Freshman Collins hits game-winner in Sumner’s 4A SPSL championship win over Emerald Ridge

All game, Emerald Ridge’s defense looked to stop Sumner junior guard Lainee Houillon in the 4A South Puget Sound League tournament championship game at Tacoma Community College on Saturday night. She was, after all, the team’s go-to scoring threat and one of the top guards in the South Sound. But with the game tied in the final seconds and the shot clock winding down, it was freshman Olivia Collins who stepped up and delivered.

Collins, a 5-foot-10 guard, beat her defender off the dribble and sank a floater from the free-throw line to ice the 50-48 win for the Spartans.

“I practice it a lot, I just usually don’t do it in games,” Collins said. “My confidence is coming up. My eyes were up. Usually whenever I drive to the hole, my eyes are down. That time, I was looking at the rim. If you look up at the rim, you’re going to make it.”

Sumner coach Katie Hyppa wasn’t surprised to see the ball fall through the net.

“She has no fear,” Hyppa said. “For a freshman, that’s something huge. She had ice in her veins. I think that shot, she’s practiced that shot 1,000 times. She’s someone we put trust in, we obviously run a lot of sets for her. It’s nice to see a freshman be that confident, come down and feel like she can hit it.”

The possession before, Collins turned the ball over. Hyppa said she thinks Collins’ ability to flush the mistake and move on to the next play shows poise beyond her years.

“For her to come down there and hit a shot like that after turning the ball over and still have the confidence, that’s what I’m most proud of,” Hyppa said. “She didn’t weather, she didn’t crumble. She hit the shot.”

Sumner jumped out to a quick lead in the first quarter with Houillon scoring in transition and attacking the rim early. She finished with a game-high 24 points. Collins added 10 for the Spartans. Junior guard Naomi Senato — who was disruptive on defense all game — led the Jaguars with 14 points. Freshman 6-foot forward Ryah McGriff added 11 points for Emerald Ridge, all of which came in the second half.

Houillon’s scoring and energy set the tone early for Sumner.

“Lainee’s our leader,” Hyppa said. “She’s the one everyone on the team looks to. Everyone looks to Lainee to set the tone. That’s what we count on her for every day in practice and every day in games, she’s constantly at 110 percent. She was getting beat up a little bit in the press with fouls. To see her keep going, she’s going to give you everything she has.”