado - playing over 20 mins pg, ave 7.4 pts, 2.6 rebs, team 2-5

Thanks readers for your help, it is appreciated, hard to keep up with all the girls. If you know of whereabouts of other's please let me know.

Wednesday results;

Light schedule but heavy game. R.A. Long and LaCenter turned out to be one heck of a early season match up. LaCenter had been playing strong and beating their previous opponents fairly easily. But R.A. Long gave them a great game at home and pulled out the victory by one 43 - 42. It came down to the last ten seconds and some defensive heroics by the Lumberjills, blocking not one, not two, but three shots to preserve the victory. Katie Gudgell lead the scoring for the Jills with 11 points. LaCenter was lead by Lauren Baker's 18 and Hannah Trigg's 11.

Playing against teams out of the Portland area is always a scary proposition for teams from Vancouver. It's the big city vs. small town type mentality. But so far this season Vancouver is holding it's own. Last night was another example of just that. Heritage hosted Beaverton's Westview HS. But from the on set it was obvious Heritage was the better team. Going into the half with a 30-18 lead and never looking back. Chawncy McClenan was just to athletic for Westview scoring a team high 14 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and overwhelming Westview with her defense blocking 4 shots. Balance scoring from the rest of the team takes Heritage to 4-0.

Tonight;
Mt. View host Camas, Columbia River travels to Heritage, Ft. Vancouver visits Kelso, Woodland goes to LaCenter, and Hudson's Bay plays at Skyview.

Tuesday's results;

The Rivalry, Mt. View vs. Union. The stands were pack at Union High School for this game. Sounded like a playoff atmosphere. A very large contingency of Mt. View students traveled to support both the girl's and boy's game. It was rocking. And the game didn't disappoint. Mt. View jump out to an early lead 15-9, but Union came back in the second quarter and went into half time with a one point lead 23-22. Union came out in the second half strong and established a quick 5 point lead and never relinquishes it. Pulling away in the 4th quarter to win 58 - 40 but the game was much closer than that. The Titian's had four girls with double figure scoring lead by Kennedy Mosley with 14, Janae Davis 11, Megan Dire 11, and Bre Sorensen 10. The Thunder was lead by Evie Everett's 16 points and Haley Holboke's 10.

Washougal came up just short of a furious 2nd half come back, Tuesday night, against Fort Vancouver. The Trappers almost turn the lights out on the Panther's in the 1st half leading 20-7. But Fort could only score 3 points in the 3rd quarter and let Washougal back in it 23-20. In a sea saw 4th quarter Fort held on to win 39 - 36. It was the best half of basketball Washougal has put together so far this year scoring 29 points. The Panther's were lead by Madlinne Down with 14 points and Alicia McElroy with 12. Fort was lead by Liz Girtle with 11, and Alex Nelson with 10.

Two of the POWER RANKINGS top 5 met last night in Kelso. #1 Prairie stormed out early with pressure and quickness that #4 Kelso just wasn't ready for, 18-6 after the first quarter. By the time Kelso could pull itself together, the game was out of reach. Too much speed and too strong on the boards were the Falcons who appear to be in mid season form. Prairie was lead by Lauren Goecke with 20 points, and Heather Corral with 15, Alexis Prestwich scored 10. The Lassie's of Kelso were lead by Carley Perkins with 12 points.

The Beaver's of Woodland continue to roll beating Evergreen 58 - 38. McKenzie Heberer lead Woodland with 16 points & 4 block shots, and Emily Smith added 10 points. Amber Berry had 10 points to pace the Plainsman.

Mark Morris toppled Centralia with inside play 59 - 47. Mark Morris had three girls in double figures Kaytlin Ingman & Erica Niemi with 11 points and Taybra Teeters had 10 points.

R.A. Long lost to Toledo 65 - 48. R.A. Long's leading scorer Katie Gudgell had 12 points, but Toledo was just too strong for the Lumberjills.

Tonight;
Heritage host Beaverton Oregon's Westview HS, and LaCenter visits R.A. Long

Congratulations;
Lejla Mlivic of Hockinson for being selected the Columbian Newspapers player of the week.

Monday's results;

Rivals Columbia River & Skyview played last night. It's the same ole thing, a new school openning and taking students away from the old school, although this happen years ago, it still has that rivalry intensity. Neighbors growing up together, playing youth ball together, now facing each other at separate high schools. (Evergreen, Mt. View & Union sound familar {smile}) Last night Skyview dominated this years contest, with a big win, 63 - 32. Ten Skyview players scored at least 2 points, with Kalee Oliver leading the team with 15.

Fort Vancouver's Sharmarica Scott imposed her will against Evergreen, throwing in 18 points and dominating play with her aggressive style, leading the Trappers to a 38 - 23 victory. In an otherwise evenly match contest Evergreen simply had no one to go up against her, No one else, on either team had more than 6 points. Fort pulls their record to 1 - 1 and Evergreen drops to 0 - 3.

Heritage despite an awful shooting night was able to hold on to a 50 - 42 victory over Camas. Part of the reason for the bad shooting night was a scrappy defense played by the Papermakers. The T-Wolves where lead in scoring by TaShawna Gordon with 14 points, and Amber Myers with 10. Camas got 16 points from Kelsey Krill, and 10 from Caitlin Bower. After Heritage enjoyed as much as a 12 point lead in the 1st half, Camas battled hard in the 2nd half, cutting the lead to as close a 3 points in the 4th quarter, before late turnovers hurt Camas down the stretch.

Hudson's Bay was finally able to find some scoring, both ShaShay Wilson and Ramona Vercher scored 11 points, after the team not scoring over 20 points in either of their first two games. But it wasn't enough. Battle Ground got out to a quick start and defeated the Eagle's 64 - 37. The Tigers showed a balance attack with 10 girls scoring lead by Kiley Thomas with 12 points, Gabi Dixson with 10 points and sister Tori adding 7 points and 11 rebs.

LaCenter now 3 - 0, and Lauren Baker continue to roll, defeating Rochester 49 - 45. Lauren who is averaging over 20 points a game in the first three games, scored 24 last night. Hannah Trigg scored 12 in a hard fought game.

Tonight;
Mt. View visit Union, Prairie goes to Kelso, Woodland host Evergreen, and Ft. Vancouver travels to Washougal.

