Game recaps, highlights from the opening round of the 4A and 3A state basketball tournaments
Between the Class 4A and 3A boys and girls state tournaments, 60 high school basketball games will be played in the Tacoma Dome this weekend. The News Tribune will be at all of them, providing game recaps, highlights, interviews, stats and more.
Follow along for live updates from Wednesday’s opening round winner-to-quarterfinals, loser-out games.
CLASS 4A GIRLS
No. 6 Bothell 56, No. 11 Emerald Ridge 46
McKylee Hawkins hit a pair of big 3-pointers to keep the Cougars in front late in the third quarter, then Charlotte Lipkin practically lived at the free throw line over the final six minutes as the Cougars survived and advanced to Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Bothell faces South Puget Sound League champion Sumner, the No. 4 seed, at 9 a.m. with a trip to the 4A state semifinals on the line. Emerald Ridge’s season ended.
Hawkins scored a game-high 15 points and had 18 rebounds for the Cougars, who changed their routine from a year ago when they lost the Wednesday loser-out game to Kamiakin.
“Last year, we didn’t get to come down and stay in a hotel,” Hawkins said. “We focused on getting to bed. We were up at 6 a.m. this morning ready to go.”
Lipkin, who went 10 of 12 from the free throw line (eight of 10 in the fourth), added 14 points and eight boards. A sophomore, Lipkin will have plenty more opportunities. For the five Bothell seniors, the motivation was different.
“We knew this could be our last game,” Hawkins said. Now, they’ll have at least two more.
No. 7 Tahoma 53, No. 10 Bellarmine Prep 38
The Bears weren’t about to let history repeat itself.
Two weeks ago, during the district tournament, Tahoma saw these same Lions. That evening, Bellarmine Prep got the better of things. The Bears reversed the fortunes in their winner-to-quarterfinals, loser-out game at the Dome on Wednesday morning.
“We ended up losing by four (57-53), and 10 and 23 had a game,” Tahoma senior Lily Cavanaugh said. “No. 23 (Jayda Travis) is always going to do what she’s going to do, but it was limiting her touches today.”
Tahoma’s reward is a 10:30 a.m. quarterfinal on Thursday against top-seeded Camas.
Travis still led all scorers for Bellarmine with 12 points. Cavanaugh had 11 to pace another even scoring effort from Tahoma, who had Brooke Deyak and Kate Wooten also contribute 10 points.
“We just had a lot more energy today,” said Cavanaugh, who still knew the team needed a spark in the third quarter. “I think sometimes we get a little comfortable, then we have to ramp it back up. It’s an energy thing we’re always working on as a team.”
Tahoma held a 29-18 advantage at the half but went more than three minutes to begin the third quarter without scoring. Defensively, the Bears held Bellarmine to just three points over that same period, as well, seeing the lead shrink only to eight points, 29-21, by the time Cavanaugh made two free throws to take the lid off the basket.
Deyak then scored six more quick points to extend the margin back to double digits, where it stayed the remainder of the game.
No. 5 Davis 59, No. 12 Eastlake 54
The defending champions dug themselves a 17-point hole with 6:28 to play in the third quarter but still had a few moves left.
“We just kept waiting to see Lady Wolves basketball,” Eastlake coach Sara Goldie said. “We knew we had a last run in us.”
Trailing 38-21 after Averie Brandt made a layup and was fouled for the Pirates, Eastlake started its long road back. The Wolves cut the lead to eight heading into the fourth quarter, scored the first two baskets of the final period to get within four, and finally tied the game at 44-44 on Krista Kostoff’s basket with 4:40 to play.
It was the only time Eastlake got things even down the stretch. Over the final 4:34, Davis made eight of 10 free throws, including five of six in the last 21 seconds, to send the champs home. The Pirates advance to play Kamiakin in a 12:15 p.m. quarterfinal on Thursday.
While Davis made its free throws, going 22-for-31 overall, the Wolves struggled from the line. Eastlake converted only seven of 19 from the stripe.
“Well,” Goldie said. “That’s the game right there.”
