Eastern Washington has controlled much of the 4A State Title races over the last decade. Can this trend continue, or will the balance of power swing back to Western Washington? No matter the outcome, one thing is for sure….the Pacific Northwest is a hot bed for women’s basketball!
Two schools, Lewis and Clark and Central Valley, have put their stamp on the 4A Washington State girls basketball championship since 2000. Under Jim Redmon, Lewis and Clark has played in the championship four times (2006-2008, 2011) and won every matchup, an amazing 4-0 in state finals appearances. Central Valley has also been to the big dance 4 times, winning two of their state finals matchups, in 2001 and 2002. Central Valley coach Dale Poffenroth led his Lady Bears to the finals in 2003 as well, where they lost to Al Aldridge’s Prairie Falcons in a rematch of the 2002 final. Dale has since moved on to Idaho to coach Coeur D’Alene High School, but his replacement Freddie Rehkow took the Lady Bears to the final in 2012 and lost a nail-biter to Skyview, 46-43.
Both Lewis and Clark and Central Valley have won multiple titles since the turn of the century, but we will never overlook the Prairie Falcons in this discussion. Prairie has made a trip to the 4A state finals four times since 2000, winning it in 2003. If we were to extend our century gap just two years back to 1998, Prairie would be the focal point of our discussion as Coach Aldridge dominated the 1998 and 1999 state finals matchups, beating his opponents by 13 points and 10 points respectively. Prairie has maintained their dominance in the move to 3A, where they made the finals in 2011 and 2012, winning the title game in 2012. Watch out for Prairie again this year in 3A, as the Lady Falcons are currently ranked 2nd in the state and in control of the Greater St. Helens League.
This year’s 4A state tournament will be as compelling as any tournament in the past, with three top newcomers making some noise in the the state rankings; Mount Rainier, Gonzaga Prep, and Arlington. Of these schools only Arlington has won the 4A title, and that was back in 1982.
Don’t miss the 4A Girls State Tournament action,
beginning February 28th in Tacoma!