BLOGS

GIRLS BASKETBALL (0-1)
Friday, Southridge (0-0) away.
The Panthers are off to Kennewick to face Southridge. It will be the second game for WHS and the first for the 3A Suns. The two schools first met in 1997-98 and Wenatchee leads the series 18-8. At one time they were up 15-4, but Southridge has won four of the last seven. Last fall the Panthers won at home 61-50.

Saturday, Hanford (0-0) home.
The initial game with the Falcons goes back to the 1975-76 season, yet the teams have only played a half dozen times in 36 years…twice in the 70s, once in the 90s and three times in the past five years. Last season WHS won 57-51 at Hanford to even the record at three wins apiece. At home Wenatchee is 1-2.

BOYS BASKETBALL (0-1)
Friday, Southridge (0-0) home.
For 25 years the Panthers and Suns have competed and the Kennewick outfit holds a one game lead in the series, 13-12. Although Wenatchee has won five of the last six, including a 59-53 victory a year ago at Southridge. In the local gym the Purple & Gold have defeated the Suns seven times in 12 games.

Saturday, Hanford (0-0) away.
This will only be the third game with Hanford, and the Panthers have yet to lose to the 3A Falcons. They played in 2006-07, 2007-08 and last year when Wenatchee won 58-54 at home.

Remember the 60s
Mickey Mantle of the NY Yankees and Willie Mays of the SF Giants sign contracts worth $100,000…First flight of the Boeing 727…Tenley Albright is the first US female world figure skating champ.

What, you say, do these February 1963 events have to do with Panther hoops? Well, Saturday Lake City and Wenatchee went back a ways offensively, quite a ways, and played a game where the combined score for the two squads was 72 points (LCHS 40, WHS 32). The last time Wenatchee was involved in a game with less offense was February 16, 1963, when the Max Taylor coached Panthers traveled to Everett and defeated the Seagulls 36-31. Between the two bucket-challenged contests, 48½ years apart, Wenatchee played 1,044 games. And when that ’63 contest was played coach Ron Stone was a mere pebble, all of two years old.

The next question you’re likely to ask is when the last time the Panthers’ offense was involved in a point-a-minute game (or less)? The answer most likely will surprise you...it wasn’t long ago… not in the least. It was the game immediately preceding the Lake City outing. Last season ended with a 72-29 loss in district play to Richland. That’s 61 points in two consecutive games. The last time that, or less, happened was 61 seasons ago this coming week. December 1, 1951 WHS lost to Peshastin 40-29 and the 7th lost to Walla Walla 53-28. In between these two how-low-can-you-go events were 1,306 games.

(It’s scintillating, extremely valuable stuff like this that makes this report so worthwhile.)

Early Hoop Rankings
Mason Kelley and Sandy Ringer of the Seattle Times have published their Week 1 prep rankings…Kelley compiled the boys and Ringer the girls.

Boys. Davis, with former Wenatchee coach Eli Juarez, is right at the top. Kelley says, “Davis of Yakima seems like a good choice at No. 1. The Pirates finished fifth in the state last season and bring back plenty of talent, including standout David Trimble. Jackson Marquis, last year’s leading scorer, graduated, but Davis has enough to contend for a title. Last year's state roster had seven juniors and a sophomore.” No other league members are in the top 10 or among 11 in his Keep-an-eye-on list. WHS hosts the Pirates February 4 in their last regular season game.

Girls. The Panthers are there. They, along with Chiawana and Moses Lake, are CBBN teams in Ringer’s 19-team Others-to-watch list. No local conference teams are in the top 10.

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