3A/4A girls Hardwood Classic 2020: Quarterfinal highlights, photos, top performances, statistical leaders
BY TJ COTTERILL
TACOMA — The 3A/4A Washington high school girls basketball state quarterfinals took place on Thursday at the Tacoma Dome.
The 4A girls games took place in the morning, 3A in the afternoon.
Here is a breakdown of each game, statistical leaders, top highlights and photos:
4A GIRLS
FINAL: NO. 6 GLACIER PEAK 62 VS. NO. 4 CHIAWANA 57
UP NEXT: Glacier Peak plays the winner of Todd Beamer/Woodinville at 3:45 p.m. Friday in the semifinals; Chiawana drops to 4th place consolation playoff at 9 a.m. Friday.
What made the difference?
Glacier Peak already presents an imposing defense. Combine that with a blistering shooting performance, and the Grizzlies are tough to beat. They hit 11 3s — six of them came from Malia Smith, who hit 6 of her 10 attempts — and they shot 52.4 percent from deep as a team. That was tough to catch up with. Even as Chiawana pulled within as few as three in the fourth quarter, it seemed Glacier Peak always had an answer. And Aaliyah Collins' tight mark on five-star guard Talia Von Oelhoffen.
Players of the game
Maya Earling, Glacier Peak
Scored a game-high 23 points, dished out six assists and hit three of the team's 11 3.
Kylie Thorne, Chiawana
Scored a team-high 18 points on 8 of 13 shooting, and pulled down eight boards
FINAL: NO. 1 WOODINVILLE 57, NO. 2 TODD BEAMER 50
UP NEXT: Winner plays Glacier Peak at 3:45 p.m. in the semifinals; loser drops to play the Chiawana in a 4th place playoff at 10:30 a.m. Friday.
Players of the game
Mia Hughes, Woodinville
Hughes posted a 34-point performance on 13 of 18 shooting, and much of it came from the free throw line, where she was 8 of 12. The 5-foot-10 junior also had 11 boards — all team-highs.
Aaliyah Alexander, Todd Beamer
Scored 21 points on 7 of 17 shooting, hit one of her two 3-point attempts and drilled all six of her free throw attempts while also grabbing 12 rebounds.
FINAL: NO. 3 CENTRAL VALLEY 72, NO. 12 ISSAQUAH 55
UP NEXT: CV plays Union in Friday's semifinals at 5:30 p.m.; Issaquah drops to a 4th place playoff against Moses Lake.
Players of the game
Grave Geldien, Central Valley
Scored 13 points as one of five Bears in double figures. She also grabbed 14 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass, dished out four assists and had two steals opposite zero turnovers.
Ailivia Stephens, Issaquah
Scored 16 points on 6 of 11 shooting, 3 of 5 from 3-point range.
FINAL: NO. 7 UNION 56, NO. 9 MOSES LAKE 51
UP NEXT: Union plays Central Valley at 5:30 p.m. Friday in the semifinals; Moses Lake drops to 4th place playoff against Issaquah.
Players of the game
Mason Oberg, Union
Oberg scored a game-high 21 points on 7 of 17 shooting, pulled down even rebounds and hit 4 of 5 free throws.
Anna Olson, Moses Lake
Scored 12 points, including three 3-pointer, and pulled down seven board, four on the offensive glass.
3A GIRLS
FINAL: NO. 6 LAKE WASHINGTON 48, NO. 4 MT. SPOKANE 45
Rosa Smith had 16 points and nine rebounds to lead Lake Washington to a 48-45 victory over Mt. Spokane in the WIAA Class 3A girls basketball state tournament quarterfinals on Thursday.
UP NEXT: Lake Washington plays Eastside Catholic in the semifinals at 7:15 p.m. Friday.
What made the difference?
Lake Washington shut yet another team down from the field since it entered the Tacoma Dome. On Wednesday it was Hudson’s Bay. This time it was Mt. Spokane, which was held to 17-of-67 (25.4 percent) shooting.
Their emphasis on UW-bound Jayda Noble was critical in the first half, when Noble went 0-for-6 shooting with one point. Smith, a sophomore, made just enough big plays for the Kangaroos to pull off the upset, hanging on after Mt. Spokane’s Emma Main missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds.
Players of the game
Rosa Smith, Lake Washington
What a Tacoma Dome-debut it’s been for the 5-foot-7 sophomore who scored a game-high 16 points and pulled in nine rebounds, including the clinching board late when Lake Washington was clinging to a one-point lead. Now Lake Washington heads to the state semifinals for the first time since 1999, and this comes just four months after the Kangaroos won the state girls soccer title.
Jayda Noble, Mt. Spokane
It should say plenty about Noble what she did in the second half to get Mt. Spokane back into the game. After struggling in the first 16 minutes, she hit some key buckets late, including off an inbound to cut Lake Washington’s lead to 46-45 with 39 seconds remaining. She finished with 10 points, 13 rebounds and four steals but fouled out before Mt. Spokane’s final possession.
