When the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball bracket was released last week, 13 former Northwest high school hoops stars were in the running. But with the tournaments whittled down to just eight teams — four men’s and four women’s — only two local stars are still dancing.
Former Gonzaga star Nate Britt and National Cathedral standout Marta Sniezek have both reached the NCAA Final Four, playing big roles for the University of North Carolina and Stanford University respectively.
On the ladies side, Sniezek had to outduel former St. John’s star Lindsay Allen, who has become equally important for Notre Dame, on Sunday afternoon. In that Elite Eight game, Sniezek played 24 minutes, dished out eight assists, grabbed three rebounds and committed no turnovers while scoring two points. On the other side, Allen played 39 minutes, scored 10 points and grabbed 10 boards while passing out six assists.
Next, Sniezek and the Cardinal will play South Carolina in Dallas on Friday night. A Stanford win in that game would send the team to the NCAA national title game.
Meanwhile, on the men’s side, Britt played 13 minutes and grabbed two rebounds in the Tar Heels’ 75-73 victory over the University of Kentucky in the Elite Eight. North Carolina will go on to battle Oregon on Saturday night; if the Tar Heels win, they’ll advance to the national title game Monday.
