This week marks the final week for basketball league play in the 4A Greater St. Helens League, 3A GSHL and 1A Trico League.
And the only team to have already clinched a league title outright plays in the 2A GSHL, which won’t conclude league play until next week.
The Washougal girls became the first team to wrap up a title outright when the Panthers stormed past Woodland on Thursday.
Three other teams have secured at least a share of the league, and one of those teams also plays in the 2A GSHL — the Columbia River boys.
It means the final week of league play in the 4A GSHL, 3A GSHL and Trico League should be an interesting one. Let’s take a look at the week ahead.
Boys basketball
4A GSHL: Union (19-0) has clinched at least a share of the league title. The Titans can claim it outright if Camas can beat Skyview on Monday. If not, the Titans will have to do the job themselves when they host the Storm on Wednesday. But if Skyview wins Monday, then a showdown for the league title will be set for Wednesday. If Skyview wins that showdown, Union-Skyview Chapter III will be set for Friday in the form of a tiebreaker game. Battle Ground and Camas are in the mix for the third berth to the bi-district tournament. Battle Ground knows, regardless of what happens Monday, it will claim that third berth with a win at Camas on Wednesday. Camas knows, regardless of what happens Monday, that a win over Battle Ground would, at the very least, keep the Papermakers alive for a tiebreaker game against Battle Ground on Friday.
3A GSHL: All three berths to the bi-district tournament could be settled on Monday if Kelso beats Fort Vancouver and Prairie beats Mountain View. Then, the seeds would be set at: 1, Kelso; 2, Prairie; 3, Mountain View. On the other end of the possibility spectrum is a potential three-way tie between the Hilanders, Falcons and Thunder.
2A GSHL: Columbia River has locked up a share of the league title and is guaranteed the No. 1 seed to the district tournament. The Chieftains can win the title outright — ending Mark Morris’ 18-year run of winning at least a share of the league crown — with a win in Longview on Monday against R.A. Long. The rest of the league is still very tightly bunched, meaning the other spots likely won’t be settled until next week.
1A TRICO: La Center (7-1), King’s Way Christian (7-1) and Seton Catholic (5-3) have clinched spots at the district tournament. The league title won’t be decided until Friday when La Center visits King’s Way. While being seeded second or fourth is still possible, Seton Catholic is a good bet to take the No. 3 spot. Fourth-place and beat-up Stevenson needs a win this week to avoid a potential tiebreaker with Castle Rock.
Girls basketball
4A GSHL: Union (6-1), Camas (5-1) and Skyview (4-2) have clinched postseason berths. It had expected to be a big week for Skyview with games against Camas and Union. But injuries have hit the Storm hard. The opportunity remains for the Storm, but they looked destined to claim the No. 3 seed to the bi-district with hopes of getting healthy for a postseason run. That leaves Union and Camas facing a potential tiebreaker game on Friday.
3A GSHL: It’s a little strange to be talking about teams that have clinched league titles or share of league titles, and not be talking about the Prairie girls. But that’s the situation. The Falcons (8-0) take a one-game lead over Hudson’s Bay (7-1) into the final week of league. The Eagles look to score a major upset at Prairie on Wednesday. Mountain View hosts Kelso on Wednesday in a game that likely will decide the third seed.
2A GSHL: Washougal will finish first in the league, and Mark Morris will finish last. Everything in the middle is a traffic jam. Every game is big, but Columbia River hosting Woodland on Thursday stands out.
1A TRICO: King’s Way Christian clinched a share of the league title on Saturday. But to claim the title outright may require one more win that the Knights hope to get Tuesday at home against Columbia-White Salmon. La Center needs to beat Stevenson on Tuesday if it wants to avoid going to district as the No. 3 seed. And Seton Catholic likely will need a win against Castle Rock on Friday to secure the final playoff berth.
Tim Martinez is the assistant sports editor/prep editor for The Columbian. He can be reached at 360-735-4538, tim.martinez@columbian.com or follow his Twitter handle @360TMart.
