January 2015

By Anastasia Stepankowsky

Chief Sealth (2-9) has not won many close games this season, but the underdog Seahawks squeaked out a 54-51 victory over visiting Roosevelt (6-7) Friday night.

“I think they played just that little extra bit harder tonight and got some loose balls and some rebounds that we haven’t been getting in some games,” Chief Sealth head coach Colin Slingsby said.

Roosevelt burst to an early 12-6 lead. But the Seahawks closed the gap to 14-12 by the end of the first eight minutes.

The game remained closely contested, and several controversial calls angered both sides. In response to one call, Roughriders head coach Bart Brandenburg slammed his hands on the seat of his chair.

“The first half was a little lopsided. I was a little concerned at halftime. But I think the second half kind of evened out a little bit there. There was still a lot going both ways. But that’s the nature of the Metro Conference. It’s physical basketball,” Slingsby said.

by Paul Moseley

The West Seattle Girls Basketball team continued their dominance of the Metro conference as they dispatched Garfield 55-39 at home Friday night and improved their winning streak to 9 games. The Wildcats 15-2 overall, are undefeated in the Metro Conference and have moved up to #2 in the State in MaxPrep rankings.

As good as the Wildcats are, the Garfield Lady Bulldogs came to play and gave West Seattle an exciting first half.

Garfield used their speed and precision passing on offense to keep West Seattle a bit off balance for the first 16 minutes. On defense, Garfield was hungry, disrupting the Wildcats with a series of fast paced steals. At the half, Garfield stayed within reach as they went into the half down 23-14 to the Wildcats.

West Seattle came out of half-time and showed why they continue to win. With a team full of weapons, the Wildcats turned to Junior Lexi Ioane and Senior Emily Fiso to take the lead. Ioane scored 12 and Fiso netted 10, covering 22 of the teams 32 second half points.

By Anastasia Stepankowsky

A sluggish start and poor teamwork doomed the Chief Sealth Ladyhawks (5-10), who took a 56-36 loss to the Roosevelt Roughriders (7-9) in girls Metro Conference action Friday night.

“I think that our biggest downfall is that we don’t have the cohesiveness that these teams that are at our level have,” Chief Sealth head coach Katie Jo Maris said. “Because they have that, they fight all game for each other, and our team doesn’t seem to do it.”

Both offenses came out lukewarm at tip-off. Roosevelt and Chief Sealth both failed to score on their first possessions. But the scoreboard got its first chance to light-up with a short shot from the field from Roosevelt’s Lucy Morrill making the score 2-0.

The Ladyhawks managed to stay close despite failing to net a single point from the field until junior guard Allison Hadaway scored with 2:36 left in the second quarter. Hadaway ended with 18 of Chief Sealth’s 36 points.

The team eventually scraped together enough energy to finish the half only eight points behind Roosevelt.

by Paul Moseley

What does a team just over .500 do when they host an opponent ranked #1 in the State and #19 in the country? Some teams roll over from the pressure, and some fight. The West Seattle boys basketball team found out as they hosted Garfield high school for a Metro conference match-up…and they chose to fight.

For one half of Basketball, they did a fine job.

The Wildcats took the opening tip from the physically larger Bulldogs and won the fight in the paint for two quarters, trading the lead with Garfield several times before half-time. Garfield had a short run at the end of the half and went into the locker room up 35-29.

The Bulldogs made the adjustments that an 18-0 team knows how to make, and came out in the third quarter and took control. West Seattle went cold - losing their momentum on rebounds and struggling to find the basket. Garfield went home with the predicted win, but the young West Seattle team found out they can run with the best of them. It’s going to be fun watching this team progress over the next couple of years.

Final Score: Garfield 82, West Seattle 58

information from King County

King County contractors recently finished the base of the underground storage tank, completing the last large concrete pour for the project. Crews are now preparing for smaller concrete pours to construct of the outer wall of the tank.

Concrete pours for the outer wall are weather dependent and will occur on Thursdays in February and March. In order to keep the project on schedule, the contractor will be working on some Saturdays. Work hours on Saturdays are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Up to 20 trucks a day will deliver concrete to the site on pour days— about as many trucks as were previously on site each hour for the tank base pours. Pours will occur between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. Work will continue past 6 p.m. if necessary to complete the pour. One concrete pump truck on the east side of the 7000 block of Beach Dr. S.W. will pump concrete into the hole. Local and emergency access to Beach Drive S.W. and Lincoln Park Way S.W. will be maintained at all times. Expect traffic delays and congestion on pour days.