FINAL: NO. 1 EASTSIDE CATHOLIC 52, NO. 10 SEATTLE PREP 48
Winner: Plays Lake Washington in the 3A state semifinals at 7:15 p.m. Friday at the Tacoma Dome
Loser: Plays Mt. Spokane in 3A consolation game at 12:15 p.m. Friday at the Tacoma Dome
What made the difference?
Zaza Walton’s tenacity. Top-ranked Eastside Catholic
struggled almost all game getting anything to go into the basket, except for
Walton, the 5-foot-10 sophomore who was relentless chasing down rebounds and
running in transition to the tune of 20 points and 17 rebounds. The Crusaders
scored 80 points in their regional win over Kennewick but struggled in this young
group’s first appearance under the Tacoma Dome lights, making 17-of-61 shots
(27.9 percent) for the game.
That was 6-for-30 in the first half, when Eastside Catholic
led 19-17. Seattle Prep, led by Molly Moffitt’s 17 points and Tamia Stricklin’s
11, lost to EC 52-42 earlier in the season but had a 42-39 lead early in the
fourth quarter of Friday’s quarterfinals.
Players of the game
Zaza Walton, Eastside
Catholic
The sophomore transfer from Kentlake had 11 offensive
rebounds, finishing with 20 points, 17 rebounds for the game as the only of
this extremely young Eastside Catholic team (the Crusaders don’t have a single
senior and just one junior) to score in double figures. She was 8-for-18 from
the floor in leading EC (28-1) to its 25th consecutive victory.
Molly Moffitt,
Seattle Prep
She scored four consecutive baskets in one stretch in the third
quarter to give Seattle Prep the lead and scored on another strong attack to
the basket to cut Eastside Catholic’s lead to 48-46 with 32.7 seconds
remaining. She finished with 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting.
FINAL: NO. 3 ARLINGTON 50, NO. 5 SHORECREST50
Winner: Plays in the 3A state semifinals at 7:15 p.m. Friday at the Tacoma Dome
Loser: Plays in 3A consolation game at 2 p.m. Friday at the Tacoma Dome
What made the
difference
Shorecrest had led most of the game, but you knew it was
going to be tough to hang on when their starters started fouling out like
flies. First Amanda Lee with 2:33 left, then Kiana Lino and finally Maura Weaver,
leaving the Scots to try to hang on without three key players.
But Leila Hosn got a floater to roll into the basket with 45
seconds to play before Arlington’s Hailey Hiatt hit the dagger – a pull-up
jumper she said she thought she air-balled, only for it to roll in with 5.2
seconds to play. Hosn’s final fullcourt sprint and shot missed as time expired.
This was their third meeting this year, and certainly a much
more contested matchup than their district-title meeting, when Arlington rolled
to a 50-34 win. Shorecrest won on Dec. 20, 58-43.
Players of the game
Hailey Hiatt,
Arlington
She was most clutch when she was most needed. She admitted
afterward that her shot felt awful when she released it with 5.2 seconds to
play, but it was soft and smooth, rolling into the basket after she pulled up
from about the elbow to give Arlington the lead and a few seconds later the
game. Hiatt scored 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting with three rebounds and three
steals. Makenzie Gage added 15 points.
Sydney VanNess,
Shorecrest
Shorecrest led for most of this game thanks to the early hot-shooting from VanNess, who went 4-for-7 from beyond the arc and finished with a team-high 14 points and nine rebounds. Amanda Lee scored 12 points and Leila Hosn added 11, all in the second half.
Game highlights
FINAL: NO. 9 GARFIELD 55, NO. 2 BETHEL 41
Winner: Plays Arlington in the 3A state semifinals at 9 p.m. Friday at the Tacoma Dome
Loser: Plays Shorecrest in 3A consolation game at 2 p.m. Friday at the Tacoma Dome
What made the
difference
This was much closer than the score indicated. Bethel’s
Esmeralda Morales, the 5-foot-4 junior who scored a game-high 27 points, scored
on four consecutive possessions to bring the Braves within 44-40 with just over
three minutes to play, but Garfield ended the game on a 11-1 run.
Five-star recruit Dalayah Daniels was called in right after
Morales’ final bucket after sitting most of the first half with three fouls and
no points and then she picked up her fourth foul with about four minutes
remaining in the third quarter. So pretty impressive win for Garfield despite
the Tacoma Dome’s most towering post presence sitting most of the game. Daniels
finished with four points and five rebounds on 1-for-4 shooting.
But Daniels about took away Bethel’s inside scoring the
final minutes when she finally subbed back in. Meghan Fiso, a Michigan commit,
got a key rebound and hit Sahcari Davis for a fastbreak basket to put the nail
in the coffin.
Players of the game
Meghan Fiso, Garfield
With Daniels sitting most of the game, this was Fiso’s show
to run. She finished with 15 points, torturing Bethel in the middle of their
zone with her smooth mid-range jumper, and she collected 14 rebounds and four
assists on 7-for-15 shooting. Sahcari Davis added 16 points as a much-needed
second scoring option.
Esmeralda Morales,
Bethel
Few players are as fun to watch in the pick-and-roll game as Morales, who scored 27 points with five rebounds and three assists on 10-for-27 shooting. She and Tiarra Brown combined for 39 of Bethel’s 41 points.
