the spectator by ned piper

Following local sports: Go, Teams!

Washington State University‘s women’s basketball team made history on March 5 by beating UCLA for the Pac12 conference championship, the first basketball title of any kind for a WSU team since 1940. By the way of trivia, my Uncle Kirk Gebert played on that championship WSU basketball team 82 years ago.

Their win by a score of 56-51 over a highly-ranked UCLA team gives the WSU women’s team an automatic berth in this year’s NCAA March Madness tournament.

This gives me two Washington teams to be excited about in the 2023 tourney: the exciting Gonzaga Bulldogs men’s team and, now, the WSU women’s team.

When I mentioned to a friend about how pumped I am about seeing how far the WSU women can go in the tourney, he said, “Wait a minute, I thought you were a Husky fan,” meaning the University of Washington Huskies.

“I am,” I said, “but I can root for any Northwest team, unless they’re playing against the Huskies.” I know Oregon Duck fans who wouldn’t root for the UW even if they were matched against a team from North Korea.

My heart warms when I read in The Daily News about the success of sports teams from around the region — Rainier, St. Helens, Kalama, Castle Rock, Toutle, Woodland, Kelso, and in Longview, Mark Morris and R.A. Long High Schools.

We are favored with a ton of athletic talent in the Columbia River region, young men and young women alike. I find it fun to follow them all. •••

Longview resident Ned Piper coordinates advertising and distribution of CRR, and enjoys the opportunities to meet and greet friends, both old and new.