Girls notebook
Published 9:00 pm Thursday, March 10, 2005
TACOMA – It’s a question that has long been asked by high school basketball fans: Is there really that big of a difference between Class 4A and Class 3A?
Meadowdale coach Karen Blair, who would be as qualified as anyone to talk about it, says there most definitely is.
“I see a huge difference,” Blair said after her team lost its second-straight game in its Class 4A state tournament debut Thursday. “The size of the girls, the speed of the game. I was at the 3A tournament last week and there were two teams that were head and shoulders above everyone else. Here you look at the losers bracket, things don’t get any easier for you.”
Meadowdale had long been one of 3A’s top girls basketball programs. In 11 state tournament appearances, the Mavericks had a 30-13 record and won 10 trophies, including state titles in 2000 and 2004.
Meadowdale had never lost its first two games in a state tournament.
“We’ve been playing 4A teams in our league every year,” Blair said. “The difference for us is when we go to districts. The talent of the teams is just a lot stronger.”
Blair gets coaching assignment: Blair hasn’t coached her last high school game of the year.
She will coach an all-star team in the Washington-Oregon game the first Sunday of April. The game will include several of the state’s top players, including Rainier Beach’s Jacqua Williams, Garfield’s Malia O’Neill and Allyson Sievers, who helped Kentlake eliminate Blair’s Mavericks on Thursday.
“All these girls that have killed us this year are going to be on my side,” Blair said. “Don’t feel sorry for me.”
Panther pride: The 60-mile drive from Snohomish to Tacoma rarely dissuades SHS students from heading to the annual state basketball tournament.
On Thursday night, when both the boys’ and girls’ teams were playing in the 4A quarterfinals, Panther fans had no excuse for missing the game. Thursday was, after all, a day off for Snohomish High School – thanks to teacher conferences.
Of course, the hundreds of fans who made the trip might be regretting it this morning. The girls’ game ended after 10:45 p.m., and Snohomish High is back in session bright and early this morning.
Mike Allende and Scott Johnson, Herald writers
