1A Boys State Basketball Tournament

Vashon 66, Chelan 52

Thursday: Vashon v Bellevue Christian 9 a.m. Winner plays winner of Cascade Christian/Onalaska 8 p.m. Friday; losers play at 4 p.m. Friday.

1A Girls State Basketball Tournament:

Granger 45, Vashon 32

Tomorrow, Thursday March 4: Vashon v Toledo 10:30 a.m. Loser out, winner plays 11 a.m. March 5 v Cedar Park Christian/Seattle Christian winner.

Authorities over the weekend issued a warning to Vashon Island schools and businesses of a mysterious illness expected to strike the Island no later than Wednesday of this week.

The malady, known sometimes as the Green Flu or Pirate Fever, often causes high rates of absenteeism for up to four days at a time. Symptoms may include difficulty paying attention to assigned tasks and frequent visits to www.wiaa.com and other Web-sites associated with local high school sports.

Victims have been known to coat their faces and other exposed skin with salves and paints in garish green and gold colors, apparently in an attempt to relieve the discomfort of the fever. Wearing green and yellow clothing also seems to help.

Similar illnesses have been reported in smaller communities and school districts around the state, where other color combinations of salves and paints are believed to bring relief.

The only known cure seems to be to spend time in the SunDome in Yakima. The atmosphere inside the structure is said to contain properties that relieve the symptoms or change them to a desire to yell non-stop for up to 32 minutes at a time, but treatment may take up to four full days for the worst cases.

While there is no practical way to prevent the illness, authorities say that symptoms inevitably subside no later than Saturday night or Sunday morning and victims of the condition almost always return to work or school Monday morning.

The 1A State basketball brackets have been posted on www.wiaa.com.

All games are in the Yakima SunDome

March 3:

Vashon boys v Chelan 9 p.m.

Vashon girls v Granger 12:30 p.m.

All teams play Mar. 3 & 4 in the double-elimination tournament.

The celebration begins. Kiki Means, Elisa Wendt with ball she stole to seal the win, Charlotte Kehoe and Kelly Costello react at the final buzzer.

The Pirate girls are going to State. Vashon’s girls beat Cascade Christian today for the sixth and last seed to the 1A State Basketball Tournament.

The Pirates took the lead for good on Kiki Means’ two free throws to break a 40-40 tie with 11 seconds left. Vashon got the ball with 42 seconds left. As the 30-second shot clock wound down, Means tried to move into position for a clear shot. As the shot clock ticked down to one second Means tried to get the shot off and was fouled.

She stepped to the free throw line and calmly sank her first shot. The Cougars called a time out but Means was not rattled. When the teams returned, she sank the second shot just as calmly as the first.

Cascade got the ball back and moved down the court but Elisa Wendt stole the ball with two seconds left and the Pirates had their ticket to the SunDome in Yakima.

It was anybody’s game until the Means’ free throws and Wendt’s steal. Vashon led at the end of each quarter, but the lead changed several times in the fourth quarter.

This was the fourth meeting of Pirates and Cougars. Each team won on its home court in the regular season. Vashon won the tie-breaker for seeding to playoffs on a neutral court.

State Tournament brackets should be posted on www.wiaa.com Sunday night or Monday. The tournament starts Wednesday, March 3.

Head coach Henry Porter, left, and assistant coaches Gary Means and Holly Zapel celebrate the win.

We did it! Coach Andy Sears at the final buzzer.

Vashon’s boys, at least, are going to State.

The Pirate boys basketball team beat Kings 54-46 in a game at Mountlake Terrace that finished just under three hours ago. Kings took the early lead but the Pirates came back to lead by seven at half time. Vashon stretched the lead to 10 at one point and Kings came within three late in the game.

I’ll try to get some photos and a little more info posted tomorrow before I leave for the girls last chance game. The girls play Cascade Christian at 3 p.m. tomorrow at Mountlake Terrace. Winner goes to State, loser turns in the uniforms and waits until next year.

Elias Weston makes it hard for Kings' Ryan Hoff to find a shot.

Saturday morning: I couldn’t find the game stats yet; see Wednesday’s Beachcomber for details.

Kings did a good job of shutting down John Gage in the first half. Gage got only limited playing time in the first half while the rest of the team showed Kings that one player is not the whole Pirate team. Vashon never trailed after taking the lead in the second quarter.

While Kings held Gage from the field, he was almost perfect, if not perfect, from the free throw line, and free throws by Gage and several others were critical in final two minutes.

Brackets for the 1A State Tournaments should be posted on www.wiaa.com by Monday.

Who's got the ball?

Despite yesterday’s loss to Lynden Christian, Vashon’s girls still have one more chance to make it to State basketball.

Lynden Christian was clearly the better team yesterday, no reflection on the way our girls played.

The Pirates have beaten Cascade Christian, tomorrow’s opponent, two out of three this season. Let’s hope the Pirate team that showed up at home and on a neutral court shows up tomorrow and not the one that played at Cascade Christian.

The game is at 3 p.m.

A big cheering section will be a big help. Our Pirate girls have not always had the support the boys have had. We need to be there to counter the Cougar fans who will follow their team.

Kelly Costello opened the second quarter with a steal and a layup for two points.

Vashon boys play Kings today, winner goes to State, loser has to play again tomorrow at 1 p.m. for the final State berth. Kings will be out avenge their two-point loss to the Pirates earlier this season.

