Spartans prevail in plateau nail biter
January 5, 2009
Skyline holds off Eastlake upset bid with 61-60 win
Eastlake’s Turner Lee (right) fouls Skyline’s Nick Crossan in the second quarter of Saturday’s game at Eastlake High School. By Christopher Huber.
It came down to the wire. One point was all it took.
One less defensive foul would have made the difference for the Eastlake Wolves Jan. 3 against cross-town rival Skyline High School. Two free throw shots sealed the deal for Skyline.
In what began as a possible Eastlake upset, the tense rivalry turned into a point-for-point race to the final buzzer at the Eastlake gym.
The Spartans, now 3-3, beat the Wolves 61-60 in the teams’ first meeting of the season. Read more
Turnovers end title hopes for Eagles
January 5, 2009
-
Issaquah senior forward Alexa Smith goes up for a shot in the second half of the title game of the BCC Christmas Classic against Kennedy High School. By Christopher Huber
The bodies were flying Dec. 30 at the Les Schwab BCC Christmas Classic girls basketball final.
The Kennedy Lancers, of Burien, and the Issaquah High School Eagles duked it out for the entire 32 minutes to decide who would take the top spot in the winter break tournament at Bellevue Community College.
“We just didn’t finish,” Issaquah coach Kathy Gibson said.
Kennedy (6-0) outlasted Issaquah 58-52 in an all-out battle that ended up being about who committed the fewest turnovers.
“Twenty-seven turnovers,” Gibson said. “If you turn it over 27 times, that takes away quite a few shot opportunities.”
Issaquah’s turnovers led to 24 Lancer points. Kennedy gave up just nine points on 18 turnovers.
Members of both teams spent an equal amount of time on the floor, scrambling for loose balls, as they did at the foul line. Each team had 22 personal fouls in the end.
“I always tell the girls, ‘If there’s a loose ball on the floor, you better be on top of it,’” said Kennedy coach Tom Mummert. “They’re playing hard and are determined to get every loose ball that they can.”
Both teams played fast-paced hoops, but from the onset, the Lancers’ physical play helped them to get out to an 18-9 first-quarter lead. They never looked back.
The Lady Eagles had trouble containing Kennedy’s quick ball movement and scrappy defense, but stayed close throughout. Issaquah trailed just 27-22 at halftime. Read more
Second-half surge is key to Liberty win against rival Hazen
January 5, 2009
-
Rayssa Lira, of Liberty, is fouled by Hazen’s Airashay Rogers (far left) while putting up a shot in the third quarter in the Highlanders’ gym. Photo by Greg Farrar.
Katie Growden scored 11 of her team-high 16 points in the third quarter to lead Liberty High School to a 65-38 victory against Hazen High School Jan. 3.
At halftime, the teams were tied at 25. For the five and a half minutes following, the game remained close, with the Patriots up by one point, 33-32, with 2:30 remaining in the third quarter.
Then, Growden, a 5-foot-4 senior guard, went to work. She hit a jumper to put the Patriots up 35-32. Hazen’s Michelle Wnek made a free throw to close the gap to 35-33. At 2:02, Growden hit a pull-up jumper to make it 37-33.
She then stole Hazen’s ensuing inbound pass and fed teammate Corrina Van Hurston for an easy layup, putting the Patriots up 39-33.
Liberty scored four more points on a Halie Ericksen layup and a Corrina Fuentes pull-up jumper from the top of the key, pushing the Patriot lead to double-digits, 43-33.
With 16.8 seconds remaining in the quarter, Growden hit a 3-pointer and was fouled by Wnek. Growden hit the subsequent free throw for a 4-point play. Fuentes scored in the closing seconds to put Liberty up 49-33.
In the final two and a half minutes of the third quarter, Liberty went on a 16-1 scoring run. Hazen scored only five points in the final quarter. Read more
2008: What a year in sports it was
December 29, 2008
By Brian Hamilton/HamiltonPix.com
The year 2008 was a memorable 12 months for the city’s sports scene. Many of the top events revolved around state titles (three team and one individual). And the journey to the top often earned some recognition, even if the ultimate goal fell short.
The highs of the year in sports contained astounding tales of achievement (participation in Olympic swim trials and even a Cy Young winner). Unfortunately, even the sports pages were not immune to tragic lows, as the community lost a beloved former coach.
