Bellarmine Prep’s state title hopes end in heartbreak following controversial buzzer-beater
Bellarmine Prep’s Class 4A state quarterfinals game against Eastlake on Thursday night in the Tacoma Dome ended in controversy.
The Lions led, 60-59, with 1.7 seconds remaining in overtime, but Eastlake forward Krista Kostoff secured a rebound after the front end of a 1-and-1 attempt from Bellarmine bounced off the rim, passed the ball to Ava Schmidt near the scorer’s table, and Schmidt rattled a half-court 3-point attempt through the hoop for the game-winning basket.
Multiple videos show the shot may not have been in the air before time expired. The horn appears to sound, and the clock above the scoreboard shows triple zeros while the ball is still in Schmidt’s hand. The News Tribune has attached multiple video angles at the top of this story.
The ruling on the court from the officiating crew was the 3-pointer was good. There is no video review in place at the high school level in Washington, so the call on the court is final.
The win sends No. 4 seed Eastlake (21-4) to a semifinals meeting against No. 7 Kamiakin at 7:15 p.m. Friday in Tacoma.
The No. 11 Lions (22-8) play a loser-out consolation game against 4A South Puget Sound League rival Emerald Ridge at 12:15 p.m., needing a win to earn a spot in a placing game Saturday.
Eastlake led much of the way earlier in Thursday’s contest, building an advantage as high as 11 points in the first half, but the Lions kept the score within reach, eventually regaining the lead on a Keiara Curtis floater with 5:05 left in the third quarter.
There were 13 more ties or lead changes between that basket and the end of the fourth, when regulation ended in a 54-54 tie.
The Lions took a 60-59 lead with 38.5 seconds left in the extra period on a Kiara Stone free throw, and Stone then stole the in-bounds pass to give Bellarmine the ball back.
The Lions then turned the ball over on a shot clock violation with 7.1 seconds to go, but regained possession again when Eastlake mishandled the in-bounds pass that followed.
A foul sent the Lions to the free throw line with 1.7 to play, and then the final sequence played out, ending with Schmidt’s game-winner.
Schmidt tallied a team-high 22 points, nine rebounds, five blocks and three assists in the victory. Sofia Aluas completed a double-double with 15 points, 17 rebounds and six assists, and Natalia Sefair-Lopez scored 14 for the Wolves.
Curtis scored a game-high 25 points and had five steals for the Lions, while Stone had 16 points and Taylor Teeple added 10.
