Girls Basketball Players to Watch
Heather Corral, so., Prairie; Lauren Goecke, jr., Prairie; Maddie Van Liew, so., Skyview; Brooke Bowen, so., Skyview; Lauren Baker, sr., La Center; Janae Davis, sr., Union; Justine Joudrey, jr., Evergreen; Brittany Landon, sr., Columbia River; Melissa Williams, jr., Camas; Amanda McCarty, sr., Hockinson.
Leagues at a glance
4A Greater St. Helens League: Even with Nikki Bond recovering from a knee injury — she hopes to play in February — Skyview is loaded with talent. There are four 6-footers on the roster and that stellar class of freshmen from last year are a year older and, presumably, better. Kelso ended up second at district last year. Carly Perkins is back, but is coming off a knee injury. Heritage is looking to get past district for the first time. Evergreen and Mountain View, with new coaches, are showing signs of improvement. And Battle Ground won three of its first four non-league games, working on defense and a balanced scoring attack.
3A Greater St. Helens League: Hmmmm. Where to begin? Oh, OK, how about Prairie? The Falcons have won 112 consecutive league games, 126 in a row when including district tournament play. No offense to any other team in the league, but until that streak ends, Prairie will always get top billing. The Falcons are young this year, but they still are the favorites. Big time. Columbia River is hoping to build on its momentum from last year’s solid run at district. Camas has one of the best juniors in the region. And Union proved it had talent last year. There is a new attitude at Hudson’s Bay, and Fort Vancouver is in a rebuilding phase.
2A Greater St. Helens League: This should be fun for basketball fans. This league is anybody’s guess. Hockinson won the title last year, but graduated four starters. “They’re still going to be solid, though,” one coach said. Ridgefield, with Shelby Williams leading the way, should be tough. Woodland, if things go just right, could compete for a title, too. And Mark Morris and R.A. Long have several returners. Plenty of parity in this league, then it gets a little scary at district with the teams from up north. Those teams, one coach said, are loaded.
