Garfield will attempt grab at four-peat glory in 3A girls basketball

TACOMA — The three-time defending WIAA Class 3A girls basketball state champions will have a chance to extend their title-winning streak again Saturday night.

The Garfield High School Bulldogs led most of the way in their 62-45 semifinals victory over 3A Metro League rival Lakeside of Seattle on Friday night.

Garfield pushed its lead as high as 20 points in the fourth quarter to return to the championship game at the Tacoma Dome for a chance at a four-peat.

“Man, let’s do it,” said Garfield senior Katie Fiso, an Oregon signee who has been key in the Bulldogs’ last two title runs. “Last dance. Last game for me. Just leaving it all on the floor.”

To return to the state final, though, the Bulldogs first had to meet the Lions for a fifth time this season. The programs split their two 3A Metro contests earlier this winter, and Garfield bested Lakeside in the league tournament title game before Lakeside answered by winning the 3A District 2 title game the following week.

This time, the No. 6 seed Bulldogs built a lead they never lost by the second quarter, took a 28-22 advantage into the halftime break, and pushed it to double digits early in the second half.

“I feel like when we move the ball around, use each other, use every part of our team, I feel like we’re the most unstoppable team in the state of Washington,” Fiso said. “This team fought hard this game. Lakeside is a well-known team. This is our fifth time playing them, so it’s that little rivalry game.

“So, we did what we had to do to get the job done. Obviously the full job’s not done. We’ve still got one more game. I’m excited to do it with this team.”

Fiso, the reigning tournament MVP, led all scorers with 19 points and added six rebounds and three assists. Junior forward Sarah Lessig added 17 points, seven rebounds and three steals, and senior forward Maya Davis had 14 points and seven rebounds.

Mia Broom paced No. 2 seed Lakeside with 12 points and four assists, while Willa Chinn had 10 points.

Garfield (20-3) advances to play top-seeded Mead (26-1) at 9 p.m. Saturday for the title. The Panthers posted a 56-50 win over No. 3 seed Snohomish earlier Friday to reach the championship.

“Just coming into the game, same attitude we came in this one, and trying to get the W,” Fiso said.

Lakeside (24-4) will play Snohomish (19-7) in the third-place game at 1 p.m.

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No. 1 Mead 56, No. 3 Snohomish 50

Mead led by as many as 15 points in the first half, and held off a late rally to advance to a state championship game for the first time since 2013, when the Panthers won a title as a 4A program.

“Finally made it,” Panthers senior guard Teryn Gardner said. “After the game I told (Coach) Quantae (Anderson), I’m like, ’It’s been long enough, honestly.’ And he’s like, ‘This is the perfect time.’

“And it really is with this team and these people, with these fans, it’s the perfect time, perfect season to do it and to finish the job.”

Mead led most of the way, including at every quarter break, and took a 29-14 advantage into halftime.

Snohomish eventually cut the lead to single digits in the second half, tallying seven 3-pointers in the final two quarters to close the gap to as few as five points twice in the fourth, but never got closer.

“We just had to trust it and that’s what we did,” Gardner said of keeping the lead out of reach. “We trusted each other and we finished it out.”

Gracie Wenkheimer led Mead with 15 points on five 3-pointers, while Gardner had 13 and Reese Frederick added 10.

Tyler Gildersleeve-Stiles led all scorers with 17 points for Snohomish and had seven rebounds.