This week starts two new weekly features

As you can see on the left, we started the "Power Rankings" over the weekend. I wanted to give you the pre-season rankings prior to last weeks games so you can see any movement in the rankings. And as you can see there were some. Woodland HS & LaCenter HS are also worth mentioning this week, they've both started off with a couple of good wins. We'll see what happens this coming week. The rankings will be posted every weekend.

Also the "You Pick It" feature where you get to pick the winner of big games in Southwest Washington girls hoops for that given week, starts today. I'm going to do two games this week, with the first game being Tuesday, and the second game being Friday. They involve teams that have gotten off to a bad start, but are natural geographic rivals, and should make for two very interesting games. Union HS, the new school in the Evergreen District, of course is built on the backs of many Ex-Mt. View and Evergreen students. Some would say inappropriately, but that's another argument, the games will be settled on the court. Tuesday Mt. View and Union, Friday Evergreen and Union, both games precede the boys game so you can get a double header and make a evening of it. Who do you pick to win? Every VOTE counts.

OPEN ENROLLMENT;
Like it or not, it's coming. Every 8th grader will be able to select where they want to go to high school (within district) starting Fall 2009. It will make the land scape of athletics very interesting with parents and students choosing the best programs for their kids, instead of staying within geographic boundaries. Talk about recruiting, watch out. Our poll had most of you disagreeing 58% with this new legislation but surprisingly many of you agree 42%.

THIS WEEK'S GIRL'S SCHEDULE; via the Columbian
Click on the link, week of Dec. 9th

Saturday results;
Prairie finished a very successful road trip to Eugene Oregon playing in the Sheldon Tournament returning an impressive 2 & 0. Beating strong teams out of Oregon, Thurston Friday and host Sheldon Saturday 58 - 48. This Prairie team is definitely more balance than previous seasons which could be dangerous for their Greater St. Helens 3A opponents. Saturday Prairie was lead by Christine Sonners 16 points and Angela Gelhar 11.

Hockinson continues it's assault on it's opponents beating Evergreen 90 - 18. Lejla Mlivic had 22 points, Michelle Haagen 17, Ashley Haden 14, Daron Dean 14 and Allison Wrightson 10. This team is for real. Five girls in double figures. But it's there aggressive play especially on the defensive end that makes them so impressive.

Friday night results;

If there was any question about the talent level of the young Skyview freshman Nikki Bond, she answered them last night. 22 points and the confidence of a upperclassman Nikki lead the Storm past Camas 76 - 41. Kaliee Oliver scored 17 points together with Nikki and the Skyview system of pressure defense and running the ball was to much for the Camas Papermakers. Take notice GHSL 4A, Skyview even in a supposed rebuilding year, will be worthy adversaries.

In a quest of "who wants it more" Mt. View over came Fort Vancouver 35 - 30. In what was a sloppy game at times, the full court press for the Thunder force turnovers that resulted in easy layups, and a late technical foul for calling time out with none left, hurt the Trappers in the end. Seniors Catilynn Patterson and Evie Everett of Mt. View fouled out in the 4th quarter and had to watch while their team held of Shamarica Scott's efforts to bring the Trapper's back. She seem to be every where down the stretch. Steals, rebounds, and put back baskets she had the game high scoring 13 points, but not enough.

Columbia River had balance scoring lead by Kassilin Cloyd 13 points and Brittany Landon 11, which over came the balance scoring of Battle Ground 51 - 45. Battle Ground had 5 girls with 9 points each to add up to 45 (if my math is right). G. Dixon, Codi, Martin, Thomas & Grossman, Wow...

Prairie made the long trip to Sheldon Oregon and came out victorious 55 - 38. Ten girl's scored for Prairie lead by Linsey Levanen's 11 points and Lauren Goecke 10. Letting everyone play is important early in the season. Seeing what you got. And Prairie has got a lot.

The Woodland Beaver's marched up to Centralia and came home with a 60 - 52 victory. Centralia could do nothing with the bigs inside. 6'0 freshman Emily Smith, had 22 points and dominated all night inside along with Katilyn Moses adding 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Washougal made a run at it against Stevenson lead by Alicia McElroy's 18 points but came up just short 35 - 32. Stevenson had a balance scoring attack that saw seven girls scoring.

Kelso just too much for Hudson's Bay 72 - 17. Carly Perkins of Kelso had 18 points alone, with 10 from Danielle Birch and Jessica Warthen the Lassies ran away with the game.

Mark Morris and Evergreen went back and forth until Mark Morris settled into a 45 - 41 come from behind victory. The Plainsmen were lead by (sorry didn't have her first name) Hillman with 17 points but the balance scoring and the press late by Mark Morris was too much.

Today's schedule has Hockinson at Evergreen and Prairie continuing in the Sheldon Tournament

Thursday night's 'Big Game' NOT...

What was anticipate as being this knock down drag out game, really turn out to be not so much Thursday when Union visited Heritage. A pre-season game played at 5:30pm before the boy's game, unfortunately was sort of a second billing game. Although the first quarter, by the score was somewhat interesting, by half time it was Heritage 40, Union 20 and the drama of who was going to win, was gone. The 3rd quarter was sloppy for both teams only scoring 8 points each and the 4th quarter wasn't much better, with the benches on both teams playing most of the 4th quarter. Although, it was exciting to see the rust of playing soccer finally shake off of Union's Megan Dire, (it took to the second half of her second game), scoring 13 points in the 2nd half, 16 for the game. Janae Davis couldn't get in her normal groove all game being held to 5 points. Final score Heritage over Union 59 - 42.
Honestly Heritage just appeared to be better. There were moments in the first half where they just look like a championship caliber team. Justin Joudrey, Clara Russell, TaShawna Gordon, Chancey McClenan, and Amber Myers pose a formidable starting line up, very imposing versus any team. With super freshmen T.T. Martin who had 13 points (leading the team scoring) and Emily Myers with 8 points, coming of the bench, Heritage is tough.

Hockinson continued it's early season dominance crushing Hudson's Bay 64 - 18. This is the second 3A team, 2A Hockinson has handled fairly easily. Daron Dean and Lejla Mlivic each had 15 points to lead Hockinson. Other 2A competitors better be ready, here come the Hawks...

R.A. Long GHSL 2A defeated Terry Fox of British Columbia 62 - 36. R.A. Long was lead by Katie Gudgell with 17 points and Sadie Petersen with 10.

