The Warriors are roaring into the playoffs.
Riding a 15-game winning streak, the Edmonds-Woodway Warriors girls basketball team hopes to keep rolling. E-W, guided by first-year head coach Duane Hodges, is No. 4 in the Associated Press Class 4A state rankings.
The next challenge for the Western Conference South Division champion is tonight. E-W (19-1) plays host to Wesco North No. 4 seed Arlington (11-9) at 7:30 p.m. With five girls who are 5-foot-11 or taller on its roster, Arlington has more height than any team Edmonds-Woodway has faced this season, Hodges said.
“They’ve had some really good games recently and so we’re definitely taking them very seriously,” Hodges said of Arlington, which is unbeaten in its past three contests: blowout home wins over Cascade and Everett, and a 53-48 triumph at Snohomish. Arlington’s top scorers are 6-foot post Ginny Wilson and 5-11 guard Quinn Kesselring, who both average close to 10 points per game.
“We’ve got to be able to defend the post, rebound and try to counter with our strength,” Hodges said.
E-W has stellar speed, quickness and long-range shooting. The Warriors average 65 points per game and their only loss this season was before Christmas (Dec. 16 at Meadowdale). E-W forward Angela Woods (16.1 points per game) missed that division clash. Two months later it’s still the team’s lone defeat.
“No, it’s not a coincidence,” Hodges said. “You can make up for points but I think people underestimate (Woods’s) ability to play defense and add some intangibles to our team.”
The top three squads in the eight-team, double-elimination tournament will qualify for the state championships in Tacoma. E-W seeks its first state appearance since 1993. None of the Warriors current players were alive when that happened.
The other first-round 4A District 1 girls basketball tournament matchups tonight are South No. 4 Shorewood (7-14) at North No. 1 Monroe (16-4), North No. 3 Lake Stevens (15-5) at South No. 2 Jackson (17-3) and South No. 3 Kamiak (9-11) at North No. 2 Marysville-Pilchuck (15-5).
If M-P and E-W both prevail tonight, they will play a winner-to-state game on Friday in Marysville. Marysville-Pilchuck is trying to get to state for the first time since 1997, when current M-P coach Julie Martin was a Tomahawks senior.
Spartans also hot
Much like the E-W girls team, the Stanwood boys basketball squad is on an impressive streak. The Spartans, co-champs of the Wesco North with Lake Stevens, have won 11 straight.
Coming off a 33-point win over Cascade, Stanwood (14-6) is the North No. 1 seed for the 4A District 1 boys hoops tournament, which begins Wednesday. Stanwood’s first opponent is its biggest rival, North No. 5 seed Arlington (13-8).
With experienced, all-league first team performers Zack Johnson and Kale Schmidt as well as proven complementary players, Stanwood appears to have a strong chance to qualify for the state championships for the first time since 2002. The Spartans hope to break through after going 0-4 in winner-to-state district games the past two seasons.
“With Zack and Kale you’re talking four-year lettermen. They’ve played in big games,” Stanwood coach Zach Ward said of Johnson and Schmidt, who have combined to average about 34 points per game this season. “I think we’ve gotten over a hump of understanding what it means to play in big games.”
The eight teams in the boys district tournament are fighting for three state berths. The other first-round matchups on Wednesday are North No. 3 seed Cascade (13-7) at South No. 2 Mountlake Terrace (11-9), South No. 3 Shorewood (8-12) at North No. 2 Lake Stevens (15-5) and North No. 4 Snohomish (11-9) at South No. 1 Jackson (17-3).
For much of the regular season, Jackson overwhelmed foes with its fast-paced offense spearheaded by guards Brett Kingma, Marshall Massengale and Ryan Todd. But the Timberwolves had some slipups recently, losing back-to-back division games at home against Meadowdale and Mountlake Terrace.
Jackson, ranked No. 6 in 4A (Associated Press), bounced back with a 21-point victory over Kamiak on Thursday. In addition to clinching the South title, the T-wolves showed improvement in areas they had been struggling in, Jackson coach Steve Johnson said. In particular, they shared the ball better and committed fewer turnovers, said Johnson.
Jackson is 0-3 against Snohomish, all at district tournaments, since Johnson became the T-wolves’ coach. The teams have vastly different styles; Snohomish is known for its half-court defense and rebounding. Forward Jon McGee (6-5) and center Logan Steele (6-6) provide inside muscle for the Panthers.
“They do have that (interior) strength,” Jackson’s Johnson said, “but I also think they’re going to have trouble matching up with us. We’re a lot quicker than they are.”
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