Photo by Todd Milles
'We don't give up:' Lake Washington girls erase big deficit late in regulation, and beat Snohomish in overtime
BELLEVUE - Even the eternal optimist in Rosa Smith knew things looked bleak.
And then she and her Lake Washington High School girls basketball teammates went right to work in erasing a big deficit in the final minutes of regulation.
Mission accomplished.
The fourth-seeded Kangaroos wiped out a 10-point deficit in the final 2:06, then put away fifth-seeded Snohomish in overtime, 68-62, in a Class 3A regional game at Bellevue College.
With the victory, Lake Washington earned a state-tournament bye next week in Tacoma, and won't play until Thursday.
"I just told them, we are playing one of the five best teams remaining in the state," Kangaroos girls coach Jeff Wilson said. "We can fight back. We just have to chip away, possession by possession. And we don't give up."
Ella Gallatin buried a top-of-the arc 3-pointer to give the Panthers a 56-46 lead with 2:10 remaining, and this one seemed like it was in the bag.
Ella Gallatin's 3-pointer gave Snohomish a 56-46 lead with 2:10 remaining in regulation.
Photo by Todd Milles
It wasn't.
Jolie Sim and Angie Helf hit back-to-back 3-pointers to slice it to 56-54 with 54 seconds remaining.
Snohomish had a long possession, aided by a shot-clock reset on a late foul, and all it had to do was get an inbounds pass in with 16 seconds to go.
But the pass bounced through traffic, and right to Helf, giving the Kangaroos a chance to tie.
Looking for a give-and-go with post player Elise Hani, who led all scorers with 27 points (12 rebounds and six blocked shots), Smith immediately saw that the Panthers double-teamed Hani, so she charged right to the basket, and watched as her underhand scoop shot fell through with three seconds remaining to send the game into an extra period.
"Credit to my teammates for getting us back in that game," Smith said. "They hit some really big shots."
Helf sank two more 3-pointers in overtime - the final one giving Lake Washington a 66-60 lead with 1:04 to go.
Smith finished with 16 points. Cheyenne Rodgers led Snohomish with 19 points.
"We have competitive kids and I know they do, too," Panthers girls coach Ken Roberts said. "We had several opportunities to put them way, and we didn’t."
