PLU student videographer Jon Wedell talked to members of a few of the bands that made their way to the dome this week to support their teams. Enjoy his report his report.

BY DOUG PACEY
doug.pacey@thenewstribune.com

All that hype about Tony Wroten being the nation’s best player in the Class of 2011? Count the Foss Falcons as believers.

Six weeks after beating a Wroten-less Bulldogs squad, No. 3 Garfield thumped the fifth-ranked Falcons 69-46 in the semifinals of the Class 4A boys basketball state tournament Friday night at the Tacoma Dome.

Garfield (24-3) will try to win its 12th state championship and first since 1998 when it meets No. 1 Federal Way (27-2) in the title game at 9 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on FSN.

Foss (22-6) will face No. 7 Kentridge for third place at 3:30 p.m.

Wroten, regarded by many recruiting experts as the top player in the Class of 2011, sat out the regular-season game with an ankle injury. Foss won the Jan. 24 contest, 50-46, but having Wroten on the court presented the Narrows League champions with an entirely new challenge.

The Kentwood High Conquerors picked an opportune time to finally get a 3-point shot to go down.

In a back-and-forth tussle with SPSL North rival Federal Way, Kentwood got a huge 3-pointer from Shelby Wahlberg from the left corner with 34 seconds to go, and went on to win, 49-43, in the Class 4A girls semifinals in the Tacoma Dome.

Kentwood will meet Snohomish on Saturday night for the state title.

Both teams gave reasons why they should have lost this third matchup of the season.

• Before Wahlberg's bucket, Kentwood was 0-of-13 on 3-pointers.

• The Eagles committed more fouls (20) and turnovers (20) than the total of field goals they made (18).

TyShana Burgess' runner down the right side for the Eagles cut Kentwood's lead to 46-43 with 2:01 remaining.

After Kylie Huerta missed a 3-pointer for Kentwood, the Eagles had a chance to to move closer, or even tie. Daah Huertas-Vining drove along the right baseline, but Kentwood star Lindsey Moore was trailing her, and blocked her shot from behind.

Moore fed Wahlberg on the left side for the 3-pointer that clinched it.

Garfield has built a 49-26 lead over Foss as we head into the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs went on an 11-0 run in the final 4 minutes, 20 seconds of the third quarter.

Tony Wroten has 20 points. Foss' leading scorer is LuQuam Thompson has 12.

It's become obvious this was the night somebody could catch touted Kentwood in a sub-par outing, and the Eagles are still in it behind Brittany Barrington's cllutch shooting (17 points, three 3-pointers).

Sloppy ball-handling, resulting in eight third-quarter turnovers, have not only hurt Federal Way, it has really shown its youth.

Kentwood star Lindsey Moore has 11 points, but is 3-of-12 from the floor.

Tony Wroten has electrified Garfield. The sophomore had 16 points, powering the Bulldogs to a 34-17 lead over the Falcons at halftime.

Since changing his jersey because of blood halfway through the first quarter, Wroten is 5-for-6 from the field.

The tempo has picked up, and that certainly favors Kentwood in this third matchup of SPSL North programs.

The Conquerors scored the first five points of the second quarter, capped by Jessie Genger's bucket with 6:10 to go, to grab a 13-10 lead.

But Federal Way is hanging in there behind Brittany Barrington, who scored seven points in the quarter (in a 1:50 span), including a 3-pointer.

Her 3-pointer from the left side gave Federal Way its final lead of the half, 23-21, before the Conquerors reclaimed it from the free throw line.

Kentwood holds a big advantage from the FT line, going 8-of-17. Federal Way is 2-of-2.

Tony Wroten hit a pair of 3-pointers at the end of the first quarter, giving Garfield a 14-9 lead over Foss in the 4A semifinal.

The Eagles scored on four of five possessions midway through the first quarter, and a 10-5 lead held up after one period.

Kentwood has missed seven 3-point attempts against Federal Way's 1-2-2 zone.

Federal Way was too much all game long for Kentridge, beating the Chargers, 66-54, to earn a second straight trip the Class 4A state championshhip game.

Kentridge cut the deficit to nine late in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles hit their free throws at the end of the game. Guard Isiah Umipig went 6-for-6 from the line in the final period. As a team, Federl Way made 19 of 22 free throws.

Eagles guard Andre Barrington scored a season-high 22 points. Cole Dickerson scored 10 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished four assists. Jeff Forbes added 16 points and Michael Hale III finished with 12.

The tournament's scoring leader entering the game, Kentridge sophomore Gary Bell led his team with 16 points. Guard Shaquille McKissic had 13 and eight rebounds.

Federal Way will play the winner of the Foss-Garfield semifinal at 9 p.m. Saturday.

Panthers guard Emily Guthrie has become a 3-point shooting machine.

