Raymond's Seagulls Flying High

The state's longest high-school girls' basketball winning streak may soon belong to Raymond.

Give the Seagulls of the Class B Pacific League in Southwest Washington a couple more weekends, and they should surpass the record of 50 games.

Raymond has won 48 in a row, including 20 this season.

The Seagulls will play Lake Quinault Saturday night at Montesano for the league title. They've already beaten LQ once, 84-46.

Raymond then will move on to the district tournament. It's expected the Seagulls will have the chance to break the record against their rival - Willapa Valley, located six miles away in Menlo - in the district semifinals. Raymond already has beaten Willapa Valley twice, 69-53 and 69-46, but Willapa (15-4) still is ranked sixth in the latest poll.

The state record of 50 is shared by Cle Elum (1981-82, 82-83) and Tekoa-Oakesdale (86-87, 87-88). The last time Raymond lost was to Kittitas, 45-42, in the game for fifth and eighth places at the 1988 state B tournament.

Coach Dave Sandgren's team has been ranked No. 1 in the state B poll every week for the past two seasons. Raymond beat Mossyrock 56-44 for the state title last year.

The most valuable player in last year's state tournament is back for her senior season at Raymond, and she's going out in style. Ronalda Dunn, a 5-foot-8 guard, is the top scorer in the state with a 28.5 average. A four-year starter, she has 1,671 career points - a school record. If she maintains her pace of 15 rebounds a game, she'll own that career record, too.

Because Raymond is winning by an average margin of 41.2 points per game, Dunn rarely plays more than a half. ``She could average 50 points a game if she played a full game,'' said her father, Ronald Dunn.

Ronalda was the state B triple-jump champ (35 feet, 10 inches) last spring and has high jumped 5-7. She led Raymond to third place in the state B volleyball tournament last fall.

Oregon and Pepperdine are interested in her basketball skills, and representatives from those schools have visited the family home. What about the University of Washington?

``She's received letters from the Huskies about volleyball, but not basketball. Which kind of surprises us,'' said Ronalda's father. ``She'd like to stay in the Northwest.''

Grandview top dog

-- Grandview, a Class A school in the Yakima Valley, has the state's longest boys' basketball winning streak, although Coach Mike Schuette claims he doesn't know what it is.

``We've never even mentioned it,'' Schuette said last night. ``I couldn't even tell you how much it is right now. Same thing about state or being No. 1. That's how we've handled it the last two years. It's seemed to work out real well for us.''

The Greyhounds' streak is 41.

The defending state A champions are 19-0 this season. They've been ranked No. 1 in the polls all season and are favorites to capture a repeat title in the A state tournament starting Feb. 28 at the Tacoma Dome.

Grandview will finish its regular season tomorrow at Kiona-Benton, a team it beat handily earlier this season. The Greyhounds then will enter the district tournament, where they likely will play three games.

They should arrive in Tacoma with a 45-game winning streak. If Grandview repeats as state champ, the streak will be 49.

That's still a long way from the boys' state record. That mark is 81, set while Brewster was winning three straight Class B state titles in 1975-76-77.

The 'Hounds are led by Joey Warmenhoven, a 6-6 guard who already has signed with Washington State. He's averaging 17 points a game.

The dark side

-- And now the other side of the prep basketball world . . . the longest losing streaks:

The Quilcene boys of the Class B North Olympic League are saddled with the longest - 39 losses. The wrong-way Rangers are 0-19 this year, with only ninth-ranked Neah Bay (14-4) left on the horizon.

Next is line are the Elma boys (35) of the Class AA Black Hills League. The Eagles are 0-16 this season.

And then Yelm's boys (28) of the Class AA Pierce County League. The Tornados are 0-18 this season.

Latest artillery?

-- Miss those days when they planted fancy nicknames on some of the state's great basketball stars after sterling prep careers?

Coulee City's Mel Cox, ``Best by a Dam Site'' . . . Blaine's Richard ``Handshake'' Hanson . . . Elma's Rod ``The Rifle'' Derline.

Get ready for the Belfair Bazooka.

OK, so Travis Holmgren of Belfair's North Mason High School hasn't reached legendary status yet. But he's working on it.

The 6-foot senior point guard is averaging 24 points - with a season high of 40, and at least four games in the 30s - for the Bulldogs of the Class A Nisqually League. He's an honor student with a 3.67 grade-point average.

Seattle Pacific University and Pacific Lutheran University coaches have shown interest in his basketball skills.

``If he could twinkle his toes and go where he wanted, he'd go to Duke,'' his father, George Holmgren, also the North Mason principal, told sports writer Terry Mosher of the Bremerton Sun.

Now this is serious stuff: Know what the Belfair Bazooka is considering as career options down the line? CIA agent or diplomat.