No. 8 Gonzaga Prep 49, No. 9 Lake Stevens 46
Freshman Aylah Cornwall made five of six free throws over the final 1:03 of the game, extending the Bullpups lead three different times to secure the winner-to-quarterfinals, loser-out victory.
Lake Stevens led this one at the half, 24-21, but Gonzaga Prep clamped down defensively in the third quarter, turning that three-point deficit into a seven-point lead heading into the fourth, 45-38.
The Vikings stayed close, though. Trailing 44-41, Lake Stevens fouled Cornwall with 1:03 to go, the first of her three trips to the line in the final minute. The 5-foot-7 guard sank the first shot, making it a two-possession game.
After the scoreboard buzzer malfunctioned coming out of a timeout, Cornwall missed her second. But she made all four down the stretch to offset Tessa Anastasi’s 3-pointer for Lake Stevens with 9.9 seconds left.
Cornwall still finished with a game-high 18 points and finished off the double-double with 12 rebounds. The Bullpups advance to face No. 2 Woodinville in the final 4A quarter scheduled for 2 p.m. on Thursday while the Vikings season ended.
CLASS 4A BOYS
No. 11 Skyview 55, No. 6 Federal Way 47
Skyview held a good Federal Way team to just 47 total points in the win, outrebounding Federal Way 36 to 24 and holding the Eagles to just five second-chance points.
“Just contain their good players, just to contain (Mason Thomas) and (Kofi Peyton) and that’s what we did tonight,” said Skyview guard Demaree Collins, who scored a game-high 21 points in the win.
Thomas finished with a team-high 17 points for Federal Way, Peyton scored 12 and Candon Bible added 10 on an efficient scoring night, but it was Skyview which made shots when it counted. The Storm held the Eagles to just 20 total second-half points.
“First half, we came out and played kind of down and we were nervous because we were playing in the Dome,” Collins said. “Second half, we came out like we wasn’t nervous no more. We came out and just started hitting.”
As for the Skyview advancing to the quarters as the No. 11 seed in the field? They’ve noted the perceived disrespect.
“We take everything personal,” Collins said. “Everybody thought that we wasn’t gonna make it this far and that’s exactly what we did. We came a long way and now we play Davis.”
No. 2 Tahoma 60, No. 10 Jackson 49
Adam Davis wanted no part of an early exit from the Tacoma Dome. Tahoma’s senior forward saw opposing No. 10 Jackson rally from a double-digit deficit and take as much as a seven point lead in Wednesday’s 4A Round of 12 clash with some five minutes left in regulation.
But that’s when Davis and Co. opened the floodgates. He and guard Carter Stonerock drilled clutch three-pointers on consecutive trips that brought Tahoma’s deficit to one, Stonerock poured in the go-ahead layup next, and Davis sank another trey to widen the gap.
Technically, the game ended there – because Jackson never scored again.
Once behind 49-42, Tahoma’s monstrous 18-0 run to end the contest lifted the No. 2 Bears over Jackson, avoiding a collapse and moving on to Thursday’s 4A quarterfinals in Tacoma. Davis dropped a game-high 26 points with 11 rebounds for a double-double; he stuffed the stat sheet from everywhere, adding three blocks, three steals, and two assists. He was a perfect 6-of-6 from downtown.
“We have seven seniors on the team,” Davis told The News Tribune. “I know none of them want to go home early.
“I didn’t want it to be my last game. I’ve been here three times, been with the team four years. I really didn’t want to end my career like that.”
Tahoma flashed lightning fast speed in transition, directed by Stonerock, who dropped 16 points. Bears forward Dalton Brown added 11 points.
“We weren’t worried,” Davis said. “We knew we were going to come back. … If we leave everything on the floor, we’re going to get an outcome we like.”
No. 4 Glacier Peak 65, No. 13 Camas 61
Glacier Peak had never run a Box and 1 defense this year against any opponent on its schedule. That changed Wednesday night at the Tacoma Dome, when the Grizzlies ran into Camas guard Beckett Currie.
Camas led by 20 points at one point in the first half. Currie, who finished with a game-high 26 points, was cooking. So Glacier Peak came out in a Box and 1 — essentially a 2-2 zone defense with the fifth defender glued to the other team’s best player — to slow down the Papermakers. It worked, leading to a 65-61 win.
