| Team, Year |
Coach, Record |
Why Them?
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1. LYNDEN
CHRISTIAN
(1996)
180 voting points
(7 first-place votes) |
CURT De HAAN
28-0
|
The Lyncs
were the class of an excellent 1996 field, with none of their games
coming down to any last-minute (or even last-quarter) heroics. They were
strong at every position: Guard Shannon Dykstra could break any press,
Lisa Berendsen and Carla Geleynse were a great low-high post combo,
lefty Kari Hamstra was solid on the wing and guard Erin Hof could swish
3-pointers all night. They were physical, well-coached and refused to be
flustered.
|
|
2. FOSTER
(1986)
162 points
(7 first-place votes) |
TIM PARKER
26-0 |
The first of
back-to-back champions by the Bulldogs, the '86 bunch was better because
it had the "Twin Towers" -- superstar Sherri Johnson, a 6-foot
junior who could outrun anybody down the court, and 6-1 senior Renae
Duffie. This unbeaten team not only had an average winning margin of 40
points over its 28-game run, its victims also included the 1st-, 3rd-
and 4th-place finishers in the Class AAA tournament, then the largest
classification.
|
|
3. EAST VALLEY
(1995)
155 points |
STEVE TJARNBERG
27-0 |
The Red
Devils were a tall, very talented team, with Jenny Frank dominating the
paint and Jennifer Sharp, one of the tournament history's great point
guards, running the show on the perimeter. The Devils played primarily a
four-guard offense, with Sharp, Pam Lay, Jessica Stecker and defensive
ace Mikal Heintz complementing each other in all aspects of the game ...
and all were happy to crash the boards, a phase of the game in which
they were unmatched.
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4. CLE ELUM
(1982)
115 points
(3 first-place votes) |
LINDA RICKER
26-0 |
The best team
of the tournament's Pacific Lutheran University era and the best of the
Warriors' three-year title run, the '82 bunch had an anchor in Angel
Petrich, at the time the best true post to play in the tourney -- the
gold standard until Susan Anderson came along. Petrich had plenty of
talent around her: versatile 6-footer Kaylene Krug, explosive guards
Mary Kay and Diane Kretschman and sophomore star-to-be Kristen Browitt.
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5. LYNDEN
CHRISTIAN
(1990)
87 points |
CURT De HAAN
26-0 |
What a run
they had in what was one of the toughest fields in tourney history. With
Beth Hollander leading the way in the scoring and rebounding columns,
the Lyncs beat a tough Ephrata team (that won its next three to place
fifth), whipped a 23-1 Colfax team (that won its next two to place
fourth), ripped county rival Nooksack Valley and then, in the finals,
edged an unbeaten Omak team that was as good as just about anybody on
this list.
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6. FOSTER
(1987)
78 points
(1 first-place vote) |
TIM PARKER
24-1 |
With six
seniors gone from that great 1986 team, coach Tim Parker turned the
reins almost completely over to splendid 6-foot forward Sherri Johnson,
a state sprint champion who averaged nearly 38 points during the regular
season. In the state tourney, Johnson racked up all-world numbers (32.8
points, 12.5 rebounds and 4.0 steals) as Foster beat its victims by an
average of 22 points. The Bulldogs' only loss came against eventual AAA
runner-up Renton.
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7. BREWSTER
(2001)
64 points |
BRYAN BOESEL
26-1 |
The Bears
were so young and so talented, with only one senior on a roster
otherwise populated by freshmen and sophomores. The best of those was
soph Jeni Boesel, who would win the second of her three tournament MVP
honors and would finish her career as the tournament's all-time leading
scorer. The senior was Nancy Rios, a deft ballhandler and tenacious
defender whose graduation left the Bears' next two teams not as solid as
this one.
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8. LYNDEN
CHRISTIAN
(1999)
63 points
(2 first-place votes) |
CURT De HAAN
26-1 |
The Lyncs'
leaders were versatile post Tessa De Boer and heady guard Karla Eshuis,
but they had a slew of others -- Kelli Timmer, Alicia Spoelstra,
Treva Korthuis and Dana Haan among them -- who could put up double
figures on any given night. The 1999 tournament probably wasn't the
strongest field, but Lynden Christian absolutely dominated it, with an
average four-day winning margin of nearly 28 points -- a record that may
never be broken.
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9. CLE ELUM
(1983)
57 points |
LINDA RICKER
26-1 |
If anyone
doubted whether the Warriors could defend the title with Angel Petrich
gone, boy, were they ever out to lunch. Kaylene Krug led the '83
tournament in scoring (24.2) and rebounding (13.5), junior Kristen
Browitt had become a star and Diane Kretschman nearly doubled her season
scoring average of 8.2 in the tournament. The '83 bunch actually boasted
the largest average winning margin (21.5) of the Warriors' three-run
juggernaut.
|
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10. LYNDEN
CHRISTIAN
(1980)
32 points
(1 first-place vote) |
SHARON STRENGHOLT
25-1 |
The Lyncs
weren't really challenged at the tournament, winning each of their four
games by double figures. They had tremendous balance -- Brenda Bierlink
and Teresa Bosscher battling inside, ballhandling ace Robyn Buma
outside, 5-9 Nancy Heutink sparking the defensive effort and versatile
Lynn DeBoer leading on both ends of the court. DeBoer tied for the
tournament scoring lead (16.8) and Bierlink was among the top rebounders
(9.0).
