By ROGER UNDERWOOD
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

For one program, playing in the Class 2A state girls tournament has been as annual an event as the school prom.

For the other, it's uncharted territory.

But that doesn't mean East Valley will take its eighth consecutive tourney appearance for granted any more than Naches Valley will be just happy to be there.

Each will open play in the four-day, 16-team SunDome event Wednesday, with the No. 10 Rangers (21-3) meeting La Center at 12:30 p.m., and the No. 1 Red Devils (23-0) taking on Archbishop Murphy (19-5) at 5:30 p.m.

East Valley, which won two Class 1A state championships, claimed back-to-back 2A crowns in 2002 and 2003 while coached by the late Jack Cleveland.

The past two seasons under Robi Raab, the Red Devils have finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

This season East Valley is sharing its No. 1 ranking with King's (22-2), which opens the tournament at 9 a.m. against Ephrata (11-13).

Tana Stickney paces East Valley with 15.1 points per game this season.   Yakima Herald-Republic file

"We've played well lately," Raab said, "but then we've been pretty consistent throughout the year. We have five seniors and they're focused, and the younger girls understand the importance of what we have in front of us."

Tana Stickney, a 5-foot-11 senior, has led the Red Devils with a 15.1 scoring average and a 6.6 rebounding average while Arianna Mohsenian, a 5-8 sophomore, has averaged 12.0 points and 6.3 boards.

Another senior, 5-8 guard Jessica Huntington, has averaged 7.6 points and 5 assists, and has committed to Eastern Washington.

Archbishop Murphy has been led by 6-0 senior center Lisa Coate, who has averaged 14.3 points a game, and 5-6 junior point guard Krista Eknes, at 12.4.

East Valley is in the bracket opposite King's, meaning the teams won't meet unless they play for the championship.

That, however, was not Raab's first priority.

"Right now we want to win the first game," he said. "I know that's coach-speak, but it's true. If we do that then we'll have a very good test with either Woodland or Lakeside. We don't have King's in our half, but there are some very good teams there. We won't have an easy game throughout the tournament.

"One of the things I'll tell the girls today is we've done all the work, now it's time to play and do the best we can."

Again.

It's been a different story for Naches Valley, which secured its first Class 2A state berth last Thursday night by beating Othello in CWAC District play at Connell. Saturday night, the Rangers secured the district's No. 3 seed with a win over Cashmere at Wenatchee.

While Naches Valley has no Class 2A state history, it won fifth-place Class 1A trophies in 1988 and 1989.

"Our goal the whole season has been to get to the state tournament," said coach Cris Wilmarth, who's in his fourth season at NV. "These girls have thought anything less than that would be unacceptable. They've played really hard and I'm very proud of them.

"There are a lot of good teams staying home this week."

Monique Wickenhagen, just a junior, is leading Naches Valley's charge this year.   Yakima Herald-Republic file

Of La Center's Wildcats, Wilmarth said, "I've seen then once or twice on film. It seems like they're always in the state tournament, so they have the advantage of having been there before and we're the rookies.

"I told the girls they've got to respect the other teams. I don't want them to fear the other teams, but I want them to respect them."

Brittany Roggenkamp, a 5-11 senior, has been La Center's scoring leader at 20.4 points a game.

Monique Wickenhagen, a 5-7 junior, has led Naches Valley with 16.5 points and 12 rebounds a game while Megan Mortimer, a 5-7 junior, has averaged 14.5 points. Both have played most of the season with ankle injuries but, Wilmarth said, are "pretty healthy now."

Ali Tabor, a 6-0 senior, has averaged 7 points and 8 rebounds.

Wilmarth himself is no stranger to state tournaments, having coached Rainier, located about 20 miles south of Olympia, to two Class 1A events before he moved to Naches Valley.

Getting over the hump ‹ beating Othello for a state berth ‹ was a major accomplishment for the Rangers and made their Saturday night game as much celebration as competition.

"It was like going to Disneyland," Wilmarth said. "We could have played in Canada and I wouldn't have cared. Thursday night was a pretty special night for us, and after the game we met in the locker room for quite awhile.

"One of the really neat things is a couple of my former players from Rainier drove over from Gonzaga and Washington State to watch us play, and I had them come into the locker room to tell the girls about the state tournament and what it was like."

Still, the Rangers want to make their tournament experience a competitive and, they hope, winning one.

"That was a topic of discussion the night after we made it in," Wilmarth said. "I told the girls the reason we're doing this is basketball and the game, and that we're not going there to watch. The homecoming dance is nice, but the reason they have it is the game."