Fiso and company lead Garfield to runaway semifinal win over Arlington

The Garfield girls basketball team started the season as one of the favorites to win the 3A state championship, but injuries and three losses to top-ranked Eastside Catholic led to and up-and-down season.

The Bulldogs entered the state tournament at close to full strength, and now are just one win away from justifying that preseason prognostication.

The ninth-ranked Bulldogs rolled to a 53-36 victory over third-ranked Arlington in Friday’s 3A semifnals, earning a spot in Saturday’s title game where they will play No. 6 Lake Washington at 9 p.m.

“I feel like it (validates people’s thoughts), senior Meghan Fiso said. “The season obviously didn’t go as expected, but it made us better and we’re going to be playing for that gold ball tomorrow.”

Fiso led all scorers with 17 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the way for the Bulldogs, who never trailed in the game.

“I think we were just all locked in from the start,” Fiso said. “We just came in and said, ‘Positive thoughts.’ That’s just what we put out. We put out a lot of good action and we got the (win).”

Fiso shot 7-for-13 from the field and made her only 3-pointer of the game for the Bulldogs, who shot 20-for-48 (41.7 percent) from the field.

“It felt great,” Fiso said. “I wouldn’t be able to do it without my teammates feeding me the ball in the high post. Getting those rebounds for the team was just crucial, and I’m just happy to win.”

Seniors Sahcari Davis and Kareyna Taylor added 14 and 12 point respectively. Senior Dalayah Daniels, a Cal-commit, added four points and 13 rebounds for Garfield. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Eagles 45-29, which also helped give them a decisive advantage throughout the game.

Arlington was led by junior Josie Stupey, who finished with nine points. The Eagles shot just 12-for-43 (27.9 percent) for the game and made four of their 22 3-pointers for a team that relies heavily on its perimeter shooting.

The Eagles (23-3), will play No. 1 Eastside Catholic at 1 p.m. on Saturday in the fourth/sixth-place game.

The Bulldogs (22-7) will play No. 6 Lake Washington, which upset the top-ranked Crusaders on Friday, at 9 p.m. in the title game.

At Tacoma Dome

Arlington- 10 14 3 9 - 36

Garfield- 14 20 11 8 - 53

Arlington – Hailey Hiatt 6, Makenzie Gage 2, Kiera Marsh 5, Josie Stupey 9, Jenna Villa 4, Abby Schwark 0, Hannah Rork 2, Sierra Scheppele 5, Allison Deberry 0, Abbey Hassing 3, Sophie Willis 0, Ella Strittmatter 0. Garfield – Dalayah Daniels 4, Meghan Fiso 17, Kareyna Taylor 12, Sahcari Davis 14, Kira Wood 0, Lucille Richardson 0, Navaeh Talbert 2, Saniya Rahman 0, Kamia Crudup 2, Desiree Lane 2.

This story was originally published March 7, 2020 at 12:43 AM.