Game recaps, highlights from the quarterfinals 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 Thursday’s quarterfinals rounds. This page will be updated throughout the day.
Find out what happened leading up to this point in our game recaps from Wednesday’s opening-round action and analysis of upset wins and top performers.
CLASS 4A BOYS
NO. 4 FEDERAL WAY 69, NO. 6 SKYLINE 53
Dace Pleasant played in the in the Tacoma Dome for the first time as a freshman in 2020.
The Eagles won their first-round game that season, but lost to eventual state champion Mount Si in the quarterfinals, and just missed out on a spot in a placing game the following day with a consolation game loss to Sumner.
The annual state tournament wasn’t played in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year, when Federal Way lost on the opening day to Gonzaga Prep, cutting the program’s trip to the Tacoma Dome short.
This season, the Eagles wanted to set the tone early.
“It was really important,” Pleasant said following the Eagles’ state quarterfinals win Thursday morning. “Last year we didn’t like that feeling. We lost first round, so this game was just, get back into it.”
Pleasant led the way with a game-high 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals, and Federal Way left no doubt this season’s run would continue on in the semifinals, building a lead that reached as many as 22 points and running away from the Spartans in the second half.
“We had to make sure we came in here and made a statement for everyone, because our season didn’t end the way we wanted it to last year,” Eagles’ forward Vaughn Weems said. “So, we just wanted to make sure we came in here and got our W.”
Federal Way shot 25-of-48 (52.3 percent) from the floor and 10-of-21 (47.6 percent) from 3-point range, and finished with four scorers in double figures.
Weems neared a triple-double with 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while Dane Lewis added 12 points and Colton West had 11 and six rebounds.
Nahmier Robinson paced the Spartans with 15 points, while Trey Crandall added 13 and six rebounds.
Skyline (20-7) plays the loser of Thursday morning’s quarterfinals matchup between No. 10 Camas and No. 1 Curtis — the defending 4A state champion — at 9 a.m. Thursday in a loser-out, consolation game.
The Eagles (24-2) advance to play the winner of that game at 3:45 p.m. Friday in the semifinals.
NO. 1 CURTIS 73, NO. 10 CAMAS 46
Tyce Paulsen saw his first shot go in early in Curtis’ quarterfinals game against Camas at the Tacoma Dome on Thursday morning, and the rest was history.
Any concerns Curtis might start slow after not playing in the opening round on Wednesday, or might struggle with shooting on this court were immediately erased.
Curtis, the defending 4A champion and tournament’s top seed, scored at will all game, cruising to a win over the Papermakers to advance to Thursday’s semifinals round.
“That’s everything in the Dome,” Paulsen said of Curtis’ fast start. “A lot of people can’t shoot in the Dome. Really focusing in warmups getting our shots right, I think that really helped.”
Curtis shot 50.8 percent from the field and made 6-of-14 from beyond the arc, putting on an offensive clinic against the overmatched Papermakers. Paulsen poured in a game-high 20 points, five-star guard Zoom Diallo scored 18 and Cinque Maxwell added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Vikings.
Theo McMillan scored a team-high 14 points for Camas, while Jace VanVoorhis added 10.
Curtis (26-3) will get a much stiffer test in Thursday’s semifinals, facing No. 4 Federal Way at 3:45 p.m. The Eagles handled No. 6 Skyline in the day’s first quarterfinals game to advance.
“I think getting the win today helps us build a little confidence,” Paulsen said. “They’re a good team, it’ll be a good one.”
Camas (19-8) plays Skyline at 9 a.m. Friday in a loser-out, consolation game.
NO. 3 OLYMPIA 51, NO. 5 GONZAGA PREP 47
When Gonzaga Prep threatened late in the fourth quarter, Olympia had an answer, keeping the Bullpups at bay in a close win, which sent the Bears through to Friday’s semifinals.
Leading by two points with 2.9 seconds left, Mason Juergens went to the line for a 1-and-1 opportunity. He missed the front end, but had the presence of mind to get under the hoop and grab the rebound and was fouled again.
He sank the next two free throws to seal the win for Olympia.
