Darrington’s mission

DARRINGTON — Kevin Ashe predicts that the primary topic of conversation in his grocery store today will be the high school girls basketball team.

Out in front of the IGA on Highway 530, Ashe’s reader board says, “Good Luck at State DHS Girls BB.”

At 9 tonight, the Darrington girls play White Swan in the first round of the 2B girls state basketball tournament at Spokane’s Veterans Memorial Arena.

If the Loggers keep moving up the bracket, by Saturday half the town of Darrington could be in Spokane, Ashe said.

“If you’ve never lived in a small town, it might be hard to understand. It’s a big deal here,” Ashe said. “We take real pride in our kids and want to see them do well. I think the kids feel good when they know the whole community is behind them.”

Ashe should know. As did a lot of people in town, he played for Darrington, too.

On Wednesday morning, Darrington students climbed into the bleachers of the community center gym to send the girls basketball team on their way. The cheerleaders urged the crowd to yell as loud as they could. And they did. The Loggers’ home court, one of the most beautiful of all the old gymnasiums in the state, was the perfect place for the send-off.

Called out of the locker room one-by-one, the girls then stood shyly in the middle of the floor while their coach, Ben Bryson, praised the hard work that landed the team a place in the Elite Eight of the all the next-to-the-smallest high schools in the state.

For the seniors on the team, the moment was bittersweet. The final season is coming to an end and that fact was beginning to sink in.

Many of the girls have been working for this tourney trip since they started playing basketball together in third grade, said Susan Neumann, assistant coach and the mother of two senior players.

“My daughters have been around basketball all their lives, ever since I volunteered to help coach 24 years ago in this gym and they watched from their playpen,” said Neumann, a Western Washington University basketball player from 1979-81. “It’s been fun. A great run.”

Neumann’s daughters, twins Hailey and Randi Wales, are a big presence inside for the Loggers. Earlier in the season, Hailey Wales scored the 1,000-point mark of her school career and was inducted into the school’s Ring of Honor.

Led by the Wales twins and fellow senior guards Renee Cousins and Caresse Baker, the Loggers were ranked No. 1 in the state Class 2B poll in February by the Associated Press.

While Darrington’s last boys basketball state championship was in 2003, the Darrington girls have never won a state title in any sport. The Darrington girls were eliminated after two games at the state basketball tournament last year.

“They got their first taste of state last year,” Bryson said. “This year, they’re much more confident and prepared. We have great support from the community and we have something to prove. We’re on a mission.”

“We need to prove that we’re No. 1,” Renee said. “The other teams are going to be out to get us.”

For the seniors, going to state again this year is a dream come true, Caresse said.

“All of our summer league work and everything we’ve learned since elementary school has earned us this trip,” Randi Wales said.

Outside the gym, their classmates stood in the snow, slushy puddles and rain and raised their hands to form a tunnel through which the team ran to the bus loaded up for state.

Boys basketball senior standout Jake McMillion waited to wave goodbye. The guys aren’t jealous of their female classmates’ trip to state, he said.

“We are used to this. It’s been this way all our lives. We know our girls are good,” Jake said. “And we’re very proud of them.”

As the bus pulled out of the soggy parking lot, Jake, Jill Goldman and baseball player Darren Dale walked out into the street to hold up a long, green banner made by the cheerleaders who were on the bus with the team.

“On to State,” it read.

Darrington athletic director Linn Brooks left town headed for Spokane a couple hours after the bus.

“Just in case any of the girls forget their good-luck charms, stuffed animals or favorite pillows,” Brooks said. “They call me and I run around to their houses and pick up what they left behind.”

On the way down the valley, the telephone poles along the highway are decorated with basketball-shaped signs wishing the best to each person on the bus.

“On to State.”

Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gifege@heraldnet.com.