Full slate of games this evening. Prairie travels to Oregon and plays in the Sheldon Tournament. Locally Skyview host Camas, Evergreen host Mark Morris, Mt View host Ft. Vancouver, and Battle Ground host Columbia River. Woodland travels to Centralia, Bay goes to Kelso, and Washougal travels to Stevenson. Support our girl's, Go see a game tonight.

College "match up" with Vancouver ties

This Saturday, at 6:00pm USC will play BYU in the Seasider Challenge Tournament being held in Honolulu Hawaii. USC is lead by Prairie graduate Ashley Corral. She has started one game and is playing exceptional, hitting 20 points in an earlier game this year. BYU's starting point guard is Jazmine Foreman a Hudson's Bay graduate. These two faced of many times here in the Greater St. Helen's League and now are facing each other on the big stage. It should be fun. Unfortunately the game will not be broadcast on TV or on live stream via the computer. You can listen to the game on BYU radio which is on most cable and satellite networks. The Dish is channel 980(that's what I have). Remember Saturday at 6:00pm. Enjoy...
Kiva Herman and the University of San Diego are also playing in the tournament. (See what playing college ball can do for you. A trip to Hawaii to play. Not bad)

Also, Jay Joudrey of Heritagae was honored as player of the week at Gray's Habor. Click the link, you go girl.

The Vancouver Heat

I want to thank a reader (a local high school coach) who I'm not sure wanted me to mention his name, so I won't in this case, but thank you for reminding me that there is more than one traveling team in the Southwest Washington area. Although Premier Elite works with mostly current high school students, at least up until this year, and the Columbia Cascades which is also a viable organization, The Vancouver Heat has been working with a younger group, that this year have exploded onto the high school ranks. Heat players contributing to their high school teams are Emily Smith of Woodland HS, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds in her first game, Taylor McCullough of Woodland HS had 6 points, T.T. Martin of Heritage had 12 points in her first game, and Emily Myers of Heritage had 5 points, Nikki Bond of Skyview had 17 points, Delaney Keser had 5, and Katie Swanson toss in 10 points for Skyview also.
Congratulations to The Vancouver Heat and all the girls, good job.
Thanks Coach (I'll mention your name with your OK) and any and all of the readers, please don't hesitate with story ideas.

Wednesday night belong to the GHSL 4A

Three of the Greater St. Helen's 4A teams were in action last night. All three won easily against out of the area competition, two from the Portland area and one from central Washington.

Skyview of the GHSL 4A had their opening night against Portland's Barlow High School from the Gresham area. The Storm debuted there talented freshmen class and they didn't let the fans down. Nikki Bond scored 17 points to get her high school career up & going. She was helped out by Kaliee Oliver with 16, and Katie Swanson's 10 points as Skyview defeated Barlow 65 - 56. Barlow had 4 girls in double figures Gloss, Dierksen, & Strasberg with 11 points and Scafidi had 12.

Heritage of the GHSL 4A took on another Portland school to start their season off, Parkrose High School. This game was settled early as Heritage cruised to a 68 - 51 victory. Heritage exploded out to an early lead and never look back. Lead by sophomores Justine Joudrey with 20 points, and TaShawna Gordon's 14 the Timberwolves simply overwhelmed Parkrose. Senior Chawncy McClenan added 10 points, and freshman sensation T.T. Martin toss in 12. Heritage took their foot off the defensive pedal in the second half late, but the game was never in doubt.

Kelso of the GHSL 4A beat W.F. West from central Washington (a traditional power from their area) 48 - 23. Kelso was lead by 6'0 Carly Perkins with 15 points. It was an aggressive defense by Kelso limiting West to 10 points in the 1st half, that shined in the victory. The new entry into the GHSL 4A, Kelso is the wild card. We can't wait to see what they'll do in their new division.

Washougal of the GSHL 2A played LaCenter of the Trico 1A last night. I'm telling you, teams had better watch out for this LaCenter squad. Taking them lightly because their 1A will be a big mistake. They easily handled Washougal 62 - 39, taking a 30 point lead into half time. LaCenter was lead by Lauren Baker 22 points, Marissa Moore 16, and Hannah Trigg 12. LaCenter has gotten off to a fast start and will be a team to watch. Washougal struggling to find their way was lead by Alicia McElroy with 16 points.

Tonight's contest, just 3 games Hockinson at Hudson's Bay, Woodland travels to Kalama, and the big game of the night is Heritage hosting Union. Enjoy...

Two new segments coming soon

I will be adding to weekly segments to the site next week. One being "Top 5 Power Ratings". I will give you what I believe to be the best 5 girl's teams in the region. It's not very scientific and will probably change a lot, with wins and loses though out the season. But something to have fun with. The other will be "You Pick It" I'll post the most exciting game of the upcoming week and create a poll for you to vote on who'll when. We'll see how good you are at picking winners.

Congratulations KEISHA GORDON
Former Heritage High School standout, '08 Grad, Keisha Gordon was honored selected Northwest Conference D3 "Athlete of the Week" after a 30 point performance against Carlton College. We are all very proud of you. Good things come to good kids. You deserve it.

GHSL 3A poll results, who will follow Prairie?

Over 85% of you believe that Union High School is likely to come in 2nd place in the GSHL 3A division this season. Prairie High is the overwhelming favorite and after seeing what they did at the Jamboree this Monday night, and then the devastating lost for Union to GHSL 2A Hockinson last night, Prairie's league winning streak (now over 100) doesn't appear to be in much danger. Following Union it was a tight race between the rest of the league, as voted by you the readers. Fort Vancouver, Camas, and Columbia River all received 4% of the vote and Hudson's Bay received 3%. It's now time to prove it on the court.

Tuesday's results; GSHL 2A goes {2 & 2}

Last night's results had the Greater St. Helen's 2A division defeating their 3A foes but losing to a 4A team and a team out of Portland. Last year the GHSL 2A was the most competitive division in Southwest Washington, a three way tie for first and one team just a game back.

Hockinson from the GHSL 2A, (and our pre-season selection to win league) look strong (literally) handling GHSL 3A Union 58 - 30. Lead by power forward (literally) Daron Dean with 20 points and Lejla Mlivic with 19, Hockinson grab the lead early and waltz to victory. Michelle Haagen held all league returner Megan Dire to 0 for 2 shooting, and two free throws, "Hawking" her all night with great defense. Dire ended with just 2 points. Janae Davis did what she could for the Titan's putting in 14 points, but this game was never in question.