“I missed the first one and was like, ‘Oh crap, I could’ve lost this for our team,’ and then I was like, ‘Alright, I got it, we’re fine now,’ ” Juergens said.
Olympia (24-5) led comfortably for most of the game before Gonzaga Prep’s late run. Parker Gerrits and Andreas Engholm each scored 14 points for the Bears.
For the most part, Olympia did a solid job making life difficult for Gonzaga Prep’s top two scorers, guard Henry Sandberg and forward Jamil Miller, who scored 14 apiece.
Olympia will face No. 2 Mount Si in the 4A state semifinals at 5:30 p.m. Friday. The Bears will be looking for revenge — Mount Si beat Olympia in last year’s semifinals round to advance to the title game.
“They’re a great team, great program,” Kiley said. “They beat us last year, so hopefully we’ll have a little incentive to try to change that a little bit this year.”
The Bullpups (22-5) play No. 8 Richland in a loser-out, consolation game at 10:30 a.m. Friday.
NO. 2 MOUNT SI 70, NO. 8 RICHLAND 47
Mount Si made a statement Thursday afternoon at the Tacoma Dome, playing on this court for the first time since an overtime defeat against Curtis in last season’s 4A state title game.
The Wildcats entered that game last winter as the defending state champions and top seed, only to watch the Vikings lift the trophy that evening in Tacoma following a 52-49 win.
That loss has surely fueled the Wildcats during this season’s run to the 4A state bracket.
“For me, personally, ever since that loss I’ve been thinking about it, and then getting back here and not getting revenge, but proving ourselves right,” Wildcats forward Miles Heide said following Mount Si’s rout of Richland in the quarterfinals.
The Wildcats never trailed, opened the game on a 19-2 run, interrupted only by a pair of Richland free throws, and built a 20-point lead at the end of the first quarter on a 3-pointer from Blake Forrest.
They extended the lead as high as 31 points in the first half on the second of two free throws from Forrest midway through the second quarter.
Meanwhile, Bombers didn’t score from the field until Landen Northrop connected on a short jumper with 1:03 to play in the opening quarter, and didn’t reach double digits scoring until Northrop’s putback floater with 2:19 to go in the half.
Richland shot just 6-of-28 (21.4 percent) in the first half, and 0-of-10 from 3-point range. Mount Si carried a 42-14 lead into the break.
“Defense,” Heide said. “That was the biggest thing for us. Just forcing them to take hard shots and then run the floor.”
Bennett Olujic scored a game-high 19 points for the Wildcats and added nine rebounds and six assists. Heide completed a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Forrest added 14 points, nine assists and four takeaways. Trevor Hennig scored 13.
Lucas Westerfield was the only Richland scorer to reach double figures with 11 points and six boards.
Richland (22-5) plays No. 5 Gonzaga Prep in a loser-out consolation game at 10:30 a.m. Friday.
Mount Si (25-2) plays No. 3 Olympia in the semifinals at 5:30 p.m. Friday.
The Wildcats and Bears met in the semifinals last season, too, and Mount Si advanced with a 53-39 win.
CLASS 4A GIRLS
NO. 4 EASTLAKE 62, NO. 11 BELLARMINE PREP 60 (OT)
Ava Schmidt launched a shot from half court as the buzzer sounded, and it rattled into the hoop to send the Wolves into a frenzied celebration on the sideline and into Friday’s 4A state semifinals.
Eastlake trailed, 60-59, with 1.7 seconds remaining in overtime, but Krista Kostoff snagged a rebound after the front end of a 1-and-1 attempt from Bellarmine bounced off the front of the rim, heaved it to Schmidt near the scorer’s table, and Schmidt sent the 3-point attempt through the net for the game-winning basket.
“I knew I wanted to just get the ball in my hands,” Schmidt said of the game’s final sequence. “I wanted to shoot it. We do half-court shots every practice. I guess it paid off.
“It’s one of those things you just dream about. I’m a senior. I’m trying to fight. I’m trying to bring home a trophy this year. So, stay in it.”
There were questions and discussion as to whether the shot was in the air before the clock expired, but the ruling on the court was the 3-pointer was good, sending Eastlake (21-4) to a semifinals meeting against the winner of the quarterfinal between No. 7 Kamiakin and No. 8 Emerald Ridge at 7:15 p.m. Friday.
