Just in from Spokane – Seattle Lutheran won its 1B boys-basketball state quarterfinal game, 58-36 over Cusick. Their next game will be at 7:15 tomorrow versus the winner of tonight’s next game, Entiat vs. Lummi Nation.

10:35 PM UPDATE: Lummi won that game, so that’s who the Saints will play Friday night. The other semifinal includes Shorewood Christian, which is in the unincorporated area just east of Arbor Heights, so there’s a chance right now that the state 1B championship game could feature 2 teams from schools less than 10 miles apart.

(EVENING UPDATE: Photos added)

2:02 PM: The game has just begun, in the 3A girls’ basketball state-championship quarterfinals at the Tacoma Dome – West Seattle High School Wildcats vs. Lynnwood Royals. You can watch a live webcast on Sound Live Sports Network; we’ll also publish periodic updates.

(WSB photos by Patrick Sand, added Thursday evening)
2:07 PM: West Seattle got out to a 4-0 lead. Lynnwood has just scored its first basket at 5:22 to go in the first quarter, and the score is now West Seattle 4, Lynnwood 2.

2:12 PM: Lynnwood has gone on an eight-point tear and is ahead 10-4 with 3:23 to go in the first quarter.

2:20 PM: End of the first quarter – Lynnwood 14, West Seattle 6.

2:39 PM: At halftime, it’s Lynnwood 29, West Seattle 17. WSHS scoring leaders in the half were Charli Elliott (#10, above) with 6 and Izzy Turk (#3, below) with 5.

3:18 PM: Lynnwood is ahead 58-33 with 2:20 to go in the game.

3:26 PM: Game over – West Seattle loses to Lynnwood, 60-36.

WSHS is now in the consolation round, with another game tomorrow morning (added: 10:30 am Friday vs. Prairie). Full report with photos and more later.

ADDED 9:58 PM: We’ve added photos interspersed with the updates above, plus a few more with some observations below. The lopsided score doesn’t reflect aspects including how much of the game was a wrestling match – the Wildcats and Royals battled for the ball so many times (numerous jump balls, which is the only stat that the tourney’s comprehensive form didn’t seem to capture). Here are three instances we caught on camera:

That was both a testament to the Wildcats’ fighting spirit and to the tenacity of their opponents. While WSHS often dominates on rebounds, this was one time in which the other team seemed to be everywhere, including in just the right place to pull down the boards, outrebounding the Wildcats – but not by much – 37-32. Lynnwood also was defensively aggressive, requiring West Seattle to bulldoze through to have a chance at a shot, as #12 Annalisa Ursino was doing here:

Getting a clear route to a pass had its challenges at times, too:

Elliott ended the game as WSHS’s leading scorer, with 11. #32 Emily Fiso was next, with 8 points:

#30 Lexi Ioane was right behind with 7:

(Flanking Lexi in that photo are #3 Izzy Turk and #11 Lani Taylor.) #4 Lydia Giomi was held to 5 points but tied with Elliott on rebounds, 8 each:

Head coach Sonya Elliott and team are back on the court at 10:30 am in Tacoma, and we’ll be there too.

(Their opponent, the Prairie HS Falcons, are from Clark County in southwestern Washington.)

They’re on the road now, and in less than three hours, the Metro League champion West Seattle High School girls’ basketball team will be on the court at the Tacoma Dome, one of eight teams vying for the state 3A championship. They boarded their bus after a loud-and-proud pep-assembly sendoff in the school gym about an hour ago. Head coach Sonya Elliott recalled the excitement of the postseason win against two-time state champ Cleveland, and the thrill of someone remarking it was great to see students up on their feet raucously cheering a girls’ basketball game:

The coach declared they were off to “take care of business at the Tacoma Dome,” with an aside to her players: “Let’s go, ladies!” Emceeing the assembly, athletic director Trevor Leopold declared this to be a great day in WSHS history. The cheer squad offered a few cheering lessons, and the band preceded everything with the fight song:

And before the rally, WSHS principal Ruth Medsker showed off the commemorative T-shirt:

While she can’t play because of an injury that cut her season short, senior Gabby Sarver rolled into the rally, accompanied by teammates Emily Fiso and Lexi Ioane.