What to expect on pour days:
· Work hours between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.

The largest flying 12 flag in the world at 30' x 50' was raised out in front the Bartells Drugs headquarters on Jan. 30 in a Superbowl pregame warm up celebration. Seahawk fans from young to old dressed in all sorts of 12 themed gear gathered for the event. Saint Bryan and Kim Holcomb were there from King5 Evening Magazine doing a segment, and a variety of corporate sponsors lined the entrance area and parking lot of the building on Delridge Way SW.

Even though there was only a light breeze the flag caught the wind to the cheers of the crowd.

BY GERARDO BOLONG
Contributing Writer

AUBURN - As the postseason of gymnastics beckons, the Mount Rainier girl gymnasts honed their skills and made final preparations on their routines in the final South Puget Sound League regular season meet at Auburn Riverside High School on Wed., Jan.28.

Mt. Rainier scored 152.35 to outdistance Auburn Riverside (150.8), Auburn Mountainview (149.35) and Auburn (118.1).

For the Rams, a victory was nice, but the prime purpose was to determine what needed attention before the Feb. 7 sub-district meet at Mount Rainier High School.

"This was our lowest score of the season," said Ram head coach Ali Kestle. "We're missing Regan Hunt due to injury, but we have a lot of work still to do, especially on the bars. The scoring was different, tonight, but it was good for a reality check (on where the team really is)."

MRHS had been scoring regularly in the 160's in recent weeks.

As usual, Ava Welch led the way for Mt. Rainier.

BY GERARDO BOLONG
Contributing Writer

FEDERAL WAY - Superb sharing and shooting in the second half turned a reasonably close game into a rout for the Mount Rainier girls basketball team in a 54-17 South Puget Sound League 4A Northwest win at Decatur on Tues., Jan. 26.

Mt. Rainier improved to 2-5 league and 5-14 overall while Decatur fell to 0-8 and 1-16 respectively.
"Our team is really improving its defense and taking better care of the ball," said first-year Ram head coach Salvo Coppa. "They share and play team basketball. There are no big egos. Even Simone (Johnson) who can score well is unselfish. Mentally, they're learning more about the game."

The Rams lose only Johnson to graduation on a team that has five freshman on varsity.

Holding a 13-5 lead going into halftime, MRHS began its strafing run of scoring hits ignited by junior Kenzie Gandy's two free throws ahead of Simone Johnson's pair of charity tosses. Gandy then made a steal and cruised for a layup. After Johnson's bank shot basket, the breakaway was in full motion.

by Ed Shepherd
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

The Tyee/Evergreen/Highline co-op team that swims as one team, but whose points get individually scored out for each's school, battled well, won 10 of 12 races, but, the split-points scoring hurt in a three-school loss to Renton, on senior day at the Evergreen pool in White Center Thursday.

The Totems/Wolverines/Pirates team swims Feb. 6-7 at the Hazen pool for the Seamount League Meet, with finals at 5 pm on Saturday.

But, in this meet, as points were being added up at the end of the meet, the team's coach, Megan Reynolds, was with hope that one of the three teams--Highline--would get a win against the Indians in that school's dual meet portion of the split scores.

"We're crossing our fingers," said Reynolds. "But, it's tough because of the split, we have to count the points differently."

information from the NW Flower and Garden show

The 27th annual Northwest Flower & Garden Show provides imagination and inspiration with its magnificent showcase of 23 display gardens, 110 free seminars by top experts, ideas for condo and apartment gardening, and a big line-up of exhibitors in the Marketplace and more, February 11-15, 2015 at the Washington State Convention Center.

The region’s top Garden Creators are embracing the show-wide “Romance Blossoms” theme—the show’s amazing collection of 23 marquee display gardens will feature upwards of 50% more flowers in bloom.

West Seattle area participants include Sponsor Sawdust Supply and Garden Creator West Seattle Nursery’s “Birds Do It…Bees Do It…”

West Seattle Nursery’s garden really is about the birds and the bees (in the literal sense); but a lush, grassy area accented by a subtle water feature provides a setting to form your own interpretation of romance. Blooming spring bulbs add splashes of color, but it’s also a setting where backyard gardeners grow their own fruits and vegetables.