Ridgefield from the GHSL 2A, jump out strong on GHSL 3a Columbia River and except for a 3rd quarter let up, never look back winning 55 - 38. Lead by 3 players in double figures, Anna Pengra 17, Lauren Landerholm 16, & Shelby Williams 10 Ridgefield eased into a opening night victory. River stumbled out the gate only scoring 11 points in the first half, which makes for a rough start for their new coach.

Woodland GHSL 2A hosted Portland Christian from (obviously) Portland Oregon, and were just a little over matched. The size and debt of the Portland team eventually paid dividends and hurt Woodland losing 62 - 46. The Beavers did show promise with balance scoring Emily Smith 11, McKenzie Heberer & Kaitlyn Moses 10 each and Jessica Hughes 8. But two of the leading scores fouled out Smith & Heberer in the forth quarter and Woodland couldn't with stand losing both of them.

Battle Ground the only GHSL 4A team in action took down GHSL 2A Mark Morris 56 - 30. A balance scoring attack for the Tiger's with two players in double figures, Kiley Thomas with 12 and Gabi Dixson with 10 simply overwhelmed Mark Morris in the second half out scoring them 30 - 10.

LaCenter from the Trico League had two players scratch over 20 points Marissa Moore 23 and Lauren Baker 21 and another Hanna Trigg with 19 points, defeated Rochester 73 - 30

Let the games BEGIN!!!

The girl's basketball season officially began last night with Jamborees at Prairie and Columbia River involving many of Southwest Washington teams.
Only one official pre-season game was played last night, that had White Salmon visiting Washougal. Washougal started slow, both to start the game and to start the second half, only scoring 1 point in the third quarter. Their fourth quarter 'come back' came up short. White Salmon held of Washougal 31 to 24. White Salmon was lead by Lacey Kruse with 23 points. Washougal had a balance scoring attack with 7 girls scoring, lead by Maddie Down with 8.

Lot's of action this week in hoops

It's pre-season time. Lot's of games. The Columbian does a great job of keeping you up on the week's actions. Click on the link and see what's happening this week.

Next week things get started

Lot's of interleague games starting next weekend. Get your 10 days of practice in and be ready for games. We'll keep you on top of it all.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Sweatie locker room, not what it's meant to be

They say that hard work by athletes leaves some evidence behind. It's still important to remember some of the basics. An article on personal hygene, with some interesting things to think about.

Congratulations to Natsasha Torgenson of Grant's Pass (OR.) signing with Sacramento State. She played with the Northwest Elite Bluez coach by John Fraiter. (Yes I will be trying to reach into Oregon)

How our Local athlete's are doing

Click on the links for full stories
D1
Kiva Herman from Hudson's Bay had a big week with 20 points against CS Northridge in the win and 16 points against Cal Poly in a lost of the two games played this week for USD.
Nicole Johnson from Columbia River had an up and down week last week. Utah State won one and lost one last week. Nicole score 7 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in the win against Northern Arizona, and had 4 points and 7 rebounds in the lost to Idaho State. Nicole played well last night.
Ashlee Smith from Skyview had a busy week. The St. Mary's College women's team has played 5 games on the road. Losing all 5, but Ashlee is playing well. So well the she moved into the starting line up, were she scored 6 points and grabbed 5 rebounds against CS Fullerton, and against Nevada she had 4 points with 3 boards.
Ashley Corral from Prairie now with USC scored 20 points, went 6 - 14 from the 3 point line, and grabbed 7 rebounds against Pepperdine Monday nite to lead USC to victory.
Jazmine Foreman from Hudson's Bay now with BYU plays against UCONN Tuesday.

D2 & D3 and NAIA
Britney Knotts, Sara Shelton from Mt. View and Heather Cardelli from Evergreen all three now with Evergreen State had games this week. Personal stats not available at this time but the team won the Cal-Maritime Academy Tournament in California.
Jessalyn Jackson from Fort Vancouver is doing well with Northwest University. She's already had a 20 point game. The team is off to a 1 - 3 start.
Kiesha Gordon from Heritage now with George Fox University is leading the team to a great 2 - 0 start in Dallas Texas. Kiesha didn't play the second game, injury?
Katie Allen from Battle Ground at Warner Pacific is averaging nearly 5 points per game in the first 4 games for her team. They are 3 - 1.
Lauren Hefflin from Ridgefield now at Western Washington is learning the ropes at the school seeing limited time but playing well.
Emily Lashua, Jamie Gelhar from Prairie and Krissy Bassett from Washougal are helping St. Martin's University get off to a good start. Jamie had a good weekend, scoring 20 points over a weekend tournament at Western Oregon. Emily is 3rd on the team in rebounds. and Krissy Bassett is the teams 2nd leading scorer.
Brittney Roggenkamp from La Center High now with Northwest Nazarene has a big role for the team. Her 19 points help lead the team to victory this weekend. She leads the team in scoring averaging 18 a game.

Community College
Jocelyn Joudrey from Heritage at Gray's Harbor College start her career this weekend with a double/double 15 points and 10 rebounds.
McKenzie Meyer from Prairie and Dayle Powell from Skyview playing together at Clackamas Community College, Dayle is one of the teams top scores and McKenzie is helping off the bench with good play.

Excepetion:
Kara Patterson from Skyview, you should read this exceptional story from the Oregonian;

Exposure equates to college scholarships

Hoopgurlz.com was a Seattle Washington based website, giving girl's high school basketball in Washington great exposure. During it's 'hey day' here in Washington, the exposure given to high school girl's basketball reach out nationally, and many Washington athletes received college scholarships to schools all across the country. Washington was a hot bed for girl's basketball talent. In fact June Daughtery lost her head coaching job at the University of Washington partly because of her inability to keep the in state talent home.
Two years ago Hoopgurlz.com signed on with ESPN.com and they now have a national base and scope. Now giving great exposure for girl's high school basketball across the country for ESPN. But the state of Washington has suffered. This year only 9 girl's through out the state sign "letter's of intent" in the early signing period. Down 25% from 2008, and as much as 50% in 2007 and before.
Exposure is the key. That's our goal with this blog/site. Your help is appreciated. Our girls have the talent, we have to help them with exposure.

