Who stood out Thursday at the Tacoma Dome? Top performers, upsets from Day 2 of the 4A and 3A state basketball tournaments
The Class 4A and 3A boys and girls state basketball tournaments continued Thursday with the quarterfinals — which included a few thrillers.
Here’s a tournament-by-tournament glance at some of the highlights from the 16 quarterfinals matchups inside the Tacoma Dome.
CLASS 4A BOYS
ON TO THE SEMIFINALS
No. 1 Curtis, No. 2 Mount Si, No. 3 Olympia, No. 4 Federal Way
HEADED TO CONSOLATION
No. 5 Gonzaga Prep, No. 6 Skyline, No. 8 Richland, No. 10 Camas
TOP PERFORMERS
G Parker Gerrits, Olympia, sr.
14 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals
F Miles Heide, Mount Si, sr.
16 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks
F Bennett Olujic, Mount Si, sr.
19 points, nine rebounds, six assists, two blocks, two steals
F Dace Pleasant, Federal Way, sr.
20 points, eight rebounds, two steals
G Tyce Paulsen, Curtis, sr.
20 points, two assists, two blocks
UPSET ALERT
No upsets here. The top four seeds are the four teams still in championship contention entering Friday’s semifinals. The 4A boys bracket is one of four across the state — 3A girls in the Tacoma Dome, and 2B girls and 1B boys in Spokane are the others — in which seed Nos. 1-4 remain on track to play for a title. Three of the semifinals teams in the 4A boys bracket — Curtis, Mount Si and Olympia — also played in the final four last year. Curtis and Mount Si advanced, with the Vikings eventual winning an overtime thriller in the final.
DID YOU KNOW?
There are three South Sound programs in the semifinals in the same bracket — in any of the 12 tournaments statewide — for the first time since 2016. Curtis, the defending 4A state champion, Olympia and Federal Way all advanced with wins in Thursday’s quarterfinals round. The last time three local programs advanced to the semifinals in the same season was also in the 4A boys bracket back in 2016, when Curtis, Kentwood and Federal Way made it to the final four. Federal Way won a second consecutive state title that year, and completed an undefeated 29-0 season with a double-digit win over league rival Kentwood in the championship game.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Four teams remain in title contention, and play in the semifinals Friday, while four more play in loser-out consolation games. Here’s a look at the matchups:
Semifinals
No. 4 Federal Way vs. No. 1 Curtis, 3:45 p.m.
No. 3 Olympia vs. No. 2 Mount Si, 5:30 p.m.
Consolation
No. 6 Skyline vs. No. 10 Camas, 9 a.m.
No. 5 Gonzaga Prep vs. No. 8 Richland, 10:30 a.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHUP PREDICTION
Curtis vs. Mount Si
CLASS 4A GIRLS
ON TO THE SEMIFINALS
No. 2 Camas, No. 3 Tahoma, No. 4 Eastlake, No. 7 Kamiakin
HEADED TO CONSOLATION
No. 1 Woodinville, No. 8 Emerald Ridge, No. 11 Bellarmine Prep, No. 12 Gonzaga Prep
TOP PERFORMERS
G Keiara Curtis, Bellarmine Prep, jr.
25 points, two blocks, five steals
G Hope Hassmann, Tahoma, sr.
24 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals
F Reagan Jamison, Camas, jr.
13 points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks
G Maddy Rendall, Kamiakin, sr.
18 points, seven rebounds
F Ava Schmidt, Eastlake, sr.
22 points, nine rebounds, three assists, five blocks
UPSET ALERT
There will be a new champion in the 4A girls bracket this season. In a matchup between the bracket’s top two seeds — which landed in the quarterfinals after No. 1 seed Woodinville, the defending state champion, was upset by No. 8 Emerald Ridge in the regional round last weekend — it was No. 2 Camas that advanced to Friday’s semifinals with a convincing 59-46 win. The Papermakers led by as many as 15 points in the second half to advance. Forward Reagan Jamison (13 points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks), guard Riley Sanz (11 points, four rebounds), forward Addison Harris (nine points, 15 rebounds, two blocks) and guard Keirra Thompson (nine points, five assists) pace a balanced Camas offense. This is the only bracket in the Tacoma Dome that does not have a defending state champion still in title contention. Defending 4A boys champion Curtis, defending 3A boys champion Auburn and two-time defending 3A girls champion Garfield are all in the semifinals Friday.
DID YOU KNOW?
The first overtime game on the girls court this season was played Thursday afternoon in the quarterfinals — and ended on a controversial buzzer-beater. No. 11 Bellarmine Prep led, 60-59, with 1.7 seconds remaining in the extra period. But, the Lions missed the front end of a 1-and-1 attempt, Eastlake forward Krista Kostoff secured the rebound and passed the ball to Wolves forward Ava Schmidt near the scorer’s table. Schmidt turned and rattled a half-court 3-point attempt through the hoop for the game-winning basket as the buzzer sounded. Questions and discussion of whether the shot was in the air before time expired followed, but the ruling on the court from the officiating crew was the 3-pointer was good. There is no video review in place at the high school level in Washington, so the call on the court was final.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Four teams remain in title contention, and play in the semifinals Friday, while four more play in loser-out consolation games. Here’s a look at the matchups:
Semifinals
No. 4 Eastlake vs. No. 7 Kamiakin, 7:15 p.m.
