5 takeaways from Day 1 of 4A, 3A boys and girls basketball tournaments
Day 1 of the high school boys and girls 4A and 3A state basketball tournaments is in the books. Here are five takeaways from Wednesday’s opening round action.
UPSETS! UPSETS EVERYWHERE
These were the seeding upsets that happened on Wednesday:
- 3A boys: No. 11 Edmonds-Woodway 49, No. 6 Prairie 46
- 4A girls: No. 11 Kennedy Catholic 52, No. 3 Chiawana 49
- 4A girls: No. 10 Lake Stevens 55, No. 7 Bothell 48
- 3A girls: No. 11 Lakeside 55, No. 3 Ridgeline 41
- 3A girls: No. 12 White River 60, No. 5 North Thurston 45
- 3A girls: No. 9 Stanwood 62, No. 9 Edmonds-Woodway 47
The day started off with a pair of upsets in the 9 a.m. games, with Edmonds-Woodway knocking off Prairie on the boys court and Kennedy Catholic beating Chiawana on the girls court. Don’t tell Kennedy Catholic guard Jayden Fitzgerald it was an upset, though. “You guys (the media) may think it’s an upset, but we know deep down that we can do it,” she said. “To us, it’s not an upset.” The lowest seed to win on Wednesday was the No. 12 White River girls. Knowing what we know about White River guard Maggee Schmitz’s ability, the folks at The News Tribune weren’t shocked. One of the South Sound’s top guards, she scored a game-high 28 points in the win.
METRO LEAGUE STARS SHINE
The league’s biggest star doesn’t play until the quarterfinals Thursday (more on that below), but a pair of Metro stars had strong showings on Wednesday. Eastside Catholic 6-foot-10 forward Yabi Aklog posted a 32-point, 13-rebound double-double with two assists in a win over Liberty. O’Dea guard Brian Webster scored 29 points, had seven rebounds and an assist in a win over Shorewood.
GOOD DAY FOR THE SOUTH SOUND
Specifically, it was a good day for east Pierce County. On the boys side, Puyallup handled Chiawana and Emerald Ridge beat Redmond. On the girls side, Sumner beat Auburn and White River upset North Thurston.
ALL EYES ON TYRAN STOKES ON THURSDAY
The nation’s No. 1 high school basketball recruit will make his Tacoma Dome debut on Thursday with Rainier Beach. After transferring from California to Beach for his senior season, Tyran Stokes has led the Vikings to a 26-1 record this season and the No. 1 seed in the 3A state tournament. Adding some intrigue: a rematch with Metro peer O’Dea, the fifth meeting between the programs this season. Rainier Beach has swept all four.
TACOMA UP NEXT
A pair of Tacoma programs — No. 5 Bellarmine Prep and No. 7 Lincoln — play their first games of the tournament in the quarterfinal round on Thursday. Bellarmine Prep beat No. 4 Eastside Catholic in the regional round to earn the bye, while Lincoln knocked off No. 2 O’Dea to secure the day off. Bellarmine faces Edmonds-Woodway at 9 a.m., while Lincoln faces No. 8 Bellevue at 2 p.m.
