When the Class 4A girls championship game tips off Saturday night, Ruthy Hebard and Rohyn Huss will be the centers of attention.
Hebard is the 6-foot-3 post for West Valley. Huss is the 5-11 post for Dimond. On Friday, they helped their teams win semifinal games -- Hebard racked up 23 points and 24 rebounds in West Valley's 50-32 rout of Colony, and Huss piled up 20 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in Dimond's 71-46 romp over Ketchikan.
"Everyone's been waiting for the Rohyn Huss-Ruthy Hebard battle," Dimond coach Jim Young said.
And yet two other players could figure significantly in the title game at Sullivan Arena.
For Dimond, that player is 5-9 forward Dejha Canty, a magnet for rebounds who furnished 28 points and 14 rebounds Friday.
For West Valley, it's 5-3 point guard Carlee Marques, whose status is uncertain because of a arm injury suffered early in the game against Colony.
Dimond boasts a deep bench. West Valley has a short one that, if Marques isn't able to play, consists of three freshmen. But the Wolfpack also have the Player of the Year in Hebard, a potent presence in the paint who is also capable of bringing the ball up the floor if needed.
The undefeated Wolfpack ran its record Friday to 26-0 by turning a close game with Colony into a rout.
The Knights, who knocked off powerhouse Wasilla in Thursday's first round, were right in the game when the fourth quarter started. A 3-pointer by Colony's Faith Farris cut West Valley's lead to 34-32 with 6 minutes, 28 seconds left in the game but instead of sparking the Knights, the shot ignited West Valley.
The Wolfpack finished on a 16-0 run fueled by two turnovers and a slew of defensive rebounds. Only once in the final 6:28 did Colony manage more than a single shot on a possession, a testament to the rebounding prowess of Hebard, who helped West Valley rule the glass 42-23.
Hebard's 19 points came on 10 of 18 shooting, and although statistically its sounds she was a one-woman show, this victory was all about team.
Less than four minutes into the game, Marques injured her wrist while going for a rebound. She was helped off the court and taken to court-side medics and never returned to the bench, much less to the game.
In her absence, freshman forward Alexis Shipman came off the bench and starters Kyja Campbell and Amber Szmyd adjusted their games to share point-guard duty.
"We had to step up and be confident with the ball," West Valley junior Theresa Sample said. "We had to take more responsibility. Amber and Kyja really stepped up, and Ruthy too."
"When you have a short bench, you have to have a lot of heart," West Valley coach Jessie Craig said. "Heart and guts."
Just seven players logged time for the Wolfpack, including Marques, the team's only senior. Shipman finished with nine points, Szmyd added eight points and six rebounds, Sample had six points and Campbell contributed five assists.
Farris, a senior who scored the winning points in a three-point win over Wasilla a day earlier, was Colony's only player in double figures with 14. She and the Knights suffered through a poor shooting night -- Farris was 5 of 19 and the team was 12 of 40.
In the other semifinal, Dimond used a dominant second quarter to pull away from Ketchkan and run its record to 21-3.
Leading 18-15 after one quarter, the Lynx outscored Ketchikan 16-3 in the second quarter to cruise to a 34-18 halftime lead. The Kings never mounted a comeback.
Defense sparked Dimond, which limited Ketchikan to 30 percent shooting and nine offensive rebounds and came up with 10 steals.
"We play a very up-tempo style and we try to pride ourselves on defense," Young said. "When we pick up the energy level and play defensive like we can, it really gets us over the hump."
The title game will pit a young West Valley team -- Marques is the Wolfpack's only senior -- against a veteran Lynx team with six seniors, including Huss and Canty.
Most everyone expected West Valley to be playing Saturday night for a state title. The Wolfpack finished third last year, "and we were a really young team," Sample said.
But Dimond, which graduated a top player in Tara Thompson, is a bit of a surprise.
"I don't think a lot of people were talking about us at the beginning of the year, Young said. But players have discovered how they fit into a team that stars Huss and Canty, "and they all bought into their role," he said.
Now it's down to one game, and anything seems possible.
"When you get (to the state tournament), you throw out the records, the seedings, the (rankings)," Young said. "It's all about who can play three good games."