Snohomish wrangles Arlington, stamps WIAA 3A girls basketball semifinal date

TACOMA, Wash. - Traditionally - and in two meetings this season - the Snohomish-Arlington 3A Wesco girls basketball rivalry game is usually decided on the final possession.

But on Thursday, at the most important juncture for both teams - the WIAA Class 3A quarterfinals?

It was all Panthers.

From start to finish, Snohomish's defense ever-changing defense dictated the action in a 45-25 victory in the Tacoma Dome.

The Panthers are in the 3A semifinals for the first time since 2017.

And after being burned by Arlington standout Samara Morrow - the engine of the Eagles' offense - in the prior meetings, Snohomish was better-prepared to throw a couple more things defensively at her.

It worked - not only against Morrow, who was held to six points, but the whole team.

From later in the first quarter to early in the fourth quarter, Arlington went a grand total of 21:28 without a field goal - 25 missed shots in a row.

"We put something in right before Garfield, but I did not feel it was quite ready for Katie Fiso," Snohomish girls coach Ken Roberts said. "We did something similar against Samara ... and just amped it up a little bit.

"We did a few things where we threw the kitchen sink at them."

Snohomish also had one of the emerging post players in the state in junior Tyler Gildersleeve-Stiles, who had 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists - but in a game like his, it felt like 25 points.

"People really haven't seen how good she is yet," Roberts said.

They will get a glimpse of her for the next couple of days - first in the state semifinals.

"It's crazy," Gildersleeve-Stiles. "I am really excited."