Around the area

GREAT NORTHERN

Chewelah's boys, 2-1 to begin the season, will play Grandview on Dec. 29 at the SunDome Tournament in Yakima. The Greyhounds were WashingtonPreps.com's preseason 2A No. 1 pick. Chewelah's girls, also at the tournament, take on a pair of 3A opponents, Wapato and Prosser. Lakeside's boys (2-1) play at West Valley on Dec. 30, and Riverside's boys (2-1) are at Shadle Park on Friday before taking on 3A Tumwater on Dec. 27 at a tournament hosted by Seattle Christian.

- J.D. Larson, correspondent

NORTHEAST A

Although WashingtonPreps.com's preseason basketball poll didn't list Kettle Falls as a team to watch on either side, the boys have an early 4-1 record. The defending State 1A champion Colfax girls are ranked second. Freeman, is listed as a team to watch. Non-league action continues through Jan. 7, including Freeman's Holiday Tournament Dec. 27-28. ... Kettle Falls baseball coach Mike Fredrickson has resigned after 25 seasons and 300-plus victories.

- Jessica Brown, Correspondent

THE Bs

Panorama: Tuesday brings the game of the small-school year (at least until state) when the 5-0 Republic boys travels to 1-1 Brewster in a matchup of defending state champions. Republic, defending State B titlist, has already posted two 100-point games and has won 31 straight games. Brewster, defending 1A titlist, lost to Bellevue Christian on Saturday, but is expected to challenge for its third straight state championship. ... Cusick's girls (5-0) defeated St. George's by 32 points Saturday, the first win by the Panthers over SGS in more than 15 years, according to Cusick head coach J.R. Bluff. The Panthers finished 19-7 last year. Cusick returns the majority of that team, including 1,000-point scorer Kimberly Bluff (15.4 ppg this year) and 5-11 Cara Shepherd (15.8 ppg). Bi-County: Despite massive turnover, Valley Christian's boys have responded well early in league play, with wins in their first three league games. Whitman County: Though teams from the Bi-County and Panorama leagues dominate the preseason polls at WashingtonPreps.com, the Tekoa-Oakesdale boys and Garfield-Palouse girls teams cracked the top 10, while the Asotin boys are listed as a team to watch. On the boys' side, T-O (3-0) and Asotin (5-0) have started fast. One team will remain undefeated at the end of the week, because the teams meet in Oakesdale in one of Friday night's league openers. The Gar-Pal girls are 5-0 and also begin league play Friday night at LaCrosse-Washtucna. Other league openers are: St. John-Endicott at Colton; Rosalia travels to Logos (Idaho) tonight and to Asotin for Saturday night's league game.

- Jessica Brown and J.D. Larson

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