Washington earns female hoops silver medal at Special Olympics

SEATTLE — Even though they fell one win short of their gold-medal dreams, the Special Olympics USA Games were a memorable experience for Snohomish County basketball players Melany Hernandez, Agwin Atem and Uzo Okoro.

The local trio helped Team Washington advance to Thursday morning’s traditional female basketball gold-medal contest at the University of Washington’s Alaska Airlines Arena, where the “Sno Queens” from Snohomish and King counties fell to a talented Texas squad 24-7.

“I was really disappointed that Texas beat us,” said Hernandez, who just completed her sophomore year at Mariner High School. “But I gave it all I had there with my teammates.

“All that training paid off,” she added. “Even though we didn’t come in first, it still paid off getting second.”

Hernandez was one of three local players on Team Washington, along with fellow Mariner High School student Atem and Edmonds resident Okoro. Joining them were four players from Seattle and another from South Kitsap.

The team was formed this past winter and has been training once or twice a week since February in preparation for this week’s fourth-ever USA Games, the premier national competition for athletes with intellectual disabilities.

Team Washington finished the four-team tournament with a 3-2 record and a silver medal. By advancing to the title game, they earned a rare opportunity to play in a Pac-12 college basketball arena.

“It was really exciting,” Hernandez said of the gold-medal game atmosphere. “I had a blast. … The court was amazing. The crowd was cheering us on. Even (though) we lost, our fans, family, friends were all there to support us.”

This was the first time Washington has fielded a traditional female basketball team for the USA Games, according to head coach Tara Davis. (Special Olympics features traditional competition consisting entirely of athletes with intellectual disabilities, as well as Unified competition that joins athletes with and without disabilities on the same team.)

Davis said the team made considerable growth over the past five months.

“Bringing them all together and learning each other, it was difficult at first,” said Davis, a former University of Washington basketball player and Pac-10 long jump champion. “… We’ve had a huge turnaround in the growth process. It was just a transformation (of) everybody coming together and learning one another.”

Team Washington went 2-1 in pool play earlier this week before defeating Southern California 24-14 in Wednesday’s semifinal to reach the gold-medal contest. Hernandez scored six points in the semifinal win and showcased her swarming defense by forcing a five-second call in Thursday’s title game.

“She is our defensive stopper,” Davis said. “We had her on one of their best players out there. She brings tenacity. She brings intensity. And it really fires up the rest of the team.”

Hernandez began competing in Special Olympics as a freshman in track and field. She started playing basketball this past year as a sophomore and also competes in soccer, swimming, volleyball and wrestling. She said basketball is her favorite sport.

“I really love Special Olympics because (whether) you have a disability or not, you’re welcome in this family,” Hernandez said.

And from the spectacle of Sunday’s Opening Ceremony at Husky Stadium to the thrill of playing in Thursday’s gold-medal game, it’s undoubtedly been a memorable week for Hernandez and her teammates.

“I think overall the whole experience is something that they’re going to remember forever,” Davis said.

Locals help volleyball team advance to gold-medal match

The Washington traditional volleyball team advanced to the gold-medal match with a 2-0 semifinal win over North Carolina at the University of Washington.

Team Washington is 7-0 in the tournament, having won 14 of 15 sets. Washington will face Michigan for the gold medal at 8 a.m. Friday in the UW’s Intramural Activities Building.

Team Washington includes five players from Snohomish County: Stacey Conser (Lynnwood), Andrea Hall (Marysville), Marcus Hall (Marysville), Jeff Kirby (Everett) and Roland Kirby (Marysville).