Everett, Wash.
Published: Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Final ride for a trio of Snohomish Panthers

Three Snohomish seniors, Katie Benson, Ally Schmitt and Karley Lampman, all have full-ride scholarships to play hoops next year in college. But first the three have unfinished business, like winning a 4A state championship.

By Mike Cane
Herald Writer

 Katie Benson is a basketball player capable of scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds every game. But what if the 6-foot-1 forward's shots are off target? Will she panic?

Not likely, because Benson knows she will get plenty of help from her friends.

"I don't want to have a bad game, but if I do, I know Ally and Karley will pick up the slack and we'll do fine," said Benson, referring to point guard Ally Schmitt and shooting guard Karley Lampman.

Together the three seniors spearhead an experienced Snohomish High School girls basketball team that expects to be in the hunt for the top prize in March at the Class 4A state tournament.

"That's my goal, to take us all the way," said Schmitt, a Montana State University recruit.

Along with Benson (Seattle Pacific University) and Lampman (Portland State University), Schmitt gives Snohomish something rare: Three full-ride college recruits on one prep squad. They all played varsity when they were freshmen. Now they're ready to kick off their final season together.

"They were good freshmen," Snohomish head girls basketball coach Ken Roberts said, "and they've all worked to get better. And I think that you're going to see that they've improved more between last year and this year than any other year before."

Last season Benson and Lampman helped propel Snohomish to a seventh-place finish in Class 4A state tournament and a 21-7 record. The Panthers did it without Schmitt, who essentially missed the entire season because of a knee injury. Now the confident, energetic point guard is healthy and hungry to get back on the court.

"I'm super excited to play this year because I had to sit out all last year," Schmitt said, "so I have a lot of energy going into the season. And I have a lot of high hopes."

Schmitt is "in the best shape of her life" and understands the game much better after watching from the bench, coach Roberts said. Another important result of Schmitt's return is it allows Lampman -- a natural shooting guard -- to return to her favorite position instead of playing point guard, a role she filled but didn't especially enjoy last season.

"Karley's going to be all smiles," Roberts said.

Anticipating heaps of open shots, Lampman said she's thrilled to unite with Schmitt again. "I've been playing with her since fifth grade and so it's so nice having her back because we just connect so well on the court," Lampman said.

Snohomish lost a potent inside force when junior forward Marjorie Heard left for Glacier Peak, the new high school in Snohomish. But the Panthers still have Emily Guthrie, a dangerous outside shooter. And in Benson they have one of the area's most versatile, stat-sheet-cramming performers.

Benson blossomed at the 2008 state tourney, posting scoring and rebounding averages of 18.8 and 8.5, respectively. She pounds away near the basket and is also comfortable launching shots from outside. Long arms and good timing make Benson valuable on defense too -- last season she averaged 2.5 blocks per game.

"She's just going to dominate in the post, and she can dominate on the perimeter. She can shoot the three. She's a threat all over the place," Lampman said.

In some cases, teams struggle when they have numerous star-caliber players. But Benson, Lampman and Schmitt said they don't anticipate any problems sharing the ball or the spotlight.

"We all just play well together as one unit," Benson said. "Even though we're good individually, we don't rely on that. We rely on our team."

Western Conference North Division girls basketball coaches overwhelmingly picked Snohomish as the team to beat in their league.

"It's going to be a tremendous challenge. I think they've kind of distanced themselves from the rest of our league and should definitely be the favorites," Lake Stevens head coach Randall Edens said.

Across the state, other 4A teams expected to be near the top are three-time defending champ Lewis & Clark, Auburn Riverside and Moses Lake.

After winning the past two 3A championships, Auburn Riverside moved up to 4A this school year. Anyone interested in seeing a clash of potential state-title contenders should be at the Snohomish High gym on Dec. 3, when Snohomish plays host to Auburn Riverside.

Writer Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA