Giant Slayers

By Glenn Nelson
HoopGurlz Publisher
Posted Sat, 03/10/2007 - 21:00 Stephanie Wilber of Auburn Riverside had a vision of David slaying Goliath that was fulfilled in the Washington State 3A championship game.

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STORY & PHOTOS BY GLENN NELSON

SEATTLE, Wash. - When the wheels threatened to come off Stephanie Wilber's health a second straight season, she took it as a sign. And she knew exactly where to go for guidance in one of the biggest moments of her young life. She retreated into her faith.

It presented her a vision on Saturday morning as appropriate for basketball as it was spiritually.

"I remember all the times I played against Regina Rogers throughout my basketball career," Wilber said of the 6-foot-4, UCLA-bound post for Sealth. "The first time I played her in AAU, honestly, I was scared to death of the girl. This morning, I woke up and I said this is David and Goliath and I'm David.

"It felt like David and Goliath out there," Wilber said. "They have so much more size and weight against me. But David had his slingshot. I had my slingshot and I was ready."

Wilber, who will play at Arizona State next year, unmistakeably was the hub of Auburn Riverside's 3A championship effort, realized with a 56-46 victory over Chief Sealth, a Goliath of a team in the state of Washington for three years. The loss, in fact, was Sealth's first in the state of Washington since the 2004-05 season. The Seahawks won the previous two 3A championships, but were stripped of both titles for an illegal-recruitment scandal that also led to the dismissal of the previous coaching staff.

The tournament MVP, Wilber had 16 points and was the lone offering, at 6-1, to counter Rogers and her 6-3 front-line mate, Christina Nzekwe, who also is headed to UCLA. Not only that, Wilber is Auburn Riverside's lone senior, the one to whom this season has been dedicated by her teammates. She also is the one who cajoled the Ravens' sophomore point guard Nichole Jackson to push her game to championship caliber.

So, Wilber didn't just bring a slingshot into battle, she armed herself with plenty of pebbles. She and Riverside needed every last one.

Using Rogers' aggression against her, Auburn Riverside focused not on rebounding itself, but on being in position for them. That put them in the way of last year's tournament MVP when she pursued the ball, not so subtly, and the tactic coaxed her into constant foul trouble. Nzekwe came through with a monster game, delivering 15 points and 15 rebounds, and Nia Jackson muted the Riverside pressure with her teeth-chattering speed.

However, Rogers played only 15 minutes and is the heart and soul of the team.

"She's one of the best players in the state," Sealth coach Carmen Martinez said. "Take that away from any team and see where they're at.

"I feel for Regina. I think she blames herself and she shouldn't."

Rather than having lost this title, Sealth had it snatched away. Riverside had planned to run the Seahawks off the court with its pressure and transition attack. However, the Ravens actually had to go nose to nose with Sealth.

Jackson, who helped subdue previously unbeaten Meadowdale in the semifinal with four three-pointers, came through with another big performance. She established herself as a threat against the Sealth defense, which had to commit at least one of its bigs to a Riverside perimeter player. Jackson hoisted up a bushel of shots - 15 - as ordered by Wilber and coach Adam Barrett and made only four, but all were threes and immaculately timed.

"My confidence was way boosted by the night before," said Jackson, who led the tournament in assists with 3.75 per game.

Sealth's confidence seemed deflated, once and for all, shortly after Rogers re-entered the game with four fouls and 4:17 left to play. Immediately, the Ravens went to Wilber, who worked Rogers with a whirling jump hook that seemed to signal that she and her team were just not backing down.

Wilber's tournament performance - she led all scorers with 20.8 points per game and was fourth in total rebounds with 36 - thoroughly concealed a secret about which even Barrett was unaware. She had suffered a stress fracture on the navicular bone, the most weight-bearing, in her right foot and missed several weeks near the end of the regular season. She told everyone that she'd worked her way back into condition, but admitted Saturday night that "I lied."

"I didn't know, but I don't doubt it," said Barrett, who was extremely emotional during the post-game celebration with his players and his father, Roger, who attended the entire tournament. "That's the competitiveness in her, that she didn't want anyone to know she was hurt, and she didn't want any excuses."

More than that, Wilber took the injury as a sign that she had strayed from her faith. The season before, she suffered an assortment of physical maladies, the worst of which was a bout with mononucleosis, so already had a good idea what she'd most most in her life.