So, here are the Top 10 sports stories of 2008, in no particular order: Read more
Former Sonics announcer suffers head injury in fall
December 29, 2008
-
Bob ‘Voice’ Blackburn, who announced Sonics games solo for 20 years and with KJR’s Kevin Calabro from 1987 to the early 1990s, is seen here at his new home at Timber Ridge at Talus. Blackburn suffered a head injury Dec. 7 in his home. By Greg Farrar
Long-time Seattle SuperSonics announcer Bob “Voice” Blackburn is recovering well at Overlake Hospital Medical Center after suffering a head injury in a Dec. 7 fall at his home at Timber Ridge at Talus, in Issaquah.
Surgeons operated on Blackburn Dec. 10, and since then, he has been up and acting like his normal self, said his wife Pat Blackburn. Doctors plan to release him within the next week, she said. Once back home, he will likely work with nurses for further recovery.
“It’s going to be a little while,” Pat Blackburn said. “He’ll go back to skilled nursing at Timber Ridge. I think he’ll just have a few weeks of therapy and he’ll be right back and doing things.”
She said at first she and paramedics thought he had a heart attack, but found out later, after a CAT scan at Overlake, the injury had caused internal bleeding on the right side of his brain.
“He’s regained the use of everything,” Pat Blackburn said Dec. 26 from the hospital. “He’s definitely talking to us. He was cracking jokes last night. We know it’s going to be more improvement every day.” Read more
Rams flatten Eagles 80-62 in Christmas tourney
December 29, 2008
Mount Rainier runs circles around rusty Issaquah
Mount Rainier’s Art Cage stuffs Issaquah forward Robby Primrose (above) in the first half of the first-round game of the Les Schwab BCC Christmas Classic at Bellevue Community College.By Christopher Huber
The fact that the Issaquah boys basketball team had only played two games since Nov. 17, with no legitimate practice time in two weeks, may have been a factor in the Eagles’ loss Dec. 27 to Mount Rainier.
Most likely, though, it was because the Rams spent most of the game running the court with relative ease.
Issaquah (1-2) lost 80-62 in the opening round of the Les Schwab BCC Christmas Classic Tournament at Bellevue Community College.
“We didn’t handle their pressure very well,” Issaquah head coach Jeff Altchech said after the game. “We talked about it in practice and we just didn’t do a good job of handling their trap. We just weren’t being aggressive enough.” Read more
Swimmers win race against snow
December 22, 2008
In the only event not canceled by the weather, Eagles defeat Patriots 94-84 in friendly meet
Riley Goodman, of Issaquah High School, swims in the 100-yard butterfly race, finishing second to Austin Briggs, of Liberty. By Greg Farrar
In the last high school sports event before the harsh winter weather hit, the Issaquah and Liberty high schools’ boys swim and dive teams took to the pool Dec. 16 in what coaches consider one of the more friendly meets of the regular season.
The Patriots and Eagles met at the Julius Boehm Pool in front of a packed and noisy crowd for the third meet of the season, as Issaquah looked to pace its quick-swimming Liberty opponents. Read more
Super student, Liberty senior sees career as chiropractor
December 22, 2008
Greg Ericksen
Coaches and sports administrators toss about the term scholar-athlete too casually. But Liberty High School senior Greg Ericksen embodies the image of a true scholar athlete.
Ericksen, a co-captain on the Patriots football team earned second team All-KingCo honors as a running back and defensive back. He’s also a standout student with a 3.9 grade point average who has earned a college scholarship from Washington State University. He’s also waiting to hear if he’s been accepted to Harvard University.
Many students keep a busy schedule, but few match Ericksen’s. Here’s a look:
Tough schedule: Ericksen is taking Advanced Placement calculus, biology and psychology. He’s taken AP classes since his junior year.
Psych out: His favorite class is AP psychology. “I like learning how things work and how people interact with each other.”
Local cricketer named MVP of Seattle league
December 22, 2008
-
Hassan Shah (right), of Issaquah, bats at a cricket tournament in Chicago. Contributed
Hassan Shah moved to Issaquah early this year, after living in Chicago for 20 years. He came here to run his restaurant, Bangalore Cuisine of India.
But the 36-year-old businessman from Pakistan couldn’t move here and not play cricket, one of the most popular sports around the world. Read more
Skyline High QB Jake Heaps is Associated Press Player of the Year
December 22, 2008
Skyline High School junior quarterback Jake Heaps has added yet another accolade to his football resume.