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11. CLE ELUM
(1985)
24 points |
JANIS KENDRICK
26-1 |
With the 1-2
punch of Kerri Browitt (17.8 points, 12.3 rebounds) and Theresa
Montgomery (16.8 points, 11.3 rebounds), the Warriors routed three
tourney foes and edged tough Nooksack Valley 59-54 in the title contest.
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12. CONNELL
(1994)
19 points
|
DAN COLBY
27-1 |
With senior
posts Sheri Quinton and Makala Wells dominating the paint and sophomore
guard Kami Koehler running the show, the Eagles were a gritty bunch.
They won back-to-back-to-back nailbiters in their title run.
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13. EAST VALLEY
(1988)
18 points |
PATTY KINNEY
25-2 |
Michelle
Hiebert could shoot from anywhere, Kim Boss and Marin Seguel owned the
lane, forward Heather Hurd saved her best game for the finale and
versatile Lanette Crosier had a tremendous tourney for the champs.
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14. MOUNT BAKER
(1986)
14 points |
JIM FREEMAN
22-5 |
The Mounties,
led by consensus national player of the year Susan Anderson and gifted
forward Lynn Munday, had a six-point lead over unbeaten Foster with 2.5
minutes left in the semifinals ... but then Anderson fouled out.
|
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15. LYNDEN CHRISTIAN
(1992)
13 points
(1 first-place vote) |
CURT De HAAN
24-3 |
Talk about
balance: The Lyncs didn't have single player among the '92 tourney's top
scorers or rebounders, but Sally Shagren, Renee and Raelene Bajema, Amy
Wynstra and Sara Faber overachieved all the way to the title.
|
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16. KING'S
(1997)
11 points |
ERIC RASMUSSEN
25-3 |
Led by
tourney MVP Heather Reichmann, the Knights also depended on another
6-footer, Sonya Roosendaal, and heady guard Michelle Burk as they won
two routs, edged Lakeside and held off tough Goldendale in the final.
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16. COLFAX (2002)
11 points |
ROSS THOMAS
24-4 |
They had the
talent in Lizzy Mellor, Jenna Vuletich, Kelsie Van Tine and Natalie
Shaw, but they had to overcome a horrific 10.5-minute scoring drought in
the final -- ended by Shaw's 3-pointer -- to clinch the title.
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16. CASCADE
(1988)
11 points |
BOB BULLIS
25-1 |
They didn't
win it, but the Kodiaks reached the finals behind explosive scorer
Jennifer Saunders and a standout crew of inside players led by Donna
Eilers, who averaged double figures in both points and rebounds.
|
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19. OMAK
(1990)
9 points |
GARY SMITH
26-1 |
With Tanya
Smith and Jenny Kerr combining for nearly 40 points a game, Omak
bulldozed its first 25 opponents, won an overtime thriller over Connell
in the semifinals and finally fell to Lynden Christian in the final.
|
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20. GOLDENDALE
(1981)
9 points |
DENNIS BIRNEY
23-4 |
With
three-time all-league guard Jodi Greenfield, Jennie Larson and Kim
Roberts all averaging in double figures, the T-wolves figured to be
tough to beat in the 1981 tourney. But that they were, in the finals by
rival Cle Elum.
|
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OTHERS FOR CONSIDERATION |
BREWSTER 2003 (8 voting points) capped
three-time MVP Jeni Boesel's four-year run with a third title. ...
ZILLAH 2001 (8 points), led by Brandie Bounds and Brittany Affholter,
was perfect until falling to eventual champ Brewster in the semis. ...
CASCADE 1996 (8 points) and its star, Megan Franza, lost in the
finals to the L.C. team voted best in tourney history. ... ZILLAH
2000 (7 points) had the misfortune of meeting up with champ Brewster
in the quarters, the Leopards' only loss of the season in a sterling
26-1 run. ... LYNDEN CHRISTIAN 1991 (7 points) Sally Shagren,
Shannon Pecarich and crew notched the second in their three-year title
run. ... CLE ELUM 1981 (5 points) should have been a year away,
but Angel Petrich, Kaylene Krug, Mary Kay Kretschman and the rest
couldn't wait, igniting the Warriors' three-year dynasty. ... PROSSER
1989 (5 points) got an MVP performance from Kelly Blair (22.8
points, 10.5 rebounds and absolutely unbreakable will). ... BREWSTER
2000 (5 points), the freshman-led Bears began their dynasty. ...
CONNELL 1983 (4 points) and Chris Cerna beat everybody except Cle
Elum. ... MOUNT BAKER 1982 (3 points), led by Ann Larsen and Ardi
Kveven, reached the semis but couldn't stop Castle Rock's Christy
Cochran ... KING'S 2002 (3 points) reached the finals behind the
1-2 punch of Christina Wikstrom and Rachel Strand. ... ZILLAH 1976
(3 points) might have won had not soph star Cheryl Holden had an ankle
injury. ... PORT TOWNSEND 1984 (2 points) got big games from
Shelly Carter and twins Rachelle and Kristelle Arthur. ... Melanie
Simmons led DAYTON 2000 (2 points) to the finals, and Nikki
Fields took CLE ELUM 1993 to a title. ... TONASKET 2003
finished second behind Krissy Call and Jessica Clarkson.
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