Guthrie, a senior, hit six 3-pointers and poured in 18 points for Snohomish, which will play for its first Class 4A state championship since 2005.

She tied the tournament mark with her 13 3-pointers in three games, and can hold the record outright if she hits one Saturday against either Kentwood or Federal Way.

Seattle Pacific-bound Katie Benson also had 18 for the Panthers, 16 coming in a first half in which they led 29-7.

Two Snohomish player embrace after winning a Class 4A girls basketball semifinal against Moses Lake Friday at the Tacoma Dome.

The Chiefs scored the first 11 points of the third quarter to cut it to a 10-point deficit before Jenn Berg ended the spurt with her basket.

Berg also hit a 3-pointer with 1:12 to go in the third quarter.

The Eagles exploded in the third quarter ripping off a 14-2 run. Andre Barrington already has 17 points and FW is really working the ball around for easy buckets, not what you normally see against a team as good defensively as KR

If you're trying to figure out who got the better end of the deal between Snohomish 6-foot-1 forward Katie Benson (Seattle Pacific) and Moses Lake's 6-5 center Carly Noyes (Washington State), on this night, it's no contest.

Benson has 16 first-half points.

Noyes hasn't scored, and is in foul trouble.

Ok, Gary Bell is back in the game, it looked like he might have bumped knees with Jeff Forbes on a transition layup and then slammed hard into the basket standard.

But it was Shaquielle McKissic that kept Kentridge in the game with a pair of 3-pointers.

McKissic has eight points, two rebounds and two assists to lead KR. Gary Bell is 1-for-5 from the field for two points, but does have two assists.

For FW, Michael Hale III showed know effects of a bruised thigh that he suffered earlier in the tournament, he has eight points and is 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.

Cole Dickerson and Jeff Forbes also has six points each. Dickerson also has four rebounds and three assists. The Eagles are shooting 52.9 percent from the field.

Kentridge's Gary Bell has left the game with 2:40 left in the second quarter. He left the court limping and favoring his right leg.

Bell has been the best player in the tournament so far and is its leading scorer. This would be a big blow to the Chargers if he can't return.

Federal Way leads 25-19.

The Eagles ripped off a 13 point run midway through the third quarter to go up 17-9, but Kentridge stopped the bleeding with a bucket late in the first quarter.

Federal Way is doing a nice job on Gary Bell, who has just two points

After a ball was batted back to the Gonzaga Prep bench, giving Curtis possession early in the fourth quarter, Vikings' forward Chad Rasmussen went to inbound.

Nobody followed, prompting Rasmussen to yell across the court, "Hello!"

On the third day of the Class 4A state championships, Curtis just didn't have any legs left to stay around.

The Vikings bolted to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, but eventually the Bulldogs' big posts wore them down in posting the victory, and earning a chance for their first state trophy since 1991 when they finished sixth.

Sean Fischer paced Gonzaga Prep with 17 points, 10 coming in the third quarter when the GSL school pulled away.

His two free throws gave the Bulldogs a 42-30 lead with 51/2 minutes to go.

Darnell Williams tried to rally Curtis, tallying 12 of his team-high 17 in the fourth quarter.

Gonzaga Prep will face Inglemoor on Saturday.

Curtis looks tired on both ends, and the Bulldogs took advantage in the third quarter with a blistering offensive effort (8-of-13 field goals).

Sean Fischer, who went scoreless in the first half for Gonzaga Prep, tallied a team-high nine points in the quarter, including one 3-pointer. His last bucket, on a feed from Travis Long, pushed the lead to 36-28 with 13 seconds remaining.

Stan Langlow has been steady for the Vikings. He scored six points, and now has 10 for the game. Three of Curtis' five baskets were on second-chance opportunities.

Third-day legs have taken over this loser-out, winner-to-play-for-a-state-trophy matchup, and the action hasn't been pretty.

Combined turnovers: 16.

Combined fouls: 19.

Combined shooting percentage: 25.7 percent (10-of-39).

Even a bad flopping act by Curtis High's Derek Van Essen at the end of the first half while guarding Ryan Nicholas.

Chris Sarbaugh's alley-opp pass to a back-door cutting Travis Long for a layin with one second to go gave the Bulldogs their first lead.

Curtis made only one field goal in the second quarter – Van Essen's short jumper from the right side with 5:12 to go in the first half.

These schools have met once before in the 4A tournament. The Bulldogs edged Curtis, 70-67, in the first round of the 1990 tournament.

Curtis’ Marquise Doss passes the ball around Gonzaga Prep’s Sean Fischer.

For a while, it looked like the Bulldogs were going to be the first Class 4A participant since 1963 not to score for a quarter.

Gonzaga Prep went more than six minutes without points, missing its first nine shots as the Vikings (who scored on their first three trips) broke out to a 10-0 lead.