“We haven’t ran it all year,” said Glacier Peak guard Isaiah Cuellar-Bell, who dropped a team-high 24 points, including 4-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc. “He’s one of those players we had to bring it out for.”
There were no brilliant nuggets of wisdom in the halftime locker room. No crazy concepts or ideas. The key to the comeback, according to Cuellar-Bell? Stopping Camas’ best player.
“He’s a really good player,” he said. “All respect to that guy.”
Fortunately for Glacier Peak, the Grizzlies have some good players of their own. Wing Zachary Albright scored 14 and Josiah Lee added 13. It all adds up to Glacier Peak moving on to the 4A semifinals on Thursday. A matchup with No. 3 Gonzaga Prep awaits.
“It means a lot,” Cuellar-Bell said. “We put in so much effort throughout the season and this is all we wanted. This has been our goal since day one. We’re here now.”
No. 8 Kentwood 47, No. 9 Olympia 40
Brandon Tagle has ice in his veins.
With two minutes left and tied at 40 in Wednesday night’s 4A Round of 12 matchup, Tagle delivered the go-ahead trey – and No. 8 Kentwood prevailed across the final possessions to upend No. 9 Olympia at the Tacoma Dome.
“My coach (Blake Solomon) told me, ‘hey, we need a quick one,’” Tagle recalled as Kentwood celebrated and some of the opposing Bears exited with tears. “I was dribbling down and (saw) one-on-one size up. Took that three, and it went in. It was money.”
Tagle iced the game with four free-throws to finish with 14 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals, sending Kentwood to Thursday’s 4A quarterfinals against No. 7 Richland.
Down seven at halftime, Kentwood’s Blake Stempniak drilled three treys in the third quarter to stay within reach. The Conquerors entered the fourth quarter down four.
“It just shows we’re here to compete,” Tagle said. “We all have a common goal, and that’s to win.”
Olympia guard Matt Lindblom dropped a game-high 15 points in the loss.
CLASS 3A BOYS
No. 3 Garfield 60, No. 11 Arlington 58 (OT)
The defending state champions can breathe.
Legend Smiley dropped 18 points, and No. 3 Garfield survived in overtime over No. 11 Arlington, 60-58, keeping hope for back-to-back 3A championships alive at the Tacoma Dome.
Just before the final buzzer in regulation, Arlington guard Jake Willis drained the game-tying three-pointer that sent Wednesday’s opening game to extra minutes. Eagles guard Leyton Martin dropped a game-high 24 points, but fouled out late in the fourth quarter.
Garfield’s early-morning victory puts the Bulldogs in Thursday’s quarterfinals with No. 4 O’Dea.
“I give (Arlington) props,” Smiley said. “They came out ready to take us out, first round, 9 a.m.”
It was entirely Garfield early on – ahead by as many as 15 points in the second quarter – before Martin led Arlington’s comeback effort.
Martin was up for the challenge in a contest Arlington was forced, mainly, to the perimeter. Before he fouled out, the junior guard was Arlington’s most unguardable player, cruising downhill with ease for contested buckets off the glass or dishing for open looks outside. He posted a 24-point, 11-rebound double-double with seven assists and two steals.
“We had to make our own energy,” Smiley said. “I thought we came out good, but we laid an egg (in the) third quarter.
“We lied down, they came back.”
But overtime is where Smiley, Garfield’s star guard, controlled a narrow finish, and Bulldogs guard Marcel Jones drained a pair of treys that forced Arlington into intentional fouls.
Jones (3-3 3PM) and Garfield’s Jamari Harris dropped 13 points apiece; Harris posted a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Garfield plays No. 4 O’Dea at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Tacoma Dome in a 3A quarterfinal.
No. 10 Rainier Beach 66, No. 7 North Thurston 45
Vikings guard Nyale Robinson dropped a game-high 18 points, and No. 10 Rainier Beach emerged in the second half to defeat No. 7 North Thurston, 66-45, in the 3A Round of 12 at the Tacoma Dome.
Robinson drained a pair of three-pointers late in the first half to give Rainier Beach a three-possession lead, and the junior guard finished an efficient 7-of-11 from the field and 4-of-6 from the perimeter Wednesday morning.
