Sports
TH E
SI
DE LIN E
TACOMAWEEKLY.com
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013
The Sideline is Tacoma Weekly’s new sports-only blog, providing you with quick game recaps as well as some content that won’t appear in print! Check in for regular updates, and we hope you enjoy! http://www.tacomaweekly.com/sideline
SECTION A, PAGE 6
LOCAL BOWLERS REPRESENT WELL AT STATE Wilson takes sixth in 3A, Curtis fifth in 4A
PHOTO BY JEREMY HELLING
RISING STAR. Wilson sophomore Hunter
Freuhling-Thomas placed fifth in the individual competition on Feb. 1, tallying 1,177 pins in six games.
“It makes me feel really good. I learned a lot from the seniors, so I’m kind of bringing (forward) the legacy.” – Wilson sophomore Hunter Freuhling-Thomas
By Jeremy Helling jeremy@tacomaweekly.com
WILSON RAMS PULL OFF BACK-TO-BACK UPSETS Bellarmine clinches second straight title
A
fter beating first-place Lincoln on Feb. 1, the Wilson Rams did not have long to celebrate if they wanted to cling to hope for a postseason berth. The Foss Falcons rolled in to Wilson’s gym on Feb. 4 in a familiar must-win scenario for the Rams. But the Rams responded again with a 63-56 win, as Ivy Smith scored a team-high 16 points and Alphonso Anderson added 13 points and 11 rebounds to keep their playoff chance alive. “I knew this group would struggle the first 10 games of the season, but they have embraced and learned our system the last month of the year, and I could not be more proud of their effort the last two games,” said Rams coach Dave Alwert. The focal point for the Rams was Foss all-everything guard Dezmyn Trent, who averages 28 points per game and can score from anywhere on the court. But Noah Hunthausen ignited the Falcons early, scoring 10 first-quarter points en route to 13 points on the night. Smith would keep Wilson close with seven points in the opening quarter – a sign of things to come late in the game. Trent – who was held to five first-half points – began to find his mark in the third quarter, scoring seven points to help give Foss a 50-40 lead. But Alwert called a timeout to calm down his squad, and it worked. “Our assistant coaches came up with a plan to speed up the game on both ends of the court and it got us back in the game,” Alwert said. “Give my assistants credit.” Trent picked up his fourth foul at the 2:35 mark of the third quarter, allowing Wilson to gain more confidence and quickly get back into the game. Just like he did in the opening quarter,
X See BASKETBALL / page A9
PHOTOS BY ROCKY ROSS
HANDS UP. (Top) Wilson’s Ivy Smith, Jr., who led the Rams with
16 points against Foss, gets up a layup as the Falcons’ Noah Hunthausen tries to contest the shot. (Bottom) The Falcons’ Olashawan Miller looks to get a shot up against the defense of Keun Thompson (5) and Robert Knox.
While they had higher goals in mind as a team, the Wilson Rams got a good glimpse of the future as they took sixth place at the state bowling tournament on Feb. 1-2 at Narrows Plaza Lanes. Sophomore Hunter Freuhling-Thomas paced Wilson’s effort by placing fifth individually with 1,177 pins, including a high score of 213 in her fourth game. “It makes me feel really good,” said FreuhlingThomas of the effort. “I learned a lot from the seniors, so I’m kind of bringing (forward) the legacy.” Freuhling-Thomas closed out the first nine frames in her fourth game, and followed that up with a score of 180 in game five – including three strikes in the 10th frame. She also tallied scores of 203 in the second game and 204 in the sixth game, finishing with an average of 196 for the day that was 30 pins higher than her season average. “She was just throwing a really consistent ball all day long,” said Wilson head coach Ken Richardson. “She really kept us in the whole thing.” Wilson senior Kayla Verone notched a score of 202 in her final individual game to help her place 25th with 1,019 pins, while fellow senior Sam Dusek had two games with a score of 188 to place 27th with 987 pins. The Rams struggled throughout the 14-game Baker format on Feb. 2, averaging a score of 152 as a team. “Usually at state things pick up, and in the past we’ve peaked at state,” said Richardson of the Rams, who were making their 10th appearance at the state meet. “For whatever reason we didn’t do that.” The Rams finished with a team score of 7,085, as Mark Morris outlasted Timberline for the title with a score of 7,694. Lincoln sophomore Miriam Cabrera – the Abes’ lone representative – put up a score of 835 in the individual competition on Feb. 1, including a high score of 181 in her final game. “It was the very last game, you just want to do good at it,” said Cabrera, who was in her first appearance at state after picking up the sport last year. “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” Stadium senior Nicole Van Orden – the Tigers’ lone representative – was impressive in placing 20th in the 4A meet, notching a high of 209 in her opening round and closing out eight of 10 frames in her final round for a 180. “As the captain, you want to try to be the best on the team,” said Van Orden, who made it to state her sophomore year but struggled after injuring her thumb. “I miss my girls, but if I can (represent) them then I’m (representing) the school alright.” Curtis, meanwhile, placed fifth as a team at the 4A meet, as senior Kate Schmidt tallied a 201 in her sixth game on Feb. 1 and placed 12th individually with 1,048 pins. Junior Sheri Hill placed 27th for the Vikings with 964 pins, while sophomore Alyssa Fraker took 34th with a score of 923. The Vikings got a high score of 203 in the 12th game of the Baker competition on Feb. 2, but settled for an average of 158 as a team on the day.