Full Court Press Join us this season as we bring you almost-live commentary from select boys and girls basketball games.

December 17, 2003

Final: Lakeside 57, Seattle Prep 32

Che Oh sits on the Prep bench for the final 5 minutes and Camille Floyd finds her groove a little bit for the Panthers with a few buckets and some solid defense. "I don't think he likes her," a woman's voice from the crowd says of one of the referees that calls a foul on a Lions player. Lakeside's experience pays in this early season matchup of Metro rivals. Rarely is there a blowout like this between teams and both have the potential to improve as the season progresses.

Posted by Spike at 08:51 PM

Pulling away

A Prep player to keep an eye on over the next few years is 5-10 sophomore forward, Camille Floyd. She'll probably improve quite a bit with playing time this season and help them come playoff time. Tonight the Panthers' youth is showing a little bit despite them being a pretty solid team for having three seniors on the roster. They need to improve in their passing and transition game. Everyone's getting their points tonight as frustration sets in for the Panthers and freshman Lauren Sanchez lays one in off the fast break. Lakeside holds a 47-25 lead with 2 minutes remaining in the third period.

Posted by Spike at 08:29 PM

Lions roar

Lakeside comes out and puts together a nice run that Prep doesn't have an answer for. The Panthers call timeout after Lakeside builds its lead to 12 points. "Come on. That's horrible!" A Lakeside fan hollers after a foul is called on the Lions. "Why is the foul on her? She's getting killed out there!" With Maggie Wilkens at the line, the Lions lead 37-24 after she converts one shot. Prep has been haunted by turnovers tonight.

Posted by Spike at 08:20 PM

Seattle Prep fight song

Draped on the north wall of the Seattle Prep gym reads: PANTHER FIGHT SONG Hail to thee our fighting Panthers As we cheer your rip and roar. As we tear our foes asunder Our fighting blood yells more, more, more! By our spirits we have proven That the Panthers won't give in So fight, fight, fight for Adelphia And the blue and white will win! presented by Class of 1993

Posted by Spike at 08:09 PM

It's halftime

Each team is scoring and Lakeside is bringing the press each time Prep brings the ball down court. Lakeside puts its two tallest players (Cowles and Parker) and perhaps its most productive, on the bench to rest in the final two minutes before the half. Che Oh provides a quick layin but Lakeside's team speed is evident and three turnovers from the press and a big 3-pointer with 10 seconds left, gives the Lions a 30-24 lead at the half.

Posted by Spike at 08:03 PM

Lions lead by 1

A Lakeside player to watch is 5-10 junior Maggie Wilkins. She's put on a nice display of moves, hustles and is one of those players coaches probably will need to figure out how to contain during the season. Tracy Turnure hit a layin for Prep and Che Oh hits a 12-foot jumper to knot the game at 13. Lakeside's Mary Kuder makes both shots of a 1-and-1 and Oh hits a deep 3-pointer to give the Panthers a one-point lead, but Lakeside takes it back on the next trip down and leads 17-16 with 4 minutes left in the second.

Posted by Spike at 07:56 PM

Double trouble

Lakeside is doubling Che Oh with Caitlin Parker and help from a rotation of players. Oh fouls Lisa Baldina and the Lions fans and players chant. They're trying to make the Panthers beat them without Oh. Lakeside has its players mostly on the perimeter when on offense and are getting few second looks off rebounds. Mikaela Cowles leads all scorers with 5 points. Oh has 4. It's the end of the first period and the Lions hold an 11-9 lead over the Panthers as a group of students in the Prep section do their own cheers.

Posted by Spike at 07:49 PM

Nip and tuck

Lakeside holds a bit of a height advantage with two 6-footers (Mikaela Cowles, Caitlin Parker) controlling the boards early. Lisa Baldina hits a 3-pointer and Che Oh comes back down court and works hard underneath for her first points of the game Just under 4 minutes left in the first period and Lakeside leads 6-4.

Posted by Spike at 07:41 PM

Offense sell tickets, defense wins games

About four minutes left in warmups now. I've been watching both teams for the past 10 minutes and scanning through rosters and related material, trying to get a sense for how things may unfold tonight in this big-time Metro matchup. Lakeside has more experience than Prep with its five seniors on its varsity roster, whereas Prep has just three. Lakeside looks like the better team from the perimeter in terms of its shooting, but Prep's Che Oh is a power inside. She'll help the Panthers eliminate second-chance points off rebounds tonight. "Prep," the Panthers girls chant in unison from mid-court as the Lions players walk to their bench in front of me. Introductions begin and fans here in the gym tonight are ready for a unique matchup of last year's state finalists. People are still trickling in with room in the bleachers. "Lakeside," Lions girls chant after warmups.

