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.