The Lions (22-8) play a loser-out consolation game against either Kamiakin or Emerald Ridge at 12:15 p.m. Friday.
Eastlake led much of the way earlier in Thursday’s contest, building an advantage as high as 11 points in the first half, but the Lions kept the score within reach, eventually regaining the lead on a Keiara Curtis floater with 5:05 left in the third.
There were 13 more ties or lead changes between that basket and the end of the fourth quarter, when regulation ended in a 54-54 tie.
The Lions took a 60-59 lead with 38.5 seconds left in the extra period on a Kiara Stone free throw, and Stone then stole the in-bounds pass to give Bellarmine the ball back again.
The Lions turned the ball over on a shot clock violation with 7.1 seconds to go, but regained possession again when Eastlake mishandled the in-bounds pass.
A foul sent the Lions to the free throw line with 1.7 to play, and then the final sequence played out, ending with Schmidt’s game-winner.
Curtis scored a game-high 25 points and had five steals for the Lions, while Kiara Stone had 16 points and Taylor Teeple added 10.
Schmidt, a Northern Arizona signee, tallied a team-high 22 points, nine rebounds, five blocks and three assists in the win. Sofia Aluas completed a double-double with 15 points, 17 rebounds and six assists, and Natalia Sefair-Lopez scored 14 for the Wolves.
No. 7 Kamiakin 55, No. 8 Emerald Ridge 52
Kamiakin got hot from beyond the arc in the second quarter, outscoring Emerald Ridge 21 to 7 in the period and heading into the halftime break with plenty of momentum.
Emerald Ridge made it interesting in the fourth quarter but the Jaguars’ comeback bid fell short, and Kamiakin held on for a 55-52 win to advance to the 4A state tournament semifinals.
“(Our 3-point shooting) got us going really good,” said Kamiakin’s Maddy Rendall. “Definitely, when we start hitting our threes, it gets our energy up and we all just start playing together and know where our strengths are.
“In the locker room, we were really hyped. We were very proud of everybody and how we were playing together. That’s been the main thing that we were working on, is playing together as a team. I felt like it showed during that game.”
Indeed, Kamiakin had a balanced scoring load. Eight Braves’ players scored in the win, led by Rendall, who poured in a game-high 18 points. She also had seven rebounds. Kamiakin shot 37 percent from the field and nearly 50 percent from beyond the arc, converting 12-of-25 of its 3-point attempts.
Emerald Ridge guard Monique Carter scored a team-high 14 points. Maya Barnett scored 11. Kamiakin will face Eastlake in the semifinal round on Friday at 7:15 p.m. Emerald Ridge will head to the consolation ladder and will face 4A SPSL peer Bellarmine Prep for a chance to advance to a Saturday placing game.
NO. 3 TAHOMA 51, NO. 12 GONZAGA PREP 43
With every goal they tick off the list, another pops in to take its place for the Tahoma girls basketball team.
On Thursday evening, the Bears checked off a couple more accomplishments to this magical 2022-23 season. Tahoma beat Gonzaga Prep in its first game at the Tacoma Dome since 1999.
In doing so, the Bears (23-3) assured themselves of a game on Saturday, which translates into the first trophy in the program’s history.
“It’s great,” senior guard Angie Cavanaugh said. “But we’re not done.”
The next goal now takes the place of those already put in the completed category. With the win, Tahoma will play either defending 4A champion Woodinville or Camas in the 4A state semifinals at 9 p.m. Friday.
It’ll be maybe the biggest challenge of the tournament for the Bears, who will face either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the 4A field.
Against the Bullpups (19-8), Hope Hassmann scored a game-high 24 points to go with seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. Lucy Lynn scored 12 to pace Gonzaga Prep.
NO. 2 CAMAS 59, NO. 1 WOODINVILLE 46
There will be a new champion in the 4A girls ranks for 2023.
All four 4A and 3A boys and girls champions from a year ago played in quarterfinals at the Tacoma Dome on Thursday. The only one to lose happened in the last game of the girls schedule when second-seeded Camas pulled away from Woodinville late in the third quarter in its 13-point victory.
