White Swan's Lawrence Fiander, left, is defended by Granger's Mitchell Zapien during last year's SunDome Shootout in the left photo. At right, Granger's Samantha Zapien drives to the basket during a Shootout game against Colville.   ANDY SAWYER/ Yakima Herald-Republic file

LONG AND SHORT

Tall Vashon, diminutive Granger, White Swan
highlight SunDome Shootout slate

By SCOTT SANDSBERRY
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

So what's your pleasure? Because, for high school hoops junkies, there's lots to look forward to next week in the SunDome.

The comparatively munchkin-like Granger girls can look forward to, well, looking up at three six-footers -- one of them a 6-foot-5 tower -- when they open the SunDome Shootout on Tuesday. La Salle can look forward to that same crick in the neck come Wednesday.

The White Swan and Granger boys can look forward to a rematch of their spirited clash in the 2008 Shootout, in which the Cougars, now a Class 2B powerhouse, rallied from a 5-point deficit in the final 10 minutes to knock
off their former SCAC brethren.

Fans can look forward to seeing the odds-on favorite to capture its second straight Class 1A boys basketball title and the latest edition of the state's premier small-school girls program.

And every one of the 1A and 2A teams that make up the bulk of next week's two-day SunDome Shootout, hosted by Zillah, will get a chance to get comfortable in the same arena that will house their state tournaments two months from now.

Vashon boys coach Andy Sears' Pirates dominated the 1A tournament last March, but he's not taking lightly his team's tourney reascendancy -- hence the trip to the SunDome to take on perennial contender Cashmere and
Colville.

"We're going over there to get experience in the Dome, for sure, and to get as good competition as we can get. That's what we're hoping for," Sears said. "When you get an opportunity to play a couple games in the place where your state tournament goes, that's what we want -- to get exposed a little bit, to find out what our weaknesses are."

So far, those weaknesses have seemed minimal. The Pirates are led by 6-foot-9, Stanford-bound John Gage (scoring at an 18.0-point clip) and 6-7 junior point guard Alex Wegner (15.7), who's already generating Division I
interest of his own. And the only blemish on their 5-1 record is a 49-45 nailbiter loss to reigning 2A champion Squalicum.

A team as yet without a blemish is 4-0 Granger, which has over the last two years won six of eight 1A tournament games in the SunDome, finishing third in 2008 and second last spring.

"We love being in the Dome. Our kids love that atmosphere," said Granger girls coach Andy Affholter, whose team will face the 1A ranks' tallest team (Vashon) and the winningest team in SunDome history (Colfax) on back-to-back days. "We're excited about it, and it'll be a good test to see where we're at."

Normally, any girls team facing Colfax, which has won five state titles in the last six years (four of them at the SunDome), would have only the Bulldogs in mind. But Granger isn't even beginning to look ahead to its Wednesday showdown with Colfax, simply because of what awaits the Spartans on Tuesday.

"We haven't even talked about Colfax," Affholter said. "Vashon is going to be quite the test, too. I heard last summer they had a 6-4 girl who moved in from Germany, and she had 21 points, 15 blocks and 12 rebounds against
Eatonville."

Close. The Pirates' German transfer, Elisa Wendt, is only -- only -- 6 feet tall, but she's one of three 6-footers on the team who are averaging right around 10 points per game. And one of them -- 6-5 Charlotte Kehoe -- did indeed have that 21-15-12 performance against Eatonville.

Considering that Granger's lineup is filled with player heights ranging from 5-7 to 5-9, the Spartans will have a veritable mountain to climb -- but then, they're accustomed to that.

"We know who we are. We know what we do," Affholter said. "That's what I love about our kids: We know what we do well, and we'll try to do what we do well."

To help the Spartan girls prepare to deal with facing the long-armed, shot-blocking Kehoe, Affholter has been putting volunteer coach Chris Cardenas -- a 2004 Granger graduate and former Spartan star who stands 6-3 -- on the floor to play some post defense.

Granger boys coach Miguel Bazaldua probably wouldn't mind having Cardenas in his lineup, which doesn't have anybody over 6-2. Nonetheless, the Spartans are 4-0, thanks in large part to junior standout Mitchell Zapien's vastly improved all-around game; once primarily a shooter, Zapien is averaging nearly six assists to go with his 19.2-point scoring.

"Our philosophy this year is if you give up the ball, you get it back to score. The more you give it up, the more you score," Bazaldua said. "When our guys give it up, it comes back to them off a cut or a weakside rebound, and they score off it. And all the kids buy into it. We're going to run and shoot and board and run some more."

After facing Lakeside on Tuesday, the Spartans will face White Swan in a 7:30 p.m. Wednesday game that figures to be one of the Shootout's best matchups. The Cougars' 5-1 start includes wins over Wapato, Toppenish and Sunnyside Christian, with the only loss coming against reigning 1B state champion Tri-Cities Prep.

"I think we match up real well," Bazaldua said. "White Swan is quicker than quick, and we're pretty quick, too. They've got some good 3-point shooters, and we've got some shooters, too.

"I'm excited. Win or lose, I think it's going to be a great game."