Three-peat complete: Garfield tops Lake Washington for third consecutive 3A state title

It may not have looked it from the outside, but there were challenges this season for the Garfield High School girls basketball team.

That it ended with a historic 58-49 victory over Lake Washington in the Class 3A girls state championship game on Saturday afternoon at the Tacoma Dome belied those difficulties.

Garfield changed coaches just before the season began, with boys assistant Tre Simmons taking over the program that Marvin Hall had guided to two straight championships in 2020 and 2022 (no tournament was held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). An injury to USC-bound guard Malia Samuels cost her the entire year.

And still, Garfield dominated its schedule to win a third consecutive championship. The Bulldogs became the first girls team in 3A to accomplish a three-peat and the fifth team overall to do it, joining 4A Lewis and Clark from 2006-08, and a trio of 1A schools — Colfax (2004-07), Lynden Christian (1990-92) and Cle Elum-Roslyn (1981-83).

“I’m super excited for these girls,” Simmons said. “And we’ve got a good core coming back next year.”

That core begins with junior Katie Fiso, the Most Valuable Player of this year’s tournament, who filled up the stat sheet on Saturday with 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.

“I’m going after one more,” Fiso said. “They’ve got to deal with me for one more year. We’re going for the four-peat.”

The Bulldogs (23-1) had to come back in this one against a familiar foe. The Kangaroos (26-3) got off to a quick start and built an early 17-7 lead over the first five minutes of the first quarter.

But Garfield got its offense going and found its way back by quarter’s end to tie the game at 17-17. By the half, the Bulldogs had pulled in front, 32-24. After the break, the lead grew to as many as 13 points but the Bulldogs never completely got away from the Kangs.

Even so, the closest Lake Washington could come down the stretch was eight. Sydney Hani, who scored a game-high 15 points for the Kangs, made a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left to make it 57-47. Jala Alderson followed with a basket, but it was far too little too late.

This story was originally published March 4, 2023 at 5:46 PM.