The win gave the Papermakers (23-3) a spot in the 9 p.m. semifinal Friday against Tahoma, which beat Gonzaga Prep in its quarter.
The game was tied at 31-31 on Macartney Noe’s basket for the Falcons (25-3) with 3:53 to play in the third quarter. But Camas ended the third on an 11-4 run to lead by seven, 42-35, entering the fourth.
The Papermakers’ lead grew to as much as 15 points, 55-40, with 2:38 to play as they took down the defending champs.
“I think we kept our composure really well,” Camas guard Keirra Thompson said. “Throughout the game it was really close and we all just stayed together.”
Reagan Jamison led the Papermakers with 13 points and Riley Sanz added 11. Addison Harris had nine points and 15 rebounds. Brooke Beresford led all scorers for the Falcons with 17 points to go with her eight rebounds.
CLASS 3A BOYS
No. 5 O’Dea 54, No. 6 Mountlake Terrace 52
O’Dea showed in last week’s regional road win against Auburn that it can come from behind to win a game. On Wednesday at the Tacoma Dome in its 4A quarterfinal game against Mountlake Terrace, O’Dea showed it can grind a game out, too, winning 54-52.
Never trailing in the game, the Fighting Irish had to hang on as Zaveon Jones and the Hawks mounted a comeback bid late in the game. Mountlake Terrace outscored O’Dea 31 to 19 in the second half, but O’Dea’s first half advantage proved too big a hole for the Hawks to climb out of.
“They were a scrappy team, so it really took a lot of grit,” said O’Dea guard Mason Williams. “They were a little smaller than us, so we really tried to get it to the rim more than just settling for threes.”
Williams scored a team-high 14 points for the Irish. Quincy Linton and Miles Clark added 10 apiece for O’Dea. Zaveon Jones scored a game-high 24 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for Mountlake Terrace in the loss.
O’Dea will face the winner of the Bellevue vs. Mount Spokane game in Friday’s semifinals.
NO. 1 MOUNT SPOKANE 73, NO. 10 BELLEVUE 43
The top-seeded Wildcats built a lead as high as 29 points in the second half, and rolled to the 3A state semifinals with a win over Bellevue on Thursday afternoon at the Tacoma Dome.
Mount Spokane set the tone early, and shot 19-of-40 (47.5 percent) from the floor to advance to the final four for the second consecutive season.
“The first game, everyone has a little bit of nerves, especially playing in the Dome, so that was big for us just to get that win out of the way,” Wildcats guard Ryan Lafferty said. “So, it was a good team win.”
Lafferty led the way with a game-high 21 points, while Maverick Sanders added 18 points and eight rebounds, and Nalu Vargas had 10 points for Mount Spokane.
No scorers reached double figures for Bellevue. The Wildcats limited the Wolverines — who upset No. 7 Timberline in overtime Wednesday in the opening round — to just 15-of-52 (28.8 percent) shooting and caused 25 turnovers.
“Our defense led to easy transition buckets,” Lafferty said. “We hit a lot of 3s, especially in the second half, so that was really big for us, but I would say our defense and rebounding is what started it.”
Mount Spokane (24-1) advances to play No. 5 O’Dea in the semifinals at 7:15 p.m. Friday, while Bellevue (23-5) plays No. 6 Mountlake Terrace in a loser-out consolation game at 12:15 p.m.
NO. 4 AUBURN 45, NO. 3 EASTSIDE CATHOLIC 42
Most programs fear seeing 3A Metro League opponents in the state tournament. Clearly, the Auburn Trojans don’t fall into that camp.
On its way to the 3A state title a season ago, Auburn beat three Metro League opponents — Garfield, Seattle Prep and Rainier Beach in the title game — to hoist the championship trophy.
Add another to the list.
Auburn beat Eastside Catholic in Thursday night’s 3A quarterfinals, extending its two-year winning streak against Metro League opponents in the Tacoma Dome to four.
“We just like to win,” said Auburn’s Semaj Brown. “We’re competitors, we look adversity in the eye. … We just hoop. We just love it. We love hooping.”
