The quest for perfection
Published 5:37 pm Monday, February 4, 2008
Fourteen down, two to go.
The unbeaten Lake Stevens girls basketball team has two more tests in its quest for an unbeaten run through the Western Conference North Division and a perfect regular season.
The Vikings are 14-0 in division games (18-0 overall) entering tonight’s huge battle against second-place Snohomish (12-2, 14-4) in Lake Stevens. If it can get past a talented Snohomish team that gave it a major challenge a month ago, Lake Stevens will try to complete a flawless regular season Wednesday at Everett (4-10, 5-12).
It wouldn’t be the first time Lake Stevens achieved regular-season perfection. According to former Vikings coach Steve Berg, the program twice went 20-0 in the 1980s (1984-85 and 1986-87). The team was ranked No. 1 in the state both seasons, Berg said.
But postseason injuries to key players derailed those powerful squads, he said. Both teams went 0-2 in regional tournaments and were eliminated without placing, according to Washington Interscholastic Activities Association records.
On the boys side, the race to secure a Class 4A district tournament berth is very entertaining. Entering the final week of play, only one Wesco North team has clinched a postseason berth: Snohomish (13-1, 15-3). That leaves Lake Stevens, Marysville-Pilchuck, Monroe and Stanwood in a four-team fight for the final three berths.
If everything isn’t sorted out by Thursday night, when boys team play their final regular-season games, there could be a tiebreaker game Saturday.
Why wait until March? We’ve already got February Madness.
