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Monday, Feb. 11, 2008

A girls game worth the trip to Prosser

Make mental note: When listing my top games of the year, Othello-Prosser girls goes high on the list.

That was just a great game Friday night (Othello won 79-75). There were five players on the court who will be under definite consideration for our All-Area team, including two who will be on the short list for MVP -- Othello's Allison Walker and Prosser's Jordan Brown. (The other three: sisters Courtney and Christine Kirkwood for Othello, and Mustangs freshman post Tamara Jones).

For me, though, the most interesting scene came after the game, when Prosser coach Daron Santo became a huckster for the Gonzaga women's program, telling Walker how interested the Zags are in her and how she should definitely consider the Bulldogs when she starts looking at her options.

From Friday's game, it's easy to see why the Zags would be interested in Walker. A 6-foot-1 junior, she's got incredible hands that caught all sorts of entry passes and an incredibly quick leaper -- several times, she was already at full height while the Prosser player still was thinking about jumping for the rebound -- and once she got the ball in the low block, it was either a bucket or a foul -- or both.

The only knock on her would be her outside shooting. She went 7-for-14 at the foul line -- not a good sign -- and she didn't attempt a shot outside of 5 feet, although she did hit a nice turnaround on the left block. Granted, she doesn't need to shoot from the outside right now, but in college, she'll most likely play the 3, and she'll need to develop a consistent jump shot to thrive in that role.

As for Brown, she played the same game I've seen her play the past three years -- incredibly quick hands, gets in the passing lanes, deadly in the open court, can hit the 3-pointer -- but she's definitely matured as a player. She was much more in control in this game, without many of the crazy drives that led to turnovers or wild shots she's had in the past.

Both of these teams would fare well at state. So would Ellensburg and East Valley (Yakima). One of those four will stay home. That's going to be a shame, no matter which team it is.

Haven't had time to update scoring leaders yet, but I did do my voting in this week's Associated Press poll.

Boys

4A 1, Ferris. 2, Franklin. 3, Bellarmine Prep. 4, Shadle Park. 5, Kentwood. 6, Kentridge. 7, Snohomish. 8, Edmonds-Woodway. 9, Garfield. 10, Roosevelt.

3A 1, Rainier Beach. 2, Auburn. 3, Lakes. 4, Mercer Island. 5, Squalicum. 6, Renton. 7, Seattle Prep. 8, Mount Rainier. 9, Meadowdale. 10, Kennedy.

2A 1, Mark Morris. 2, Burlington-Edison. 3, Pullman. 4, River Ridge. 5, Prosser. 6, Ephrata. 7, Port Townsend. 8, Centralia. 9, Lynden. 10, East Valley (Yakima).

1A 1, Bellevue Christian. 2, King's. 3, Connell. 4, Chelan. 5, River View. 6, Vashon Island. 7, White Swan. 8, Castle Rock. 9, Meridian. 10, Winlock.

2B 1, Northwest Christian (Colbert). 2, Riverside Christian. 3, Toutle Lake. 4, LaCenter. 5, St. George's. 6, Reardan. 7, Naselle. 8, Adna. 9, La Salle. 10, Waitsburg.

1B 1, Sunnyside Christian. 2, Lopez Island. 3, Entiat. 4, Liberty Christian. 5, Lake Quinault.

Girls

4A 1, Prairie. 2, Lewis & Clark. 3, Lake Stevens. 4, Shadle Park. 5, Jackson. 6, Ballard. 7, Moses Lake. 8, Skyview. 9, Mead. 10, Inglemoor.

3A 1, Auburn Riverside. 2, Kennedy. 3, Lakes. 4, Issaquah. 5, Meadowdale. 6, Hanford. 7, Bellevue. 8, Seattle Prep. 9, Fort Vancouver. 10, Capital.

2A 1, Anacortes. 2, Tumwater. 3, Pullman. 4, Othello. 5, River Ridge. 6, Black Hills. 7, East Valley (Yakima). 8, Ellensburg. 9, Woodland. 10, West Valley (Spokane).

1A 1, Lynden Christian. 2, Colfax. 3, Freeman. 4, Chelan. 5, Granger. 6, Connell. 7, Columbia (Burbank). 8, Brewster. 9, Seattle Christian. 10, LaCenter.

,b>2B 1, La Salle. 2, Shoreline Christian. 3, Northwest Christian (Colbert). 4, Napavine. 5, St. George's. 6, White Pass. 7, Liberty Bell. 8, Orcas Island. 9, DeSales. 10, Lind-Ritzville.

1B 1, Garfield-Palouse. 2, Sunnyside Christian. 3, Entiat. 4, Colton. 5, Touchet.

Til next time ...