Auburn was paced by Brown’s game-high 12 points, Tyrell Nichols added 11, Luvens Valcin scored nine and Lateibreon Chandler scored eight. Eastside Catholic’s Nate Krohn led the Crusaders with 10 points.
Auburn will face the winner of the Garfield vs. Shorecrest game in the semifinals Friday. Assuming it’s heavily-favored Garfield who moves on, it’ll be another Metro League opponent test for Auburn.
“We’re just dawgs,” Valcin said. “We have something to prove and everything to lose. We’re defending state champs, so we had everything to lose. We know to just come out, play hard and we play to win. Defense comes first for us. If we can be big dawgs on the defensive end, the offense just flows with it.”
NO. 2 GARFIELD 71, NO. 16 SHORECREST 60
Shorecrest — which upset No. 9 Gig Harbor in last week’s 3A regional round, and then perennial state power No. 8 Rainier Beach in the opening round of the state tournament Wednesday — matched Garfield in the first quarter in Thursday night’s quarterfinals contest in the Tacoma Dome.
The two programs entered the second tied at 19-19, and for a moment it seemed perhaps the Highlanders’ stunning run could continue.
But, the Bulldogs, winners of four state titles in the past decade, spent the second quarter building a lead they never lost, and outscored the Highlanders, 19-5 across the next eight minutes to take a 38-24 lead into halftime.
Garfield never trailed, and built the lead as high as 21 points in the second half before the Highlanders put together a late rally to cut the lead to single digits.
The Highlanders were within seven with 19.5 seconds to go on a basket from Aaron Ngoy, but the Bulldogs responded with four free throws inside the final 20 seconds to close out their double-digit victory.
“They’re scrappy. They fight. They’re not going to quit,” Garfield coach Brandon Roy said of Shorecrest matching the Bulldogs’ production early on. “So, we weren’t surprised, but we knew once we settled in, that there would be some stuff we felt we could exploit and we did that. And again, they wouldn’t quit, and we give them a lot of respect.”
Eight players scored for Garfield in a balanced effort. Emmett Marquardt (14 points, seven rebounds), Legend Smiley (14 points), Jaylin Stewart (13 points, eight rebounds, three assists) and Myles Daymon (10 points, three assists) all finished in double figures.
Parker Baumann scored a game-high 26 points for the Highlanders, and added eight rebounds and a pair of assists. Anthony Najera added 15 points.
Shorecrest (19-7) plays No. 3 Eastside Catholic in a loser-out consolation game at 2 p.m.
Garfield (23-2) advances to play No. 4 Auburn at 9 p.m. Friday in the semifinals in a rematch of last season’s overtime thriller in the quarterfinals. Auburn went on to win the 3A state title.
“They’re back in this position because they’ve earned it, so we’ve got a lot of respect for them, so we’re looking forward to the challenge of facing them,” Roy said. “They won it last year, so we always feel like if you want to be the champ, you’ve got to beat them. So, we’re excited that we get that opportunity.”
CLASS 3A GIRLS
NO. 4 MEAD 62, NO. 6 STANWOOD 54
It became a pattern.
Mead builds a comfortable, often into double digits, lead. Stanwood roared back. Early in the third quarter, the Spartans (20-6) came all the way back to take a brief lead. Late in the game, though Stanwood cut another double-digit Panthers advantage in half — twice — Mead had the answers.
The result was a Panthers victory in the first 3A state quarterfinals game on the girls court Thursday at the Tacoma Dome. Mead (20-3) earned the right to face the winner of the Lakeside of Seattle against Garfield quarterfinal in a 3:45 p.m. Friday semifinal.
Teryn Gardner, the 4A/3A Greater Spokane League MVP, took over the third quarter to get her team an advantage after the teams played virtually even over the first half. Mead led 29-28 at the break.
Then Gardner scored 12 of her game-high 29 points in the third as the Panthers turned that one-point lead into a 46-36 advantage after three quarters.
“We just wanted to come out and play,” Gardner said. “The first half was a little iffy.”
Vivienne Berrett led Stanwood with 17 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Ellalee Wortham added 16 points for the Spartans.