”You’ve got to be confident,” Robinson said, who added four rebounds and three assists. “That’s everything. If you’re not confident, all of your skills are out the window.”
VIkings wing Kaden Powers delivered 17 points and five rebounds, Maceo Rivers added 11 points, and Rainier Beach shot 51 percent from the field as a team. Its defense, meanwhile, smothered the Rams and held North Thurston to six points in the paint.
“Everyone had to lock in,” Robinson said. When we started trapping, they started turning the ball over. We were playing faster, with fast breaks… (our defense) opened that up.”
North Thurston’s Ray Adams, a 6-foot-7 forward, paced the Rams with 16 points and seven rebounds. Rams guard Micah Gentry added 12 points and forward Conner Seward grabbed seven boards.
Rainier Beach moves into Thursday’s 3A quarterfinals with No. 8 North Central at 10:30 a.m.
No. 5 Mountlake Terrace 69, No. 13 Todd Beamer 59
Todd Beamer clawed back into the game in the third quarter, outscoring Mountlake Terrace 24 to 11 in the period.
Jaxon Dubiel was determined to put a stop to the run in the fourth. Defensively, he was all over Beamer guard Will Tellis.
“In that third quarter, we just didn’t really focus,” Dubiel said. “So in that fourth quarter, we needed to come out and do what we’ve done all year, just finish games. We’ve been here before so we knew what it was gonna take.
“It was just a matter of getting stops, which we didn’t do in the third quarter. We started doing that, made free throws down the stretch, and that’s what got us the (win).”
And Dubiel made life difficult for Tellis, who hit some key shots to make it a game in the third.
“He’s a good player, great shooter, so I know I needed to stay out, chase him around screens,” Dubiel said. “They run a lot of stuff for him. I knew that if I could slow him down, the team’s gonna get slowed down. That led to us getting a win.”
Guard Rayshaun Connor scored a team-high 16 points for Mountlake Terrace on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. Zaveon Jones added 14 points and Dubiel scored 13. Tellis led Beamer with 19 points, Caleb Berry scored 15 and Terrence Whiting added 14.
Mountlake Terrace will face No. 6 Mount Spokane in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
No. 17 Lincoln 60, No. 1 Auburn 56
Upset complete.
Lincoln rallied from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter, stunning No. 1 Auburn in a 3A Round of 12 clash Wednesday afternoon at the Tacoma Dome.
Abes forward Omarion Boston dropped a game-high 21 points, and Lincoln stormed the court in front of the hometown crowd.
“This is amazing,” Boston told The News Tribune, surrounded by teammates and coaches sharing hugs and photos. “The feeling’s great. This is a special, special feeling right now. This is my first year here (at the Dome), and I’m ready for it.”
Lincoln’s LaVhanta Sandling-Green hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 56 seconds remaining.
The Abes move to Thursday’s 3A quarterfinals with No. 2 Eastside Catholic.
CLASS 3A GIRLS
No. 3 Snohomish 48, No. 11 Kennewick 40
The Lions started throwing up wild 3-pointers less than a minute into the third quarter.
Why not? Nothing else they’d tried had worked very well. The Panthers had taken the lead early on, built it to 11-4 after one quarter and took a 31-11 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
So, with 7:13 to go in the third, throw it up. That shot hit nothing but the Tacoma Dome floor under the hoop and bounced out of bounds to Snohomish. Soon after, those shots started to fall for Dylyn Dress and company, who sliced that 20-point halftime deficit to just seven, 37-30, entering the fourth.
On the other end, Addyson Gallatin also kept hoisting from behind the arc. More often than not, though, hers found nothing but net as they went through the hoop. Gallatin made five 3-pointers, four in the first half, but became something of a spectator as the Lions steadily erased their deficit.
With 4:38 to play, Kennewick found itself back within four, 39-35. Then when Ashlyn Dress made a 3-pointer with under a minute to play, it was a 43-40 game. That was as close as the Lions would get.
Gallatin finished with a game-high 23 points. Dylyn Dress had 14 points and eight rebounds to pace Kennewick while Ashlyn Dress added nine points. The Panthers advance to play Arlington in a 3:45 p.m. quarterfinal on Thursday. The teams split two earlier meetings this season.
