Despite its lack of state hoops
history, Freeman is for real

By SCOTT SANDSBERRY
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

Matt Gregg thought it was a funny enough concept that he started laughing and then kept laughing.

The joke? The Freeman girls basketball team, of which Gregg is the second-year coach, might well be the favorite to win the championship of this week's Class 1A state tournament -- an event in which Freeman has never won so much as a game.

"That is intriguing," Gregg said, still chuckling. "Well, we're excited to be over there to try to change that."

Freeman (20-2) has had the misfortune of being in the same league with perennial state-placer Colfax, in a district that has often had just a single berth to state. So the Scotties have only played in two state tourneys, 1982 and 2000, and gone two-and-out both times.

Nerve-wracking being the favorite with that kind of tradition?

"It really is," said Gregg, who was an assistant on Freeman's boys team before taking over the girls program prior to last season. "But we play all the 2A schools over here, which is great. We beat the co-champions of that league, Chewelah and Riverside, so we've got that kind of confidence.

"But this is a little bit different platform for us. To be favored is a little scary."

And perhaps it should be, because unlike the last five years -- when the championship was won by either Brewster or Colfax, and anybody else might have been viewed as an intruder -- this tournament is wide open.

"I think there's about eight to 10 teams that have a shot at winning it," said Napavine coach Shane Shutz, whose 22-1 team certainly rank as one of those capable clubs. "You'd have to say Freeman and Columbia-Burbank are going to be there ... Colfax is younger but they're getting better and better ... Lake Roosevelt and Liberty Bell ... you could throw White Pass in there, too. There's so many teams that are even.

"Anybody on any given night can beat anybody. I think that's what's going to make this tournament so special. It's going to be who's playing well at the right time."

Napavine has played well all year, largely because they returned everybody from last year's third-place finishers. But the Tigers could have their hands full in the second round with Bellevue Christian (19-3), which has probably the top post player in the tournament in Melissa Reich. All that 6-foot-1 junior has done this year is average 15.7 points, 14.6 rebounds and nearly five blocks per game.

SCAC District champion Burbank (21-2) lost an all-stater when Nicole Woods graduated last year. But the Coyotes have become a better-balanced team this season and are certainly a contender for the big trophy.

"We are a better team," coach Ken Idler said. "We have a lot better balance. Nicole was a special player, there's no doubt. But this year everything just worked out, the balance is great, and we're getting more assists out of more girls than just Whitney (Idler, the coach's daughter)."

The younger Idler, in fact, is now sharing the point with gifted sophomore Lauren Rada, who was the SCAC East's MVP this year. "Lauren has stepped it up a lot," Whitney Idler said. "And she rebounds great, too."

SCAC West champ White Swan can't be overlooked. Led by athletic junior Andrea Blodgett -- who never plays at anything but high speed -- actually led Burbank through three quarters of the district title game.

And Liberty Bell may have the best point guard in the tournament in Caribou Trail League MVP Katie McCurry.

"She may be the quickest, fastest we've ever had," coach Mike Bourn said of McCurry, who has had as many as 10 steals in a game. "And I've got five seniors that have been dreaming about this since the third grade."

Still, Bourn thinks Freeman has to be considered the favorite. So does Cory Baerlocher, who knows a thing or two about championship potential -- he coaches Colfax, which has won two of the last three titles, including last year's.

"I think Freeman can win this," Baerlocher said. "They've got two of the top players in the state in (Jessie) DePell and (Ashlee) Taylor. I look at what's coming back for Napavine, and they've got to be a favorite.

"Columbia-Burbank has got to up there, too. I don't know how they're going to play outside of their league, but they have an established program that those kids have played in. I'm showing up with a whole new crew and those guys are coming back with kids that have been there and have the experience."

Still, like so many other coaches, Baerlocher believes the title is there for the taking.

"It's up for grabs," he said. "It's going to depend on who shows up on any given night."