I’ve seen the Kings trophy case. I don’t think they display anything less than second place at State in any sport.

Neither team today wants to be the lowest seed to State.

The Pirate boys will probably have a large and vocal Green Tide cheering section for today’s game. If you’re going, remember that northbound traffic on I-5 can get bad, so allow plenty of time. Today is Friday and rush hour starts earlier. The 2:20 p.m. ferry may get you there on time for the 4:30 game, but I recommend the 1:50. While I realize Islanders have an aversion to arriving anywhere early, it’s better than missing the first quarter sitting in traffic by Northgate.

Take Exit 181A/Lynnwood, turn right then get in the left lane. The entrance to Mountlake Terrace HS is on the left, less than a mile from the freeway exit and easy to miss the first time there.

A busy month for the Pirates, with State Wrestling last weekend and basketball playoffs ongoing.

Sam Chapman, in yellow, and J.P. Martinez of Warden battle for the 112-pound state title.

Senior Sam Chapman, 112 pounds, led the Pirate grapplers with his second state championship and third medal finish. Three more Pirates of the seven state qualifers earned medals this year. Though Vashon finished 12th as a team, the first time out of the top-10 in years, It was a good showing in what was a re-building year.

Both boys and girls basketball teams rebounded from playoff losses to be one win away from State.

The girls crushed Bush Tuesday evening at home and the boys beat Seattle Academy last night. Now both teams have two chances to win one game and pack for Yakima.

Alex Wegner, 20, guards Seattle Academy's Adrian Brandon, 23.

Vashon’s girls play Lynden Christian today at 4:30 p.m. at Mountlake Terrace High School. The boys take on Kings tomorrow at the same gym. I’ve seen two times listed for tomorrow’s boys’ game. Double check the start time so you don’t miss the tipoff.

Today’s and tomorrow’s winners go to state. Losers have to play again Saturday for the final State slots.

To get to Mountlake Terrace, go north on I-5. Take Exit 181A/Lynnwood. Go right then stay in the left lane. The school will be on the left less than a mile from the exit. Watch closely because it’s easy to miss the turn the first time you go there.

Matt Amick drives to the basket after stealing the ball.

Allow plenty of time for the drive to Mountlake Terrace. Traffic on I-5 in North Seattle and South Snohomish County can get bogged down any time of day and especially during rush hour, which is anytime after 2 p.m.

Also, parking at the school may be tight because of earlier playoff games.

John Gage rejects a shot by Seattle Academy's Adrian Brandon.

Because this a playoff game season passes and Nisqually League passes will not be accepted.

Will our favorite island be deserted on Saturday?

Pirate fans, at least, will probably be hard to find. Friday and Saturday is Mat Classic, the WIAA State Wrestling tournament, and Vashon’s large and knowlegable wrestling community will spend much of the two days at the Tacoma Dome cheering for the five Pirate boys and two girls representing Vashon High School. Several of the wrestlers have a legitimate chance to make it to the championship finals Saturday evening.

Basketball fans will most likely head to Orting Saturday afternoon to watch both boy and girl Pirates play for top seed to Tri-District. The girls play Seattle Christian and the boys take on Cascade Christian. Win or lose, both Vashon teams have assured themselves a trip to Tri-District, but both teams would like to grab the top seed.

So if the Island seems a little quieter Saturday, wait until the last ferry from Tacoma lands. It should be filled with cheering fans and tired but happy Pirates.

The Pirates are on a roll. Tuesday the Vashon boys and girls took care of Life Christian in their final regular season game.

The boys started off with a 87-52 drubbing of the Eagles. It was senior night and a cameraman from KING5 was there taping a feature on Pirate senior John Gage. By the third quarter it was obvious that reserves would be playing most of the rest of the game, and by early in the fourth period the cameraman put his gear away.

Gage scored 19 points and put on a good show, with several huge blocked shots on the defensive end of the court.

Alex Wegner led the Pirates with 21 and Matt Kerns had 16 as Vashon put on a three-point clinic in the first half.

Christian Paige led the visitors with 21, the only Eagle to hit double figures.

Jesse Hazzard drives for the hoop as the Pirate reserves played most of the fourth quarter.

The Pirate girls’ game was almost a laugher. Once they found the range, the Vashon girls out-scored the visitors 20-2 in the first quarter and 20-1 in the second quarter. The final score was 56-8.

Three Pirates, Kelly Costello with 18 points, and Cat Amick and Elisa Wendt with 8 each, individually equalled or surpassed the entire Eagles team.

As with the boys, reserves played most of the second half. Coach Henry Porter put the four senior starters back in the fourth quarter for a short time so they could receive an ovation from the fans.

Marya Munsey carries the ball past Life Christian's Rachel Goodman.

Vashon’s girls continued the momentum last night, Feb. 17, with a tie-breaker win over Cascade Christian, 55-26, giving the Pirates second place in the Nisqually League.

Costello led the Pirates with 21 points.

The win takes the Pirates to a Saturday game with league champion Seattle Christian for first and second seeding to the Tri-District Tournament.

The Vashon boys play Cascade Christian on Saturday, also for first or second seed to Tri-District. The Pirates and Cougars tied for the league championship.

Saturday’s games are at Orting; boys at 5 p.m., girls at 7 p.m.