Metro League championships: Garfield girls, Eastside Catholic boys claim crowns

SEATTLE – In pursuit of a third consecutive Class 3A state championship, the Garfield girls basketball team was going to need a leader to emerge when point guard Malia Samuels suffered a serious knee injury over the summer.

The big moment when Garfield needed answers on Friday night in the Metro League championship game at Seattle Pacific University saw the confirmation of junior guard Katie Fiso as the answer.

Fiso supplied an attitude to go with 15 points and three steals and scored 12 second-half points as top-ranked Garfield rallied to grab another Metro League crown by downing fifth-ranked Lakeside, 53-47, at Royal Brougham Pavilion.

“I’m definitely a person who wants to bring life and the best out of our squad and everyone I play with,” Fiso said after her team repeated last season’s successful title performance over the same Lakeside squad. “Once I figured out that Malia got hurt, I knew I had to step up. She’s another 20 points on the team, so I knew I had to step up and score more.”

Samuels, who’s committed to USC and is considered the top-rated player in the state of Washington for the Class of 2023, can only watch and record video for a team documentary as part of a school project. Fiso, on the other hand, took matters directly into her hands.

Down seven points late in the first quarter, Fiso turned on her leadership skills and that translated to confidence for the Bulldogs’ under first-year head coach Tre Simmons.

“I think Katie’s taken this season on her shoulders,” said Simmons, whose team improved to 16-1 and avenged its only loss of the season to Lakeside. “She’s in the gym every day. She’s shooting with the girls. She’s shooting with the boys.”

Fiso wasn’t alone as seniors Naveah Talbert and Imbie Jones chipped in 14 and 12 points, respectively for the Bulldogs, who won the last two 3A titles in 2022 and 2020.

Lakeside’s dynamic duo of forward Claire O’Connor and guard Mia Broom combined for 36 of the Lions’ 47 points. O’Connor tallied 13 of her game-high 21 points in the second half and Broom finished with 15 after notching 11 in the first half.

Fiso drove for a reverse layin with 38 seconds remaining to give Garfield a 49-42 lead and put the final touches on the victory. The Bulldogs last loss was a 58-36 decision at the hands of Lakeside on Jan. 21.

Both Metro tournament finalists dominated their way into the championship game with Lakeside (15-5) pounding Seattle Prep 66-35 and Garfield handling West Seattle 51-37 in Wednesday semifinals.

EASTSIDE CATHOLIC BOYS HANDLE RAINIER BEACH

Eastside Catholic 62, Rainier Beach 56

The fourth-seeded Crusaders rode 6-foot-9 Jacob Cofie’s 24 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots to the school’s first Metro League title and overcame a seven-point halftime deficit.

“It was our first Metro championship, and man we had to win it for all the greats in front of us,” said Cofie, whose team knocked off No. 1 Garfield 64-56 in Wednesday’s Metro semifinals. “Shoot, guys like Matisse Thybulle, Nolan Hickman, Shane Nowell and all those guys. We had to win it for them.”

Ishe Kanhukamwe led a big third-quarter surge with eight of his 10 points during a 5-minute, 15-second scoring outburst for the Crusaders (15-8), who capped an improbable run to the title with a pair of upset wins.

Miles Gurske led third-seeded Rainier Beach (12-8) with 22 points and Ryan Mpouli added 19.