[ t o u r n e y t o w n . c o m -- East Valley Reaches Deep for Something Extra]

Each member of the East Valley's girls basketball team wears black wristbands with "JC" embroidered on them, in memory of Jack Cleveland, the East Valley coach who died last June of a heart attack.

GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic

As sequels go, East Valley’s Great Escape III may not have much of a wide-release theater life, but is definitely a hit in Terrace Heights and Moxee.

For the third year in a row, the Red Devils came up with a win only they thought possible, this time stunning unbeaten Blaine, 46-42, in the first round of the girls Class 2A state tournament Wednesday at the SunDome.

In one taut 32-minute clinic on how to game-plan an opponent into the consolation bracket, the two-time defending champion Red Devils moved from dark horse to contender in the four-day tournament.

With a rematch of last year’s title game with Pullman looming Thursday and CWAC rival Connell lurking in the other quarterbracket, EVHS knows it doesn’t have much time to celebrate.

Truth is, the Devils have been through this as a program enough times to know there is more business to attend to. And in the past two years, the Devils have been able to handle the midtournament switch in status without a hitch.

Two years ago, the Devils dispatched defending champion Lakeside in a semifinal that was the game everyone was talking about.

Last year it was Blaine, again unbeaten, and solid in its belief that it was destined for the championship. It took the Red Devils 36 minutes to send them packing to the consolation bracket, but behind Angie Ibach's refuse-to-lose attitude, EVHS got the job done.

On Wednesday, possessed of a nifty defensive game plan devised by first-year coach Robi Raab and some good old-fashioned Red Devil mojo, East Valley wore the Borderites down and held off a late rally to advance.

So add a second notch next to the name Blaine on the handle of the Red Devils’ ball bag. That alongside the name Lakeside, also with two notches alongside it.

Raab had the Red Devils play an extended three-quarter-court zone defense most of the game. It had the triad effect of slowing Blaine’s offense down, taking time off the clock and tiring high-scoring Jessica Summers.

And in case the Devils needed an emotional lift, they only needed look as far as their left wrists, where each player sported a black sweatband with the initials JC embroidered in white thread.

The wristbands were the tribute the team agreed upon in preseason for the late Jack Cleveland, who coached the Red Devils to six straight 2A tournament trophies, including the big gold ball each of the last two years.

Cleveland died of a heart attack last June, just three weeks after he was named Valley Coach Of The Year for his work with the 2003 team.

Raab was hired in September and, after surviving a season marred by injuries, illness and more heartache -- the grandfather of boys team player Isaiah Mata was killed en route to the final day of the district tournament last Saturday -- the Devils are back in their comfort zone: the SunDome.

And they are doing it in similar fashion to the past two years -- with senior leadership.

In 2002, Elyse Mengarelli was the catalyst. Her slashing drives, combined with the defensive intensity of Krystal Shelton and Meghann Smith, took the Red Devils to the top of the 2A mountain.

Last year, it was Angie Ibach, a Mengarelli protege. She combined with La Donna Downs and Danielle Ducre to have enough of what was needed to keep the big trophy.

On Wednesday, it was Jami Sharp, the direct descendant of Mengarelli and Ibach in the EVHS senior leadership tradition, who led the way. The 5-foot-7 senior had 13 points and five rebounds to lead East Valley and she hit a huge 3-pointer -- the third of three for the team in the third period -- that gave EVHS a 10-point lead. She also hit three free throws in the final 1:45 as the Devils quashed a Blaine rally.

As they turn their attention to Pullman and the believers begin to assemble, the Devils will again be looking for that something extra. But they know where to find it.

It’s all on the wrist.

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