Here are the girls in our state that signed letter's of intent for 2009;
(unfortunately non from Southwest Washington)

Lindsey Moore - Kentwood H.S. (WA) - Nebraska
Carly Noyes - Moses Lake H.S. (WA) - Washington State
Nichole Jackson - Auburn-Riverside H.S. (WA) - Portland State
Alyssa Smith - Archbishop Murphy H.S. (WA) - Montana
Ally Schmitt - Snohomish H.S. (WA) - Montana State
Kenzie De Boer - Lynden Christian H.S. (WA) - Montana
Shannon Byrne - Emerald Ridge H.S. (WA) - Idaho State
Karley Lampman - Snohomish H.S. (WA) - Portland State
Amanda Thompson - Kentlake H.S. (WA) - Cal State Northridge

Greater St. Helen's 4A Poll results

Well, it appears overwhelming, 50% of you voted that Heritage would win the 2008-2009 Greater St. Helen's 4A League Championship this year now that Prairie has move to the 3A. There could be many reasons for this. I recognize that I have a large contingency of readers from the Heritage high school area. "Premier Elite" worked with many of the players at the school, thus lots of bias voting could have taken place. But what also could have been a factor is that they only lost one player from last year's team. Granted it was their best player in Kiesha Gordon, but everyone else is back from a very formidable team from last year. Lots of expectation for this still very young team. There is a ton of potentially good players on this team, good luck coach Rogers in bringing this team together and meeting those expectation.
Skyview high school, for the past few years the only real threat to Prairie's strong hold on the league, was second in our poll with 17%. Coach Hook lost a lot of talent from last season's team with the departure of Ashlee Smith and Dayle Powell to graduation. There will be a lot of young players and even a few freshmen that need to step up for the Storm this season. Skyview is a system program, and if the system comes together with these young players they could be good. It will probably take some time, so be patient parents.
Surprisingly Mt. View and Kelso tied for 3rd with 12% of the vote each. I personally thought that Kelso would have been the second place representative. They have two of the best players in the area returning and they've always done very well in the 3A in previous seasons. I guess moving up to the 4A and many readers not knowing much about them contributed to the 3rd place vote, but watch out for them, they should be good this year. Just as surprising is Mt. View ranked 3rd. They appear to be the lunch bucket crew. Not a lot of 'star quality' but a lot of hard working players that could possibly shock the rest of the league. Mt. View is the 'wild card' this season in the 4A. They could upset the apple cart.
Evergreen had 6% of the vote and Battle Ground 1%. Both of these teams are trying to build, this could be a tough season for them. But you never know what kind of surprises could be out there.
Thanks for voting, always good to argue about how things will be on paper. But you never know in sports. Injuries and other factors come in to play, so now let's see what happens on the court.

Happenings around D1 and local interest

Congratulations to Oregon State Beaver's Talisa Rhea, daughter of Ken ( a local basketball official) for her 42 point, (record setting 10 3 pointers) Sunday vs Sacramento State.

Ashlee Smith has another big game for St. Mary's as she was the leading scorer for the Gael's in a lost to University of Texas, followed by another lost to Dayton last night where she scored 10 points.

Ashley Corral is also playing well for USC, scoring 10 points Sunday in a win vs the University of Milwaukee, after a 15 point outing Saturday in a lost to Charlotte.

Kiva Herman senior for University of San Diego played well in lost to UC Santa Barbara.

Utah State and Nicole Johnson host the University of Portland this past weekend and lost, Nicole did not have her best game, not scoring, but hope to bounce back this week with two games.

BYU plays again Tuesday night vs University of Nevada. Jazmine Foreman has moved to the starting line up with the terrible injury to the knee of Haley Hall Saturday vs PSU.

I had a chance to see Concordia College out of Portland play Washington State last week. Ex-Prairie high school player Rachel Bristow coming off the bench, played very well.

Lot's of girls doing well at D2, D3, and NAIA and Community Colleges. Please if you have information, provided it to me so I can let everyone know how or ex-Southwest Washington high school stars are doing.

Announcing formulation of a 7th/8th grade team

"Premier Elite" is proud to announce, by popular demand, the formulating a 7th/8th grade team. Tryouts will be in early December '2008

For information via email or phone, lanpdx2003@yahoo.com or 360-991-2566.

The same reputation we've developed with or "Premier Elite high school" program, we plan to bring to our 8th grade team. If you know of any young ladies that would like to participate in a hard working, skill developing program, design to prepare them for high school basketball, please send them our way.

Basketball officially arrives in SW Washington

Today is the first day of tryouts. Gym's all over Southwest Washington are being filled with the bouncing of balls, the swishing of the nets, the squeaking of tennis shoes, sweat, whistles, yelling coaches... Yes it's high school basketball's opening day. There will be plenty of ice packs, heat balm, and hot tub use these first few days also. I'm so excited... (smile).

Thank you for your support since I started this site October 1st. I hope to keep you informed through out the season. Please don't hesitate to assist with news, stories, and information. Contact me anytime. My theme is "It takes a village to raise a child".

Student athlete's please stretch and warm up properly, work hard, be safe and have fun.

Ashley & Ashlee do well in their career openers

Both Ashlee Smith formerly of Skyview and Ashley Corral formerly of Prairie see plenty of playing time and do well in their college career openers with their respective teams. Ashlee Smith had 10 points and 5 rebounds in a opening lost for St. Mary's College and USC's Ashley Corral scored 15 points to lead the Lady's of Troy in scoring in a lost Saturday.

OTHER LOCAL'S PLAYING D1

Kiva Herman formerly of Hudson's Bay scored 10 points and grabbed 7 rebounds to help Univesity of San Diego to a victory Saturday.

Nicole Johnson formerly of Columbia River didn't score but grab 2 rebounds for Utah State in a lost Saturday night.

Great turn out for the BYU vs. PSU game

Thanks to everyone that came Friday night. I know I didn't get a chance to speak to everyone, it was a great turn out.
A proud father, watched on as BYU came close but lost to PSU 73 - 64. Jazmine had 12 points off the bench, with 4 assist and spark a comeback for BYU but they couldn't get over the hump.
It was a good time, and Jazmine wanted me to thank all of you who came out to watch the game.

It's the early signing period, and NO D1 signers

We have plenty of talented basketball players here in Southwest Washington, but a lack of exposure and personal assistance is holding our girl's back from receiving some of the basketball scholarships being awarded. This is the first week of the early signing period, which last two weeks, and we have no news to pass along concerning any Southwest Washington 2009 seniors, signing "letters of intent" to play basketball with NCAA D1, D2, or any NAIA schools. As a coach of a local club team "Premier Elite", this is disturbing, troubling, and hurtful. Unfortunately this past summer's Premier Elite team was full of underclassmen, (the seniors that played in the spring, choose to play else where for the summer). The summer tournaments are where you get the exposure for theses early signings. Five of the Premier Elite underclassmen are receiving letters of interest from NCAA D1 & D2 schools. I'm vowing not to let future early signing periods pass, with no class of 2010 or beyond early signers. Let's work together and prevent this travesty. Our girl's deserve better.