And senior Charli Elliott took the mike to say she is “so proud of her teammates,” recalling that they won just three games her first year – and now, here they are going to state:

We’ll be updating from Tacoma during the game, which also will be webcast live by the Sound Live Sports Network (which regularly webcasts Lynnwood games).

One more reminder: Even if you won’t be there to cheer for them today, you can give the girls an assist via a donation through the West Seattle Booster Club to help them cover the costs of going to the tournament – because of the game scheduling, they have to stay overnight in Tacoma, and that means hotel and food costs, among other things – here’s where to donate (be sure to specify that it’s for “girls’ basketball”). They thank everyone who’s given so far!

(UPDATED SUNDAY AFTERNOON with WSHS’s first state opponent)

(Instagram video of a moment from the game, basket by Emily Fiso, one of four Wildcats who scored in double digits)
9:25 PM: We’re at Renton High School, where a big win by the West Seattle High School girls’ basketball team means they’re heading to the state tournament next weekend in Tacoma. They beat Sumner in a win-or-go-home game, 56-18. Photos and details to come.

ADDED EARLY SUNDAY: The victory’s afterglow lasted a good long while. Walking back to the parking lot from the gym, we passed the WSHS bus, with its windows open and the cheerleaders on board, heard chanting, “WE’RE GOING TO THE DOME! WE’RE GOING TO THE DOME!”

That’s the Tacoma Dome, of course, where the state tournament starts Thursday. We’ll find out today (Sunday) when and who the Wildcats will play.

But first – the story of their resounding comeback after two defeats. The 38 points by which they topped Sumner represented the largest victory margin of any game in this weekend’s 3A girls’ regionals. Perhaps the ensuing eight days of rest were exactly what they needed. Or maybe it was just time to think. A season in which they had risen to #2 in the state and beaten last year’s state champs for the Metro League title was too good to end just yet.

While the Renton HS gym was intended to be a “neutral” site for the game, Sumner was the designated “home team” and its big, booming band added to that feeling. (The school’s marching band performed in West Seattle twice last summer – in the Grand Parade and the Band Jam.) The pregame songs included Macklemore‘s anthemic “Can’t Hold Us.”

But it was the WSHS girls who could have been singing that line.

While the Spartans scored first, the Wildcats answered fast, with Emily Fiso striking first. West Seattle dominated the boards from the start and made their own second (and third) chances over and over and over again. Even in the late going, with a big lead, they refused to relinquish the ball without a fight. Scenes like these abounded:

Head coach Sonya Elliott talks a lot about her players’ teamwork, and tonight they really showed it. Not just in the scoring, with four in double digits – Lexi Ioane with 13:

Lydia Giomi with 12:

Annalisa Ursino with 10:

And Emily Fiso with 10:

… but also in the clutch moments. Charli Elliott showed her knack for tearing the ball away from the opponents – or swatting in a save when the Wildcats were in danger of losing possession:

In her moments off the bench, Lani Taylor was tenacious:

By two minutes into the second quarter, the West Seattle lead was up to double digits. And that’s when they started to pull away. On one series, Fiso missed an outside shot but managed an inside basket that widened the lead to 18 points with a little over two minutes left in the first half.

Yet no one was taking anything for granted. The West Seattle fans were bemoaning the misses and holding their breath for the near-baskets as halftime approached. A sharp series of passes led to a basket for Taylor with a minute to halftime, and the score was 29-8. After a Sumner basket, a solo drive by Giomi had the fans chanting MVP! MVP! in a nod to her Metro League honors. And at 31-10, halftime arrived.

While the injury absence of Sumner star Jamie Lange had to be noted, that could not entirely explain the third quarter, in which the Spartans failed to score a single point. West Seattle just kept building on its lead, clearly taking nothing for granted. They built a 30-point lead by just under 2 minutes to go in the third quarter – which ended with WSHS ahead 46-10.

Sumner’s first points of the second half came at 6:47 to go in the game. By that point, coach Elliott was resting her starters, at least for a few minutes.

No matter who was on the court, the Wildcats remained in charge, drawing fouls as Sumner tried again to spark a comeback; what resulted instead were foul shots. Izzy Turk was at the line to bring West Seattle to a 40-point lead, 55-15. With 1:46 to go, more WSHS reserves came in to get a bit of playing time. By then, with a lead that big, even standing at the foul line with unlimited shots couldn’t close the gap, so the clock ran out and the Wildcats were able to bask in the realization that they’re state-tournament-bound.

We’ll publish an update when the first state game is set.

ADDED 3:47 PM SUNDAY: Lynnwood will be the Wildcats’ first state opponent, 2 pm Thursday in Tacoma.

(SCROLL DOWN FOR SUNDAY UPDATE: SeaLu’s first state opponent has been drawn)

(Our Instagram clip is from the final seconds of the game – photos a bit later)
We’re at Bellevue College, where the Seattle Lutheran High School boys’ basketball team has just secured a spot in the state tournament, defeating Yakama Nation Tribal School 52-49 in a regional playoff game at Bellevue College. More to come.

ADDED 7:24 PM: This was a close game most of the way, but Yakama was as much as 10 points ahead a few times, before the Saints finally clawed back ahead toward the end.

The first quarter was low-scoring, ending with the Eagles ahead by one, 10-9. Their crisp passing was a strong suit, as was rebounding, until they faltered in the final quarter.

Along the way, the Saints’ winning ways were the result of a team effort – no single player dominated, though Roberto Duenaz (below) finished as the top scorer with 19, including a trio of 3-point shots.

Xavier Turner (1st photo below) and Josh Meyer (2nd photo below) – recipient of the sportsmanship award given to one member of each team postgame – had 11 each.

A run-and-gun series of tradeoffs saw Yakama threaten to pull away by the middle of the second quarter, leading 19-9 until Lutheran started a comeback, including two foul shots representing Duenaz’s first two points of the game, and a resurgence in rebounding. By halftime, they were behind by just four, 25-21.

In the third quarter, it wasn’t yet clear that the Saints would be able to regain the lead. After they cut the Eagles’ advantage to two, they fell behind by 9. Another of Duenaz’s threes kept that margin from growing. His next one provided a few seconds of drama, swirling the rim what seemed like half a dozen times before finally dropping through the net.

Two successful foul shots by Turner brought SLHS to within three with a little over 3 minutes to go in the third quarter, and that’s where the tide really started to turn. Meyer was often there when the Eagles missed a shot, and the Saints would head back to their side for another chance. They were down by just one, 38-37, at the end of the third, and a foul shot by Ryan Okabayashi tied it up just seconds into the fourth. SeaLu went up by two shortly thereafter, 40-38. A three-pointer from Yakama gave them the one-point edge, and a short bout of see-sawing ensued.

The Saints’ defense got even more aggressive.

The Eagles seemed to lose their confidence a bit as Lutheran kept it close. Their last lead was with three and a half minutes left in the game, when a three-pointer by Joseph Sanchey put them up 46-44. DEFENSE! hollered the Saints’ fans, and they obliged, with a three by Garrett Ball putting them up by one, 47-46.

With the final moments still in cliffhanger status, both sides called multiple timeouts to strategize.

The lead seesawed again – Yakama had it one last time at 49-48, with Duenaz then scoring four points – a basket and two foul shots – for the final score, 52-49. The jubilant Saints now look ahead to the state tournament in Spokane, with their first game next Thursday (opponent TBA).

12:05 PM SUNDAY UPDATE: Just drawn – SeaLu’s first state opponent will be Cusick, 3:45 pm Thursday at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The Cusick district is 50 miles north of Spokane and serves the Kalispel Tribe as well as the towns of Cusick and Usk.

Thanks to Lynn Ogdon-Perrine for the photo and report from the state high-school-wrestling competition in Tacoma: Chief Sealth International High School‘s Daron Comacho “is 6th in state for the 195 weight class. We are very proud of him and how he represented (Sealth)!” You can see his bracket and results here.

(Photos courtesy Mike Jensen; above, SLHS #11, Xavier Turner driving)
Seattle Lutheran High School‘s Tri-District tournament game an hour from home today – at Mount Vernon Christian – was against an opponent that’s close to home: Shorewood Christian, from the unincorporated area just east of Arbor Heights.

The Saints came away with the victory, 65-53, and Tri-District third place. They’re now waiting to find out who they’ll face in regional competition next weekend; we’ll add that information here when it’s in.

(UPDATED 11:25 PM with word of WSHS’s next opponent)

(WSHS’s Lani Taylor at left)

Photos by Patrick Sand
Story by Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog co-publishers

One week after beating last year’s state champion Cleveland in the Metro League title game, the West Seattle High School girls couldn’t quite repeat the feat. This afternoon’s final score in the district-third-place game at Bellevue College was Eagles 57, Wildcats 54.

Despite two consecutive losses, WSHS gets one more chance to advance, and will find out later this weekend who they’ll play next.

Like the last West Seattle-Cleveland faceoff February 13th, this one was close throughout. WSHS’s 9-2 lead midway through the first quarter was the biggest lead either team ever opened, and it didn’t last long. Cleveland took the lead for the first time, 13-12, with the first of Giavanni Flowers‘s five 3-pointers, just before the end-of-quarter buzzer.

Though the Eagles threw everything they had at the Wildcats’ Lydia Giomi (above), double- and triple-teaming her most of the times she got close to the basket, Giomi still led WSHS scoring with 20 points.

The Wildcats’ defense worked hard to keep Cleveland from getting too far in too often, but with more than half their 57 points coming on 3-pointers, the Eagles were able to work past that strategy.

As the second quarter began, Lexi Ioane (above) got the lead back for West Seattle. A bit of seesawing ensued, and every possession was hard-won – one struggle even led to a jump ball (with the “alternate possession” rule, WSHS won that one). The Wildcats had the edge on rebounds and steals, but the Eagles’ defense kept them from getting many clear shots.

Cleveland’s Joyce Harrell was hurt with three minutes to go in the first half. WSHS got the lead back shortly thereafter, on a three-pointer by Izzy Turk (below).

A minute later, West Seattle was up by four. But by the end of the half, two 3-pointers by Cleveland led to a 24-22 lead as the teams headed for the locker rooms.

Starting the second half, the Eagles picked right up where they left off, with another 3. WSHS answered with a layup by Ioane (WSHS’s third-leading scorer today with 10). Fans on both sides stepped up the shouts – from the Wildcats’ cheerleaders, DEFENSE! DEFENSE! – and the battle raged on.

WSHS took the lead back with a basket by Charli Elliott (above), who took a painful spill a moment later; pulled up by her teammates, she stayed in, and carried on. They extended the lead to 35-30 with three minutes to go in the third quarter, but Cleveland’s subsequent five unanswered points brought that to a tie, and the quarter ended 40-39 Cleveland.

The final quarter wasn’t any less intense than the first three. Nobody broke away. The score was tied 49-49 with 3:15 to go after a dramatic series of plays.

Annalisa Ursino (above) brought the ball upcourt, got it to Ioane, who passed it to Emily Fiso (below), who shot and missed, got the rebound, shot and missed again, got the rebound, finally a basket for the tie.

That could have been a turning point – but Cleveland fired off a fast three pointer. A bucket from Fiso (the Wildcats’ #2 scorer today with 13) made up two of the points. After Cleveland missed two foul shots, a Giomi basket put the Wildcats up by one, 53-52 … but they were outscored 5 to 1 in the remaining minutes, and that was the difference; they had the ball with five seconds to go, and got it to Fiso for an outside shot, bringing the WSHS fans to their feet – but it was off the mark, and so the game ended, 57-54.

The two losses today and Thursday (to Juanita, 51-48) were the first since the only two that WSHS had experienced all season, and both of those were in the MaxPreps holiday tournament in California. Now head coach Sonya Elliott‘s squad has six days to rest until one more chance to keep the postseason going; we should know soon who they’ll be playing and where/when, and we’ll add that here when we know.

11:25 PM: According to our partners at The Seattle Times, WSHS will next play Sumner, which lost its district-title game today; here’s a look at Sumner’s roster. (The official brackets will be filled out here on Sunday.)

In the Tri-Districts high-school basketball tournament tonight in Mount Vernon, a win for the Seattle Lutheran High School boys, 63-52 over Tulalip Heritage. That means the Saints play there again tomorrow, this time for third place, 4:15 pm Saturday vs. Shorewood Christian.

Also in district basketball postseason play tonight, the Seattle Lutheran High School boys lost to Lummi Nation, 62-48 in Mount Vernon. They play again there tomorrow, facing Tulalip Heritage at 6:30 pm.