Posted by Spike at 07:32 PM

Flashback: Saturday, March 8, 2003

Metro League mastery! Lakeside girls fend off Prep for fifth state title The Lakeside Lions had one final game together, and they wanted to make it memorable. This one, they'll never forget. Eleanor Miller made sure of that, leading Lakeside to a 55-48 victory over defending-champion Seattle Prep in the all-Metro League title game of the Class 3A state girls basketball tournament last night at the Tacoma Dome.

Posted by Spike at 06:36 PM

Coming up: Prep vs. Lakeside

The winners of the previous two state 3A girls basketball titles face off tonight at Seattle Prep. This season, No. 10 Seattle Prep, winner of the 2002 state title, has a 3-1 league record and is 3-3 overall with losses to KingCo 4A power Redmond, which is ranked third in the state. Losses to No. 3 Cleveland and Nathan Hale attest to a competitive schedule into the early part of the season. Prep isn't backing away from big games early in the season and neither is Lakeside, who at 1-3 in league and overall, has already faced tough losses to Cleveland, No. 2 Rainier Beach and 11th-ranked Holy Names Academy. The Lions defeated Prep last year in the state championship game, 55-48 and will have to do it without graduates Eleanor Miller and Glenna Wiley. Mikaela Cowles (14 ppg avg) and Haley Hansen will help fill the void. The Panthers are carried by Che Oh - a 6-foot senior who averaged over 11 points per game last season, second-most on the team to Katie Urban, who graduated.

Posted by Spike at 06:23 PM

December 12, 2003

Final: Mountlake Terrace 64, Shorewood 55

The Hawks put together a big run early in the game that was too much for the Thunderbirds to answer.

Posted by Spike at 09:34 PM

Winding things down

Rob Diederichs scores his 14th point of the game and then picks up his fourth foul. Sean Tracy also has four. Five Terrace fans are dressed in referee jerseys and sit along the front row across the court, cheering their team in the final 2 minutes. Sean Tracy and Rob Diederichs have combined for 33 of the T-birds' 44 points so far. The Hammond trio has carded 25 of the Hawks' 52 points. Terrace leads Shorewood 55-47 now with 1:52 left to play and two top players from each team have four fouls.

Posted by Spike at 09:23 PM

Terrace keeping on

The crowd here tonight fills about half the gym at the Terraceum, as the announcer calls it. Shorewood inbounds the ball, misses a few easy shots, and trails 48-37 with just under 5 minutes left to play.

Posted by Spike at 09:15 PM

End of the third

Rob Diederichs just scored his 12th point of the game as Sean Tracey enters the game despite rolling around in what appeared to be excruciating pain minutes earlier. "Come on Robbie," one of the G.I. Janes behind me chimes. Shorewood is starting to get second-chance rebounds now and is kind of looking like they are trying to take control of the game. Justynn Hammond and Michael Boxley each have four fouls now. The T-birds are chipping away at what was once a 20-point deficit. They now trail by 11 points, 45-34.

Posted by Spike at 09:07 PM

Update: Terrace still winning

The Hawks put together a 7-0 run to start the half. Shorewood answers back and goes on a 4-point run and now with an official timeout on the floor: T-birds sophomore Sean Tracy is down on the floor, holding his left knee. He walks off on his own and play resumes with a 16-point Hawks lead.

Posted by Spike at 08:59 PM

Start of the 2nd half

Michael Boxley, Terrace's leading scorer, just picked up his third and now fourth foul of the game. Justynn Hammond, a 6-4 sophomore forward for the Hawks, is making some big plays tonight and really showcasing his athletic talent with shotmaking, being in position for rebounds, athletic passes and so on. Terrace leads by 18 points with a timeout on the floor and 5:47 left in the third.

Posted by Spike at 08:53 PM

Looking at the numbers

Leading scorer: Boxley, 11 (Tracey leads Shorewood with 8). Justynn Hammond has 5 pts., 5 boards and an assist. Cousin Luke has 8 pts., 3 boards and 2 assists. A monsterous 19-point run by the T-birds has put Shorewood on ice. Numbers provided by Greg Bishop.

Posted by Spike at 08:42 PM

Whew, good job Sean

"Come on defense," one of four girls sitting behind me in the stands yells. They're all dressed identically in G.I. Jane khakis. Sean Tracey has hit three straight buckets for the T-birds and Joey Steadman follows up with a bucket but they still trail Mountlake Terrace 33-20 at the end of the first half.

Posted by Spike at 08:36 PM

Does someone need a timeout?