Should you play Club/AAU ball or stick with the high school team?

Why not do both, if you're looking to play at the next level, it's now almost essential.

It's amazing that club teams in various communities around the country have a difficult time working with the local high school coaches. Adults placing kids in the ugly positions of having to choose between one or the other. One argument between many high school coaches, and private trainers and/or AAU/Club coaches, is over the player's practice time. I think all involved want the players to improve. High school coaches want their players to fit in to the team concept, to elevate the team to league and state prominence. Trainers and club coaches want the players to do well, help their team, get a scholarship so they can take credit for the player's development and improvement. Both high schools and club coaches hope that outsiders see the success of the program and want to play and/or train with them. Both are good and both can work for you.

Parents, always wanting more for the darling daughters, sometimes finding themselves frustrated with the way that the local high schools are handling there daughters, and choose to go to the local club teams. Because of the various restrictions on high schools, most communities have just one or maybe two schools that are constantly competitive and a large number schools that struggle to find there way, so parents look around for greener pastures. Sometimes they find better, sometimes they don't. No matter how you feel one thing's for sure, AAU/Club teams have a niche in almost every community. They are her to stay. It's all about finding the right one for you. The advantage of playing with good club team's are playing with and against more competitive players and playing in the college viewing tournaments. (find out more, ask around)

There are many communities that have enjoyed huge success because of the work of the local club team. Spokane and the Inland Empire has enjoyed great success because of the club team "Spokane Star's". The picture above shows the Star's club president with a few of his players that have attended Arizona State University on a basketball scholarship. Many high schools surrounding the Spokane area, have their players training with the "Star's" and the schools have enjoyed unparalleled success in the high school state tournament. State champions at all divisions seem to be a constant coming out of the Spokane area. Including but not limited to the back to back state 4A champs Lewis & Clark. And not only have the teams enjoyed success but over 150 players, over the past 20 or so years, have achieved D1 scholarships including University High School player and now University of Tennessee starter Angie Bjorklund.

It's time here in Southwest Washington we started working together, helping our local student athletes achieve personal basketball success, of which I believe the local high schools will gain be successful. This is the goal behind "Premier Elite". After the '08 - '09 high school season, we will be holding tryouts for the high school level, two teams. We hope you'll consider being a part of the 2009 spring and summer team. Also this December we will be putting together a 8th grade team. Future correspondence will be posted concerning tryouts. Let's make our community the next big thing for girl's basketball in the state.

Portland State vs. BYU

Friday November 14th at the Stott Center at PSU, starting at 7:00pm. The season opener for both schools. Hope to see you there.

News around the area

Portland, Oregon;
You think there is lots of concern about high school athlete transfers here in Southwest Washington, you should read what's going on in Portland. Probably the best point guard in the Northwest, last year's Oregon 5A player of the year, as a sophomore, Shoni Schimmel from Pendleton Oregon, has transferred with younger sister Jude, to Franklin High School in Portland. The kids mother CeCe was hired as the head coach at Franklin and the parents of the other schools in the Portland area are in an up roar. Regardless to right or wrong, this girl Shoni, is worth going to see play, and Franklin will immediately become a contender.

Congratulation Southwest Washington freshman players, playing D1;
Ashley Corral of USC scored 17 points in an exhibition game last week, and Ashlee Smith scored 18 points for St. Mary's in an exhibition game this past week. Good luck in the season ladies.

Madison moves 8 miles;
Katie Madison from Prairie High School, who spent two years at the University of Idaho has transferred to Washington State University. She will sit out this year, D1 transfer requirements, and will be eligible to play next year for the Cougars. She has undergone knee surgery this month and hopes to come back better and stronger than ever.

Practice has started in Portland;
November 10th mark the beginning of tryouts / practice for the state of Oregon. Things get started here in the state of Washington next week November 17th.

Projected Impact seniors, SW Washington '09

This upcoming basketball season promises to be one of the most interesting of past few years here in Southwest Washington. Last year the 2A division of the Greater St. Helen's League was the most competitive in the area, but this year almost every team in every division 2A, 3A, & 4A has a chance to win their league title. Because of the lack of senior talent, the reorganization of the divisions, and the fact that you never know what you'll get from talented but lack of experience underclassmen, every team eagerly anticipating the upcoming season, with feelings of "this could be our year" ringing in the air.The underclass talent seems to be predominate at most schools.

But here are a few seniors that we believe you'll hear more about as the season unfolds.

CHAWNCY McCLENAN of Heritage High the most athletic player in Southwest Washington. Chawncy plays soccer, runs track, and plays basketball. She has good speed, good jumping ability, and has length. She's worked very hard on her basketball skills over the spring and summer, and should have lots of colleges watching her over this season. She's one of the reasons why Heritage goes into the 4A season probable favorites to win the league championship.

DARON DEAN of Hockinson is probably the most talented power player in the area. The 5'10 senior should wreck havoc in the 2A division. Working hard in the off season should pay off, playing all spring and summer, Daron is posed for a big senior season. I expect Hockinson to lean on her broad shoulders throughout the season, keeping them competitive for the 2A championship.

MEGAN DIRE of Union has a great shooters stroke. Again one of those players that put in a lot of time over the off season, playing on spring and summer teams, and being the only returning senior from last years 3A all league team, Megan should meet all expectations of being a standout player for Union this year. As she goes so will Union.

CAITLYNN PATTERSON of Mountain View has probably made the most improvement of any of the '09 players. Although there seems to be a recurring them to my selections "girls playing spring and summer ball" the fact remains that the more time you put into your craft, the better you'll get. Caitlynn raised her stock as a player in the off season, good enough to receive a scholarship offer over the summer. She should provided a stabilizing force for Mt. View.

EVIE EVERETT also of Mountain View has the most athletic talent for the Thunder. Such a talented athlete, she plays many sports for the school. Gaging how long it will take for Evie to transition from soccer to basketball before she's up to full swing will be the question for Mt. View. But with out question Mt. View goes as far as she carries them in league.