But Parker Kelly nailed a right-side 3-pointer to end the drought, and the Bulldogs got back into it by holding Curtis scoreless for the final 2:47, including forcing four consecutive turnovers.

Darnell Williams and Stan Langlow lead the Vikings with four points apiece.

Inglemoor withstood a late surge by Walla Walla and claimed a 63-55 victory.

The Vikings were led by Benji Bryant's 22 points. Todd Campbell had 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Smooth Walla Walla shooting guard Gary Winston scored 22 points.

Inglemoor will play the winner of the upcoming Curtis-Gonzaga Prep game in the 4th place/7th place game tomorrow at 1:30.

Inglemoor leads Walla Walla, 36-26, at halftime.

Inglemoor's Benji Bryant has 17 points and Todd Campbell has 9.

For Walla Walla, Michael Weisner leads the Blue Devils with 9 and Gary Winston has 8.

Auburn Riverside has shrugged off a slow start to take a 33-26 lead at halftime over Garfield in a loser-out game.

On the boys court, Inglemoor leads Walla Walla 16-13 with 7 minutes left in the second quarter

Sean Stickney's free throws with 1.5 seconds left lifted Lake Stevens to a 50-49 win over Eisenhower in the consolation game.

Eisenhower's Robert Bonzer gave the Cadets a 49-48 lead when he made one of two free throws with 12.5 seconds remaining. Bonzer missed the second and and Lake Stevens' Shane Kaska grabbed the rebound and the Vikings pushed the ball up the court.

Stickney got the ball near the baseline and went up for a 2-footer when he was fouled by Ike's Jordan Gaut. Stickney hit both free throws and Ike's 50-foot shoot at the buzzer fell short.

Eisenhower has a slim 33-32 lead over Lake Stevens at halftime of the boys consolation game.

photo from the Great Falls Tribune

Back in my home state of Montana, there's a bit of a controversy as Harlem High School had to forfeit a game in the Northern B Divisional (think districts) tournament because they were dunking in warm-ups and broke the backboard.

Now everybody knows that you can't dunk during warm-ups but often high school teams will dunk during warm-ups until the referees take the floor.

My buddy Scott Mansch of the Great Falls Tribune has the story on the situation, including the ruling in the MHSA handbook concerning the situation.

Needless to say the folks in Harlem (a reservation school up by the Canadian border) are not happy with the ruling.

I'm sitting here in the Tacoma Dome, with fewer than a thousand spectators scattered around this cavernous arena.

What's wrong with this picture?

The crowds won't begin to show up until the semifinals begin at 7 p.m. The early consolation games are sloppy. On the boys side, Mariner leads Redmond 23-18...in the third quarter. Bellarmine Prep leads the Eastlake girls 25-15...in the third quarter.

Bellarmine Prep has quite a few fans. It helps that the campus is a five-mile drive from the Tacoma Dome. Not counting the players on Eastlake's team, there are 13 Eastlake students in the stands. And that's including six cheerleaders.

It's time for a change in the state tournaments.

In January, I wrote a column describing a format I'd like to see implemented. I think it would raise interest and excitement and in turn increase attendance, which the WIAA would welcome.

Here's the quick version:

Instead of 16 teams, I'd move to an eight-team bracket and eliminate the consolation games. Play 4A and 3A at the same site. With fewer teams, one-court arenas, like Hec Ed and KeyArena, can accomodate a two classification tournament, for boys and girls. Play the 4A boys and girls on Wednesday, 3A boys and girls on Thursday, all eight semifinals on Friday and four finals on Saturday.

Here's the original column and an expanded blog post on my idea.

The biggest change is going to an eight-team bracket. By doing this, you can play the 4A and 3A tournaments at one site. The 2A and 1A can also be played at one site. That means the WIAA saves by renting a facility only once, not in back-to-back weeks. Playing two tournaments at the same site would also be much more likely to attract the casual fan.

I know some people will object to the elimination of the consolation games. Why have a double-elimination tournament if a team that loses can't win the whole thing? Make it one-and-done. Getting to the state tournament is a big accomplishment in itself. No one goes to state hoping to go through the loser's bracket for fifth place.

The WIAA's executive board has said it is looking into making changes in its state tournament formats. Most coaches are opposed to reducing the number of teams that qualify and the consolation games. We'll see what happens.

Bellarmine Prep beat Eastlake, 47-36.

The Wolves scored two points in the second and third quarters, but got their offense going in the fourth quarter.

Bellarmine's defense was just too much and the offense made enough plays.

Bellarmine Prep and Eastlake are tied, 13-13, at the end of the first quarter.

The Wolves turned the ball over on their first three possessions and didn't even get a shot off until two minutes into the game. Bellarmine Prep couldn't take advantage, though, only building a 4-0 lead.

A little sloppy so far. That's to be expected on the third day of the state tournament, especially in the morning game. I know these 15-hour work days are taking a toll on me.