Mountlake Terrace has gone on a 17-2 run and leads 22-12 with 4 minutes left in the second period.

Posted by Spike at 08:32 PM

Shorewood at the line

The Hawks look a little bit quicker on the court. Shorewood has missed some easy buckets inside and hurt themselves with fouls. It's anyone's game at this point. But I'd give the edge to the Hawks. The Hammond trio (Luke, Christiaan and Justynn) are looking pretty good tonight. They've scored 9 of Terrace's 17 points with 6 boards as they lead by 5. Rob Diederichs was fouled pretty good and the T-birds inbound the ball as they trail 19-12. Terrace fans cheer wildly as Diederichs picks up his first foul of the game.

Posted by Spike at 08:30 PM

Terrace takes the lead

Andrew Mundt gets on the board from the line and makes both shots. Michael Boxley hits a short baseline jumper off the dribble to bring the Hawks back within 1 point and they have the ball. "G, O, go, go," the Terrace cheerleaders make their first chant of the game. The Hawks are starting to take advantage of a few Shorewood fouls and Adrian Blake puts them in the lead with a medium-range shot from the corner. Terrace goes on an 8-0 run to close the quarter with a 13-10 lead.

Posted by Spike at 08:21 PM

Shorewood catches early momentum

Shorewood wins the tip and Rob Diederichs lays it in off a quick pass to give the T-birds the first lead of the game. Michael Boxley ties the game for Terrace off a layin on a fast break on the next trip down. Then Michael Stiles scores a bucket on the offensive end and a Terrace turnover gives the T-birds an easy bucket and a 6-3 lead. But Terrace sophomore forward, Justynn Hammond knocks down a 3-pointer to decrease the Hawks' deficit to 1. Diederichs makes another basket and looks pretty good inside for Shorewood. The Thunderbirds lead Mountlake Terrace 10-5 with a little over 3 minutes left in the first period.

Posted by Spike at 08:15 PM

Who's it gonna be?

Rap music blaring with plenty of base. Players from both teams hitting jumpers and layins at random. Shorewood Thunderbirds were ranked No. 7 in the preseason state rankings and lost by two points to Redmond last week. Mountlake Terrace Hawks lost their two leading scorers last season and look to junior Luke Hammond (10.5 PPG last season) to fill the void. Luke's two cousins, Justynn and Christiaan both transferred to Terrace this year and could lend a hand. Special shout out goes to the concessions stand lady, who hooked up the famished Times writer Greg Bishop with a hot dog as he stood in a line of 30 people. Now he'll stop talking about how hungry he is. Concessions stand lady, Spike thanks you. We're 3 minutes away from tipoff now and an Aerosmith song is played. Yeah right, it's rap music again, 24-7 around this joint.

Posted by Spike at 08:05 PM

Hard Rock Cafe, Lake Tahoe

When first arriving at the Mountlake Terrace gym, I had space to set up my laptop with a plugin. I asked around for a janitor and was pointed in the direction of a burly biker in wire-framed glasses with a USMC tattoo on his left biceps and a jean jacket that reads "Hard Rock Cafe, Lake Tahoe." The name is "Animal." Animal stroked his beard and held his hands on his hips as he listened to my predicament and reappeared from a nearby supply closet moments later with an extension cord. The Shorewood JV team won its game and with the varsity teams on the floor, just eight minutes before the game, Animal experienced something like a sulfur or eggs type of smell. The fire department came and went and now we're rolling, back in the gym for warmups.

Posted by Spike at 07:55 PM

Game on hold

The gym at Mountlake Terrace has been evacuated because of a possible gas leak. As soon as the authorities have gotten things under control, and the game gets under way, we'll be back to do the Webcast. Stay tuned!

Posted by bpayne at 07:40 PM

Keep your eyes on these guys

Fast fact: Five Seattle-area boys hoopsters have over 30 PPG average heading into tonight. 1. Jon Brockman, Snohomish - 39.0 2. Sean Wallace, Chief Leschi - 35.5 3. Rodney Stuckey, Kentwood - 35.0 4. Garth Brandal, Shoreline Christian - 31.0 5. Nathan Yoder, Tacoma Baptist - 31.0 6. Christian Yeager, Redmond - 30.5 Rob Diederichs of Shorewood ranks 16th after knocking down 25 points against Redmond last week.

Posted by Spike at 05:40 PM

December 11, 2003

Heading north for first game

After a late rally in the voting, it looks like Spike will be heading north for the first boys basketball Webcast of the season. He'll be going to Mountlake Terrace to bring you the Hawks' game against Shorewood. Tipoff is set for 7:30 on Friday night. See you then!

Posted by bpayne at 09:18 PM