AMBER MEYERS of Heritage could be the most talented big in the area. Long and athletic, and again one of those players that plays other sports, Amber has qualities to help lead the Timberwolves to the 4A title. She will be one to watch all season.

I'm sure there are other '09 players and I've probably left your favorite senior out, the season will unfold and I will report on all that show promise. If you know of someone that deserves recognition please don't hesitate to contact me. Until then have a great season ladies, your senior season can be something you'll never forget.

I've never heard of "X" College. Who are they?

Just because you've never heard of the school doesn't mean you will not get a quality education there. Nor does it mean you'll have less competition to play against, fewer crowds to play in front of, or receive a lesser level of quality coaching. Studies have shown that many of the "non Division 1" schools around the country actually lead the nation in a variety of educational standards. And let's be honest, except for a selected few Division 1 schools, the crowds just haven't been that great yet. Although most of these quote "smaller schools" may not offer full athletic scholarships, usually they work out very good financial packages that end up paying for most, if not all, of the athlete's tuition, books, and living expenses.
Many student athlete's are choosing Division 2, Division 3, NAIA and or Community College to continue their athletic careers after high school, and they're very happy. So when you get that letter from Tim-Buck-Two Tech, don't just throw it out. Check it out, ask around, go to the website, call the coach. It may be the perfect fit for what you're looking for. Good luck, happy hunting, and I wish you all success.

DIVISION 2
Conferences - Prospectus for this year

Great Northwest Athletic Conference should be lead this year by Alaska Anchorage.
Click the links to find out more.

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) is so big it's broken into two divisions, this seasons polls have the expectations of a very close race.

The Summit League a fairly new conference and although South Dakota State is pick as the favorite it will be a very tight this year.

California Collegiate Athletic Association, obviously made up of California schools has Chico State as the preseason top team.

NAIA
Conferences - Preseason polls
Many of these schools normally play Division 1 schools in the exhibition season

Frontier Conference preseason poll

Cascade Conference Southern Oregon is rank 19 nationally and pick a top the conference preseason poll.

Dakota Athletic Conference preseason poll is out

Our local Community Colleges and Division 3 schools haven't release much information yet, but as they do I'll get it to you.

We live in the greatest country in the world

The ability to change with the times, or the wind, (as some would say) is the key to longevity. I'm a 50 year old black man from Los Angeles Calif. I've witness many things, I've seen many atrocities, been personally involved in many unfortunate wrong doings. But I've also witness many wrongs made right. And I've notice the change in our society and individuals, including myself. And now, the real possibility of a black man, Barack Obama, being elected president of these United States. WOW!!! It honestly brings tears to my eyes. I couldn't be prouder. Included in this change in our society is not just one, but two strong women in the political arena. Very proud to see Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin representing change in America. How far we've come.

Okay enough of my soap box. I bring this up because of the opportunities for young women in America, that wasn't available just 20 years ago. Bouncing a ball, playing a game and having your college education paid for. WOW!!! And not just the benefits of higher education and playing at the next level, but the benefits received for simply participating at the high school level. I read an article in October on Sarah Palin expressing how important her high school basketball experience was in shaping her life. She says many of the lessons taught while playing ball she still uses in her life.

Independent studies have shown, girls who play sports in high school graduate at a higher percentage and achieve better employment post high school than girls who don't play. High school girl athletes are most likly to not experiment with alcohol, tobacco or street drugs in comparison to the general student population. The percentage of high school girl athletes to get pregnant or have premarital sex is much lower than the general high school student body. And studies have also shown that former female high school athletes are less likely to get involved in abusive relationships later in life.

So you ask, why should our daughters play high school sports? Why is it important? Why do the parents get so excited about it? Things that make you say hummmmm...

What's happening in Women's College Basketball

Division 1 Preseason Polls;

In the Big Sky Conference, Montana has been selected as clear #1 and Portland State as #2, that makes this BYU vs PSU game on November 14th very interesting. Click link and read more.

The Mountain West Conference thinks Utah will go back to back in the preseason coaches poll, BYU (Jazmine Foreman) pick 5th.

PAC 10 goes with the usual suspects to lead the league, Stanford, Calif., and Arizona State with USC (Ashley Corral) pick to come in forth

West Coast Conference (WCC) selects Gonzaga as the preseason favorite; Kiva Herman and USD are chosen 3rd, and St. Mary's with (Ashlee Smith) are pick 4th

Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Boise State, Fresno State, & Utah State (Nicole Johnson) receive first place votes

Division 2 preseason polls, next week.

Keeping up with local colleges also

In an attempt to bring you the best in girl's basketball in the area. We will make an attempt to keep you up on what's happening with collegiate conferences in the area that may have some of our local girls playing ball.

From NCAA Division 1 we'll include - the Big Sky Conference, The Mountain West, PAC 10, Western Athletic Conference (WAC), and the West Coast Conference (WCC), from NCAA Division 2 - The Great Northwest Athletic Conference, The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), and the Summit League. The NAIA includes the Cascade Collegiate Conference, and the Frontier Conference, we'll also try to keep up with the NWAACC which is the community colleges conference and the NCAA Division 3 information.

As you can see there's a lot of information to try and pass along, the focus will remain on the local high school news, scores and stories. I hope you've enjoyed this first month with us and we will continue to provide you with news and information as we get it.

Again my theme; "It takes a village to raise a child" your help in providing news stories and information is helpful. Contact us at lanpdx2003@yahoo.com

100+ League Victories, Kings/Queens of the Hill

PRAIRIE; The mear mention of the name, Prairie, brings to mind dominance in girl's basketball in the state of Washington. Especially here in Southwest Washington. Prairie hasn't lost a league game in over 8 years. Eight years... WOW... No matter how you feel about the controversy that surrounds the coaching staff and/or program, you have to respect what they've been able to achieve. League and State championships are expected out of this program. Reloading is the catch word for Prairie, year after year. And this year's no different.

Although they've moved from the 4A to the 3A division, a league championship is still expected and likely. In fact it seems the only real question is, "will someone catch them on a bad night" and stop that consecutive victory streak. Skyview and Battle Ground tried for years in the 4A division and were unable to achieve that allusive victory. Maybe this year, in the 3A, Union, Camas, Fort Vancouver, Hudson's Bay or Columbia River might be able to sneak up on them... NOT!!!