"I didn't put God first, so He took something away," Wilber said, "and it was the thing I missed the most - basketball."

Once the gift was returned, Stephanie Wilber embraced it, nurtured it and honored it. And it gave her even more - her place in state girls basketball history as one of the greatest of all giant slayers.

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All-Tournament Team
First Team
Stephanie Wilber (MVP)
Christina Nzekwe, Chief Sealth
Alyssa Shoji, Issaquah
Eryn Jones, Meadowdale
Regina Rogers, Chief Sealth

Second Team
Nia Jackson, Chief Sealth
Jasmine Williams, Seattle Prep
Ireti Amojo, Auburn Riverside
Chioma Amaefule, Auburn Mountainview
Jazmine Foreman, Hudson's Bay

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Tournament Scoring Leaders
1. Stephanie Wilber, Auburn Riverside, 20.8
2. Alyssa Shoji, Issaquah, 18.3
3. Jazmine Foreman, Hudson's Bay, 17.7
4. Chene Cooper, Lakes, 16.5
5. Amber Sylvester, Hudson's Bay, 16.3
6. Jasmine Williams, Seattle Prep, 16.0
7. Eryn Jones, Meadowdale, 16.0
8. Andrea Fine, Mount Vernon, 16.0
9. Joey Brazen, Bellevue, 15.5
10. Nia Jackson, Chief Sealth, 13.3

Tournament Rebounding Leaders
1. Chioma Amaefule, Auburn Mountainview, 14.0
2. Ashley Grater, East Valley, 13.3
3. Christina Nzekwe, Chief Sealth, 11.5
4. Kelly Brons, White River, 11.3
5. Brittany Tillman, Lakes, 11.0

Tournament Assist Leaders
1. Nichole Jackson, Auburn Riverside, 3.75
2. Mercedes Wetmore, Auburn Riverside, 3.25
3. Chene Cooper, Lakes, 3.00
3. Chelsea Lockhart, Kennedy, 3.00
5. Jenika Swanson, Bellevue, 2.50

Tournament Steals Leaders
1. Chene Cooper, Lakes, 4.00
1. Katy Duran, Capital, 4.00
3. Kristine Brons, White River, 3.33
4. Eryn Jones, Meadowdale, 3.25
5. Christina Nzekwe, Chief Sealth, 2.75
5. Nia Jackson, Chief Sealth, 2.75

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Saturday's Results
Championship: Auburn Riverside 56, Chief Sealth 46
Third: West Valley 50, Meadowdale 42
Fourth: Seattle Prep 59, Skyline 45
Fifth: Issaquah 51, Auburn Mountainveiw 45

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Friday's Results
Issaquah 48, East Valley 47
Auburn Mountainview 42, Mount Vernon 35
Skyline 59, Hudson's Bay 42
Seattle Prep 59, White River 45
Semi: Auburn Riverside 52, Meadowdale 42
Semi: Chief Sealth 69, West Valley 50

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Thursday's Results
Issaquah 47, Capital 36
East Valley 48, Kennedy 47
Auburn Mountainview 53, Bellevue 41
Mount Vernon 57, Lakes 49
Auburn Riverside 63, Skyline 52
Meadowdale 69, Hudson's Bay 59
Chief Sealth 60, Seattle Prep 36

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Wednesday's Results
Chief Sealth 55, Mount Vernon 32
Seattle Prep 69, Lakes 54
West Valley 43, Auburn Mountainview 41
White River 62, Bellevue 54
Meadowdale 55, Kennedy 40
Hudson's Bay 49, East Valley 31
Skyline 65, Capital 38
Auburn Riverside 71, Issaquah 50

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Glenn Nelson is the founder and publisher of HoopGurlz.com. He is a member of the McDonald's All-American Selection Committee, Parade All-American Selection Committee, SportsShooter.com (Click for Porfolio), Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Photoshop Professionals, National Press Photographers Association, Online News Association, Society of Professional Journalists and U.S. Basketball Writers Association. Glenn also founded and coached two select girl's basketball teams and previously was the editor-in-chief at Scout.com, a managing editor at Rivals.com, and a longtime, national-award-winning basketball columnist and writer for The Seattle Times. His work has appeared in several books and national magazines. He is co-author of "Rising Stars: The Ten Best Players in the NBA" (Rosen Publishing, 2002). For more on Glenn's World, click here. Glenn can be reached at glenn@hoopgurlz.com.

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