(WSB photo: Foreground, WSHS & Juanita’s leading scorers, Emily Fiso and Tea Adams; background at right, Charli Elliott)
7:58 PM: So close – but not close enough. In a game that just ended at Bellevue College, the West Seattle High School girls fell just short against Juanita, which got the district semi-final win, 51-48. The Wildcats were down by as much as 13 but fought back in the second half, falling just three points short. They play next for district third place, 1:15 pm Saturday vs. Cleveland, also at Bellevue College.

ADDED 1:12 AM: Here’s how Thursday night’s game played out:

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(WSB photos by Patrick Sand; above, WSHS’s Emily Fiso)
9:59 PM: The West Seattle High School girls have won again. In a district-tournament basketball game at the Chief Sealth International High School gym, the Wildcats beat Bishop Blanchet, 55-45. Photos and more to come.

PHOTOS ADDED 12:42 AM: Though Blanchet got out to a fast start, WSHS regrouped after a timeout.

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(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
9:47 PM: At home tonight, another postseason basketball win for the Seattle Lutheran High School boys – 65-52 over Providence Classical Christian. Photos and more to come.

PHOTOS ADDED, 11:52 PM: Junior Xavier Turner led the Saints’ scoring with 23 points, including the late-game dunk below:

Roberto Duenaz was next with 13, followed by Isaiah Dowding-Albrecht and Josh Meyer (below) with 12 each.

Head coach Brett Kapels and the SLHS boys next face Lummi Nation, 8:15 pm Thursday at Mount Vernon Christian.

(L-R, Coach Buiford, Coach Daven, Gonzalo Guzman, Ryan Davis, Coach D, Daron Camacho, Coach LT; photo by Lynn Ogdon-Perrine)
Thanks to Lynn Ogdon-Perrine for an update on Chief Sealth International High School wrestlers who are headed into state competition:

In the big regional competition at Sealth on Saturday, Daron Camacho won first in his weight class and has been named Metro League Wrestler of the Year. Lynn adds that Antonio Childs placed 3rd in regionals in his weight class, and that Ryan Davis is first alternate in his weight class and Gonzalo Guzman is second alternate for state in his weight class.

Meantime, after girls’ regionals on Saturday in Bellingham, Sealth’s Makayla Dorn is also going to state:

(Makayla Dorn; photo by Brad Kelln)
She placed third. State competition is next Friday and Saturday at the Tacoma Dome.

(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
9:24 PM SATURDAY: We’re at Eastside Catholic, where the West Seattle High School boys’ basketball season just ended with a 79-56 loss in a loser-out district playoff game. Photos and summary later.

ADDED SUNDAY MORNING: For one, sophomore star Nate Pryor (#1, above) took a while to get up to speed:

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(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
School’s out until Wednesday for Seattle Public Schools, and dozens of students at Roxhill Elementary went home with fun memories from their last PE class before the break. PE teacher Chellie LaFayette brought in University of Washington soccer players to meet and work with her afternoon classes.

The visitors, left to right with Roxhill’s “Buddy Bench” (made famous by another distinguished visitor) and Ms. Lafayette below, were Amanda, Kate, Kat, Paige, and Madi:

You can find out more about them on the UW’s roster page. They talked with students about what it takes to get into college as well as about playing sports.

(REPORT #1 with postgame-celebration video is here)

(League MVP Lydia Giomi)

Story by Tracy Record
Photos by Patrick Sand
West Seattle Blog co-publishers

It was the kind of game that left spectators as breathless as the players whose battle they had just witnessed.

The Metro League girls-basketball title game won by West Seattle High School over Cleveland was as close throughout as the 49-48 final score implied.

Playing at the Seattle Pacific University gym in north Queen Anne, Cleveland led for much of the game but never threatened to run away with it. WSHS opened its biggest lead toward the game’s end but Cleveland – last year’s state champion – fought back to within one and had the ball when time ran out. The defense was intense from start to finish, and that led to more than a few foul shots for both sides – 13 of the Wildcats’ 49 points came from the free-throw line.

West Seattle’s first scoring came on a 3-pointer by senior Annalisa Ursino about a third of the way through the first quarter, and that tied the score 3-3. Cleveland answered with one of its own to restore its three-point lead. And so it went. WSHS’s first lead came with just over 2 minutes to go in the first quarter, 9-8 after a basket by senior Emily Fiso (above), the Wildcats’ #2 scorer of the night with 12 points in all.

That was the only time WSHS led during the first half.

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