Having had a chance to see them play this fall, Prairie, again is the class of Southwest Washington. Better talent coming in off the bench then most teams can present in their starting line-ups. Tall, strong, tough, and skilled. Reloading, huh. I don't want to talk about the individual players too much, but Lindsey Levanen and Heather Corral (younger sister to Ashley) should lead this team to the state tournament for the next couple of years. Wow Al, you've done it again.

I think it does good to have a dominate team in the area, it brings up the level of play for all the other teams trying to compete with them. And the level of play in the area has improved, but Prairie still is a little ahead of everyone else. This will be a interesting year in the league, but I think the big battle will be for number #2 in the 3A. Good luck to all.

Practice / Tryouts start November 17

Lot's of questions come to mind with the official start of the basketball season looming close. Athlete's are asking, What team will I make this year, (varsity, JV, C/freshman team)? What should I do to prepare for tryouts? Who else at school (new kids, players coming back, ext.) will be trying out this year? Will the coach like and appreciate my game this year? Are the girls on the team going to be nice and like me? Will the team be any good this year? Parents are wondering, Will this be a good experience for my daughter? Do the coaches know what they're really doing? Will the coach give my daughter the opportunity (playing time, run plays for her, ext) that she deserves? Will my daughter be able to balance playing games, practice, social life, and school? Coaches are pondering, What will be the best system (press, run, zone, walk it up, ext.) for the team this year? Who is going to come out and be ready to play for us this year? Will I have any surprises (good or bad)? Will I push the right buttons, call the right plays, yell at the right time, to get us over the hump?

Anxiety abroad... It's all good. This will be an interesting year. Be sure you go see a few games. Not just your daughter's games, but go to some other games also. It's a very entertaining experience and doesn't cost much or take much of your time. We have some very talented young ladies in the area, and they deserve enthusiastic fans like you. Make an evening of it, you'll see it will be well worth it. We'll see you there.

ENJOY SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON GIRL'S BASKETBALL

Recreational fun vs. Competitive reality

Bouncing, kicking, hitting, shooting or catching a ball. Fun and games. Not only will you get great exercise, but you'll learn life values in playing these games that will be a tremendous help later in life. Winning, losing, failure and success learning how to deal with it all. Pushing yourself past your own expectations. Working with others to achieve success. All important life lessons. Playing sports brings it all out. Regardless of how talented you are, or if you win or lose. Participating is important. Let everyone play. Have fun...

The fact is that high school athletics and the Club/AAU circuit is leaning more and more toward the competitive reality of sports. The financial savings that come from a college athletic scholarship saves families thousands of dollars. This makes the motives of those involved (the student athlete) come to a higher level of stress and seriousness in that sport. Regardless of this being right or wrong, this is the reality of today's society. Many parents are very involved with their child's high school athletic programs, wanting / demanding good coaching, lots of attention and playing time for their child, and a winning program.

High schools are having a hard time justifying spending the dollars to have a good program. The cost of hiring full time coaches, and to travel to competitive locations for games, is prohibitive. Yet schools understand the advantages that comes with being recognize for having winning athletic programs. Then you get that parent that feel their child should play because, well they are on the team, and I spend a lot of time in the booster club, and I'm on the PTA, and well that's only fair. That's how it was years ago when I played, and that's how it is in the recreation league. So let my child play.

I think this is why Club/AAU teams are becoming more and more prevalent. Parents desire more opportunity for their kids and these Club/AAU teams aren't bound by some of the rules that high school teams are. Traveling to play in locations where the athletes can get exposure is important. Be careful when looking at these Club/AAU teams. Money is a motive of many of the programs, providing big promises just to get you child on the team. Yes it does cost to run these programs, and yes it's only fair that the people running them earn some income. But be sure you know what your getting for your dollar. Shop around. There are small organizations and big organizations and there are positives and negatives to both.

Bottom line. Know your kid. Know what's motivating them. Know what they really want. Try to take an honest evaluation of your child's talent. Are they playing to have fun, and socialize? The more you get into the higher level of playing a game. The more competitive it becomes and the more reality you'll face. Be sure you and your child are ready for the good and the bad. Athletes, play your heart out at your high school, and join a good Club/AAU team, only if you're taking sports seriously.

I wish everyone a very successful season this year. I hope you reach all your dreams and goals.

There's more to girls than basketball

Make up and what to wear, not my thing but here is a little something that some of the young ladies may like. Just thought I'd change the pace a bit. {smile} http://sports.espn.go.com/highschool/rise/basketball/girls/columns/story?columnist=neville_martonne&id=3659227
Enjoy. More hoops coming...

Other sports vs basketball follow-up

I've read a lot about this on other blogs. This information came from the Oregonlive.com site. I thought it was ironic that I happen to place this vball vs. soccer vs. bball vs. softball blog. Check out what some of these contributors had to say.
My observation and experience over the years is that basketball being a more physically aggressive sport attracts the more aggressive girls while vball attracts very athletic skilled girls who do not like the physical pounding of bodies that occurs in bball. At the younger levels when these girls and their parents are deciding which sports to play the roughness of bball really disenchants a lot of girls from the sport. Further lots of girl bball players do not like vball that much because of the lack of physical contact. That is just human nature that different people have different personalities not one size fits all. Given a chance to play a sport year round that really appeals to you is an easy choice. The club teams would die off without committed athletes so obviously the girls in these respective sports have a strong desire to play year round and so naturally the clubs have developed to meet this need.
another said;
Went to watch a friend's daughter play in a volleyball tournament the other day. Amazing to see so many girls that could be basketball players that opt for year round volleyball. Specialization and pressure from club coaches has really changed the landscape for youth and high school athletes. Interesting to speculate how many might have picked the wrong option to get pigeon-holed at too early an age. I am sure most are having a very enjoyable rewarding experience, so this is not meant to be negative .... just that some of the skill, size, athleticism displayed makes you wonder what they could have done with a basketball rather than a volleyball with the same dedication and training.
and yet another said;
It started happening 25 years ago. Particularly on the East side of town, where the big volleyball clubs became dominant in the 1980's until now. For all this time did you think that the Metro league schools and TRL schools dominated basketball just because there were no athletic tall girls east of I-205? The V-Ball clubs are a little more widespread than they were 10-20 years ago, but still you'd be amazed at how many 6'1" to 6-4" incredibly athletic girls who DIDN'T play basketball. The clubs hook these little girls and their naive parents into year-round commitments at a very young age, and it works. Same formula now works for soccer. Over the years it's been frustrating to watch.
Interesting huh....