No. 3 Tahoma vs. No. 2 Camas, 9 p.m.
Consolation
No. 11 Bellarmine Prep vs. No. 8 Emerald Ridge, 12:15 p.m.
No. 12 Gonzaga Prep vs. No. 1 Woodinville, 2 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHUP PREDICTION
Kamiakin vs. Camas
CLASS 3A BOYS
ON TO THE SEMIFINALS
No. 1 Mount Spokane, No. 2 Garfield, No. 4 Auburn, No. 5 O’Dea
HEADED TO CONSOLATION
No. 3 Eastside Catholic, No. 6 Mountlake Terrace, No. 10 Bellevue, No. 16 Shorecrest
TOP PERFORMERS
F Zaveon Jones, Mountlake Terrace, jr.
24 points, 11 rebounds
G Ryan Lafferty, Mount Spokane, jr.
21 points, three rebounds, six assists
G Tyrell Nichols, Auburn, sr.
11 points, five rebounds, five assists, three steals
F Jaylin Stewart, Garfield, sr.
13 points, eight rebounds, three assists
G Mason Williams, O’Dea, sr.
14 points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals
UPSET ALERT
No. 4 Auburn is the defending 3A state champion, but drew a lower seed than 3A Metro League power Eastside Catholic, which is the No. 3 seed in this season’s bracket. The Trojans graduated much of last season’s title-winning team, but is back in the semifinals for a second consecutive season after securing a 45-42 win over the Crusaders in Thursday night’s quarterfinals. Guard Semaj Brown (12 points, five rebounds), guard Tyrell Nichols (11 points, five rebounds, five assists, three steals), guard Luvens Valcin (nine points, seven rebounds, four assists, two blocks) and guard Lateibreon Chandler (eight points, six rebounds) led the way for Auburn in the win.
DID YOU KNOW?
Auburn continues to knock 3A Metro League programs out of title contention. Dating back to last season’s championship run, the Trojans have played four consecutive games in the Tacoma Dome against teams in perhaps the state’s toughest league — and won them all. Auburn bested top seed Garfield in overtime in last season’s quarterfinals, then Seattle Prep in the semifinals and Rainier Beach in the championship game to lift the 3A trophy last winter. Thursday night, Auburn continued that trend with the win over Eastside Catholic. Friday night, they are set to play a fifth consecutive 3A Metro League program, meeting Garfield again in the semifinals in the final game of the evening on the boys court.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Four teams remain in title contention, and play in the semifinals Friday, while four more play in loser-out consolation games. Here’s a look at the matchups:
Semifinals
No. 5 O’Dea vs. No. 1 Mount Spokane, 7:15 p.m.
No. 4 Auburn vs. No. 2 Garfield, 9 p.m.
Consolation
No. 6 Mountlake Terrace vs. No. 10 Bellevue, 12:15 p.m.
No. 3 Eastside Catholic vs. No. 16 Shorecrest, 2 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHUP PREDICTION
Mount Spokane vs. Garfield
CLASS 3A GIRLS
ON TO THE SEMIFINALS
No. 1 Garfield, No. 2 Arlington, No. 3 Lake Washington, No. 4 Mead
HEADED TO CONSOLATION
No. 5 Lincoln of Tacoma, No. 6 Stanwood, No. 7 Lakeside of Seattle, No. 8 Meadowdale
TOP PERFORMERS
G Teryn Gardner, Mead, jr.
29 points, eight rebounds, five assists, four steals
F Sydney Hani, Lake Washington, sr.
19 points, seven rebounds, three assists
G Jayda Lewis, Garfield, soph.
15 points, four rebounds, seven steals
G Samara Morrow, Arlington, jr.
28 points, two assists, two steals
G Jenna Villa, Arlington, sr.
20 points, nine rebounds, four assists
UPSET ALERT
No upsets here. The top four seeds are the four teams still in championship contention entering Friday’s semifinals. The 3A boys bracket is one of four across the state — 4A boys in the Tacoma Dome, and 2B girls and 1B boys in Spokane are the others — in which seed Nos. 1-4 remain on track to play for a title.
DID YOU KNOW?
The four programs in the semifinals Friday are the same four programs that were in the semifinals in this tournament last season. Though, the matchups are different. Last winter, Lake Washington edged Mead to advance to the final, and Garfield posted a double-digit win over Arlington. This winter, No. 4 Mead and No. 1 Garfield play in the semifinals Friday afternoon, followed by the matchup between No. 3 Lake Washington and No. 2 Arlington. Garfield and Lake Washington have played in the 3A girls championship game each of the past two seasons. The Bulldogs are two-time defending state champions.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Four teams remain in title contention, and play in the semifinals Friday, while four more play in loser-out consolation games. Here’s a look at the matchups:
Semifinals
No. 4 Mead vs. No. 1 Garfield, 3:45 p.m.
No. 3 Lake Washington vs. No. 2 Arlington, 5:30 p.m.
Consolation
No. 6 Stanwood vs. No. 7 Lakeside of Seattle, 9 a.m.
No. 5 Lincoln of Tacoma vs. No. 8 Meadowdale, 10:30 a.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHUP PREDICTION
Garfield vs. Arlington
