WIAA Regional basketball games finished this weekend in regional state tournament play for area teams with Olympia High School (4A) and Timberline High School (3A) qualifying for opening round games at the Tacoma Dome on Wednesday, March 2. Tumwater High School (2A) qualified for play at the Yakima Valley SunDome and also begins play this Wednesday.
Olympia (23-5) played Jackson High School (12-9) from Mill Creek with a winner to Dome, loser out competition at Tumwater. The Bears jumped out early and punched their ticket to Tacoma with a 64-51 win. Andreas Engholm led the Bears scoring with 22. With the win, Olympia heads back to the Tacoma Dome to take on another WESCO opponent in Mariner (16-8) at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday in the 4A tournament. The Bears placed 4th in State in the 2020 State Tournament and no games were held for state competition in 2021.
Olympia boys head coach John Kiley is thrilled to be headed back to the Tacoma Dome. “We are excited and thankful to be going back to Tacoma and we just don’t take this for granted,” Kiley stated after the win against Jackson. “It will be a big battle with another WESCO team in Mariner on Wednesday and we are looking forward to the challenge.”
Timberline (17-4) fell to 3A top ranked Garfield (19-0-1) 90-58 in 3A regional play in Bellevue, missing out on an opportunity for a first round bye in Tacoma. Timberline now faces 4th ranked Mountlake Terrace (18-2) at 2 p.m. Wednesday.
Head coach Allen Thomas is focusing on making some adjustments after a tough game against Garfield. “We will be looking forward to getting back on the court again next week against Mountlake Terrace,” Allen stated. “If we continue to improve defensively, we believe we can make a run at the Tacoma Dome.”
Tumwater lost its regional game against Pullman High School (21-2) falling 61-50 and now will face Grandview (18-6) for a chance to reach the quarterfinals in 2A state play in Yakima. The T-Birds led going into half but were not able to close out the game and missed the opportunity of a first-round bye. The 5th ranked T-Birds will play Wednesday at 7:15 p.m. in 2A WIAA play.
