High School Sports
Girls notebook: Ex-Mariner knows his daughter's best to come

By Matt Massey
Special to The Seattle Times

	JIM BATES / THE SEATTLE TIMES Bryce Kingsley, front, and Dan Reeves play for the Central Valley pep band even as things get hairy in a 58-48 loss to Prairie.
	E-mail this article Print this article Search archive

TACOMA — Karl Best knows of what he speaks.

Best, a former major-league baseball player, sees something special in his daughter, Amanda, a talented freshman on the Snohomish High School girls basketball team.

"She has it in her to play in college," said Best of his 15-year-old daughter, the Panthers' leading scorer at 11.4 points off the bench. "I know how she's driven, so I try not to tell her too much.

"You're always excited about your kids, but what I'm most proud of is her work ethic."

Best, a 1977 graduate of Kent-Meridian and former Mariners relief pitcher, estimates that in the offseason that Amanda takes 500 shots daily.

The 5-foot-10 Best can play point guard or off guard for the Panthers, and she has unbelievable range on her jumper, almost four steps behind the three-point arc.

"My buddies have watched her shot and they think the farther out she goes, the better she shoots," said Karl Best.

Dad, nicknamed "The Beast" during his baseball career, is always there to help Amanda improve her game but doesn't overdo it, according to Amanda.

"He never pushes me," said Amanda Best, who started playing in second grade. "He gives me words of advice. We always have shooting games and we play some one-on-one. He's still a pretty good shooter."

Dad admits that Amanda beat him in one-on-one last year at age 14.

"I can't move anymore, man," said Best, 45, who also played basketball at K-M. "She loves the game. She wants to realize her dreams. Her dream is she's always wanted to go to Duke."

Best struggled last night, scoring five points, but her only field goal was a three-pointer with 4.9 seconds left that sent the game into overtime. Snohomish won, 58-56. Wednesday, she had nine points, two rebounds, two assists in Snohomish's 51-38 win over Port Angeles.

Bethel woes continue

When the Bethel Braves were eliminated by Gig Harbor in a 38-28 loss, it marked their 10th consecutive loss in the tournament. They have yet to win a game in five appearances. Coach John Ainslie said in many cases his team has done well just to qualify.

"I've never had a D-1 player ... " he said. "They've got to listen to 'You don't belong here.' But for them to come out and play as hard as they did, I'm real proud of them."

Bethel dropped its opener to second-ranked Lewis and Clark of Spokane, 61-49, battling back to make a game of it after falling into a 17-2 hole.

Notes

• Prairie's senior center Andrea Sitton is the second cousin of Charlie Sitton, a two-time Oregon State All-American who played from 1979 to '83.

• For the Thackers, the Class 4A state boys and girls basketball tournament is a family affair. During a portion of yesterday's action at the Tacoma Dome, Walla Walla boys coach Jim Thacker directed the Blue Devils while his daughter, Jamie, simultaneously assisted the Central Valley of Spokane girls. The two teams, although, initially scheduled with different starting times were on the floor at the same time when the girls game fell behind because 179 fouls in the first four games — almost 45 per game.

• Mount Tahoma, which plays a fast-and-furious offense, set a tournament record for field goals attempted in a game with 86 in a 73-60 victory over Capital of Olympia. The previous record was 85, set by Prairie in 1996. The Thunderbirds from Tacoma, who made 25 field goals in the 73-60 victory, have taken 161 shots in two games. The tournament record is 264.

• Mark Kuipers, assistant coach at University of Spokane, was head coach at West Valley of Spokane when the Eagles won the 3A girls championship in 1997. His daughter, Emily, a 6-foot junior, starts for University.

• Gig Harbor's roster includes six girls with 4.0 grade-point averages. The team's GPA is over 3.6.

• Three players on Richland's girls basketball team — Hayley McCoy, Lori Conrad and Lyndsee Landon — were part of the Bombers' state-championship girls soccer team last fall. Richland (24-2) opened the tournament with a 58-50 victory over Foss.

Seattle Times staff reporter Sandy Ringer contributed to this notebook.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company