NO. 1 GARFIELD 53, NO. 7 LAKESIDE OF SEATTLE 46
Lions coach Mia Augustavo Fisher said it on Wednesday, though she reversed it slightly by taking it from Garfield’s perspective. Both 3A Metro League rivals could feel it, though — “Garfield/Lakeside, again?”
For the second consecutive year, the teams met in a 3A state quarterfinals at the Tacoma Dome on Thursday. This spring, it also was the tie-breaker for the season series between them.
Lakeside handed the Bulldogs their only loss of the schedule heading into the Tacoma Dome this week, back in January. Garfield returned the favor early in February.
Then on Thursday, the Bulldogs took their first step toward a three-peat championship with a victory over the Lions that sets up an East-West semifinals showdown at 3:45 p.m. Friday.
Top-seeded Garfield (21-1) faces No. 4 Mead for a spot in the title game. The Lions (18-5) will play Stanwood in a 9 a.m. consolation game for a chance to advance to the trophy round.
“They’ve played a good game for many years,” Garfield coach Tre Simmons said. “And the last few years, it’s been us and Lakeside. Fortunately, we’ve been coming out with victories.”
Jayda Lewis scored 15 points to lead three Bulldogs in double figures. Mia Broom had 17 points and five assists for the Lions.
NO. 3 LAKE WASHINGTON 57, NO. 5 LINCOLN OF TACOMA 52
The Lincoln Abes likely will replay the final 25.6 seconds of their state 3A quarterfinal over and over in their heads. Whether it would have changed the outcome or not, Lincoln lost nearly 20 of those seconds in an eventual quarterfinals defeat against Lake Washington.
“It’s court awareness,” Lincoln coach Jamila Jones said. “We’ve got to prepare them better for that situation. That’s on me.”
The Abes (20-5) trailed 55-52 after they had missed a shot and the ball went out of bounds and over to the Kangaroos (25-2) with those 25.6 ticks left. Lake Washington brought the ball in-bounds, but Lincoln didn’t foul in the backcourt.
By the time the Abes fouled Ashley Uusitalo, just 15 seconds remained. Then Uusitalo missed the front end of a one-and-one. The Kangs got an offensive rebound, kicked the ball out and another six seconds ticked away before Lincoln fouled her again.
And again, she missed the front end. And again, Lake Washington got an offensive rebound. One more foul, with four seconds left, sent Uusalito back to the line, where she finally put things away by making two free throws.
Sydney Hani scored 19 points to pace Lake Washington, while Jolie Sim added 10.
Lincoln freshman forward Oliviyah Edwards posted a double-double with a game-high 20 points and 13 rebounds, while DeAndrea Woods-Singleton added 13 points and nine boards for the Abes.
Lincoln plays the loser of Thursday afternoon’s quarterfinal between No. 8 Meadowdale and No. 2 Arlington in a loser-out, consolation game at 10:30 a.m. Friday.
Lake Washington plays the winner of that game in the semifinals at 5:30 p.m.
NO. 2 ARLINGTON 61, NO. 8 MEADOWDALE 43
Meadowdale made sure its 4A state quarterfinal wasn’t a complete replay of the December debacle it suffered through in Arlington.
The Mavericks kept things interesting on Thursday against the Eagles, at least through the first four minutes of the third quarter.
But, Samara Morrow halted any notions Meadowdale may have had about an upset, sinking two 3-pointers to extend Arlington’s lead as the Eagles went on to an 18-point victory and a berth opposite Lake Washington in Friday’s 5:30 p.m. semifinal.
Jordan Leith made a pair of 3-pointers herself, late in the third to ensure the Eagles lead didn’t get out of hand for several more minutes. But by the end, the Eagles (22-2) pushed the lead past 20 as they did during the meeting on Dec. 15. Arlington won that one, 64-40.
A Kierra Reese 3-pointer extended Arlington’s advantage on Thursday past 20 for the first time, but that was only for a brief moment as Natalie Durbin answered for Meadowdale (19-8) with a 3-pointer of her own cut the margin down again.
“We just realized, we just can’t let down,” said Morrow, who finished with a game-high 28 points. “We’ve got to keep going.”
Jenna Villa added 20 points and nine rebounds for Arlington. Ava Powell led Meadowdale with 14 points and nine rebounds.