No. 7 Bonney Lake 56, No. 10 Lincoln (Tacoma) 34
The Panthers are learning to live without Azy Jackson. The freshman point guard got injured three games ago with Bonney Lake leading Auburn at the time during their district contest.
When Jackson went down, so did the Panthers, who then followed that defeat with another against Lakeside in the Regional round last weekend.
That loss put Bonney Lake in a must-win situation on Wednesday against the familiar faces of the Abes. And for the third time this season, the Panthers handed Lincoln a double-digit loss.
“We’ve never beaten them before this season,” Bonney Lake senior Jazmyn Shipp said. “My entire high school career it’s been the only team we lose to is Lincoln. So getting to beat them three times in a row is incredible. Coming into the third quarter, no matter how much they were down we knew we were going to win the game.”
The deficit wasn’t much when the second half began. Though Bonney Lake built a 13-point advantage during the first half, the Abes stormed back to get within three, 25-22, by the end of the second quarter.
But the third belonged to Shipp, who scored eight of her 17 points during a 17-4 spurt. She also had a game-high 15 rebounds and five steals. The lead eventually grew to largest it got on the game’s final shot.
With Shipp helping with the ball handling, along with others, in Jackson’s absence, Ava Rice chipped in offensively. Rice scored a game-high 19 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and had three assists. Ciona Wells was the only Abe to reach double figures in scoring with 11 points.
The Panthers advance to face top-seeded Mead in a 5:30 p.m. quarterfinal on Thursday. Lincoln’s season is over.
No. 12 Everett 43, No. 4 Auburn 42
It was a game of keepaway.
With less than 30 seconds to go the shot clock was off. The Trojans had the ball and were successfully lobbing it from corner to corner while the Seagulls chased – without fouling.
The seconds ticked down … 19, 18, 17 …
Finally, at 15 seconds, a pass slipped through the fingers of Emmalee Secrest along the sideline. The Trojan senior had been the one who made a pair of free throws to put Auburn ahead, 42-39, with 2:18 to play. It now was 42-41, and the ball bounced out of bounds as Secrest tried to go back and get it.
Everett ball. Timeout, Auburn.
The Seagulls got the ball in under active full court pressure from the Trojans. But finally, Mae Washington got the ball. She turned and found her sister, Alana, running free and laid the pass on the money.
Alana went in alone, made the layup with 2.8 seconds to go and No. 12 Everett upset No. 4 Auburn, sending the Trojans home and advancing themselves to a 7:15 quarterfinal on Thursday against No. 6 Garfield.
“She just knows I’m going to keep running,” Alana Washington said of her sister. “It paid off and I’m so happy about that. I’m glad I was open for the layup.”
Alana finished with a team-high 15 points, while Mae had 12 points and six rebounds. Everett, which led 29-22 at the half, trailed 35-34 going into the fourth thanks to a huge quarter from Avery Hansen and friends, who outscored the Seagulls 13-5 over those eight minutes.
Hansen finished with a game-high 23 points, but it wasn’t quite enough.
No. 8 North Thurston 50, No. 9 Lake Washington 47
Soraya Ogaldez got the last say.
After Ashley Uusitalo gave the Kangaroos a late lead, sinking a 3-pointer with 53 seconds to play, Ogaldez made plays on consecutive possessions to earn the Rams a place in the 9 p.m. quarterfinal on Thursday against No. 2 Lakeside.
On North Thurston’s possession immediately after the Uusitalo 3-pointer, Ogaldez got into the lane as she had most of the game and flicked up a six-footer that rolled around and went in to put the Rams back in front, 48-47.
After a timeout, Lake Washington moved the ball around the perimeter. But Ogaldez was there to step into a passing lane for the decisive steal. She was fouled with five seconds remaining and made both free throws for the final score.
Ogaldez had the best scoring game of any girl who played on Wednesday, making 10 of 23 field goals and finishing with 31 points, six steals and six rebounds. Paige Citron scored 12 to pace Lake Washington.
This story was originally published February 28, 2024 at 9:44 AM.
