Eastlake denies Camas comeback bid to win 4A state basketball championship

If there is such a thing as destiny, Eastlake girls basketball coach Sara Goldie believes the notion is informed by something much more tangible.

“I think anybody who works as hard as our team has worked, magic comes their way,” Goldie said on Saturday night, mere moments after her Wolves girls basketball team turned the tables on Camas to win the 4A state championship, 48-41, before a packed house at the Tacoma Dome.

It’s the second title for the Wolves in four years. Eastlake also won in 2019.

Over the final 2 minutes, 25 seconds, Eastlake made nine of 12 free throws to ensure a furious Camas comeback from 14 points down at the half fell short. The Papermakers made only five of 26 shots in the first half and scored just 12 points in falling behind, 26-12 over the first two quarters.

After the break, Camas turned up the heat defensively and created chances. Shots still refused to fall, but the energy had changed. And when Riley Sanz finally saw a 3-pointer go down with 2:42 to go, it set her off for three in a row from behind the arc.

The second of those makes brought the Papermakers within three points at 39-36 with 2:13 to play. From there, it turned into a free throw making contest.

And with 30 seconds to go, the Wolves gave the No. 2 seed to the tournament an opening. Kaylia Jackson stepped to the line for two shots with her team leading by four, 43-39 – and missed both.

Camas raced to the other end where Addison Harris made a putback with 17 seconds to go, cutting the Eastlake lead to just two, 43-41. But after Jackson was fouled again, she stepped up and made two free throws with 15 seconds left to essentially secure the win and the title.

“I missed one, but made two,” Jackson said. “That works.”

Around Jackson’s two sets of foul shots, Sofia Aluas took over. Aluas scored 14 of her game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter, helping to make true what she felt was destined from the start of the season.

“I’m just so happy right now,” Aluas said. “I knew this all along. I knew we were going to be here. I knew we were going to win this thing.”

Sanz led the Papermakers with 15 points.