Here’s what happened in the 4A and 3A basketball tournaments at the Tacoma Dome
Washington’s high school state basketball tournaments are in the books, with the Mount Si and Garfield boys taking home titles in Class 4A and 3A, respectively, Central Valley winning the 4A girls title and Garfield winning the 3A girls title at the Tacoma Dome over the weekend. Head to https://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/high-school/ to see all our coverage from the Tacoma Dome, including full game stories, video highlights, player interviews, photo galleries and more.
Here’s how things shook out at the Dome over the weekend.
CLASS 4A BOYS: MOUNT SI WINS TITLE, OLYMPIA AND SUMNER PLACE
The Mount Si High School boys basketball team knew it was going to win the 2020 Class 4A state title. They knew immediately after the 2019 state championship game, after losing to Gonzaga Prep.
“The moment we lost last year against Gonzaga Prep, we went into that locker room and knew we’d be back,” said Mount Si’s Jabe Mullins, a Saint Mary’s commit. “We’re going to give it everything we’ve got for 12 months to get back to this exact same spot.”
And that’s exactly what the Wildcats did, reaching Saturday evening’s state championship game and beating Central Valley, 58-47. It’s the program’s second state title and first since 1977.
And the Wildcats won convincingly in each of the three games they played, beating Federal Way, 61-49 in the quarterfinals, Glacier Peak, 62-49 in the semifinals and against Central Valley, controlling the game from the tip.
“Honestly, we played some great teams, but we knew all along that we’re the best team in the state, by far,” said Mullins, who finished with a game-high 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. “We have the best players, the best coach, we’re long, athletic, we knew what we had to do and we knew we’re the best in the state. We came out here and played like it.”
The Sumner High School basketball team had Olympia’s number this season, beating the Bears in each of the two regular-season meetings. But in the third meeting of the season — this time in the fourth/sixth place Class 4A state tournament game at the Tacoma Dome on Saturday morning — the Bears came out on top.
“I think we just finally kind of figured it out,” said Olympia’s Jackson Grant, who scored a game-high 22 points. “We figured out that we had to shut down (Josh) Lear and we finally did that.”
Sumner’s 1-2-2 zone has consistently given teams problems this season, and was good enough to catapult the Spartans, who finished third in the 4A SPSL, into the state tournament at the Tacoma Dome. It took until the third meeting for Olympia to attack it effectively.
“Their zone is just kind of weird, it’s called ‘the buzz’ or some weird zone that nobody even plays,” Grant said. “It’s just kind of hard to figure out the first couple times you play it. So we finally figured it out and everything just clicked at the right time.”
Olympia set the 4A state tournament record a day prior, shooting 70.2 percent from the field in its win against Skyview.
Olympia’s fourth-place finish is the program’s best since 2011. The Bears also took fourth that year.
“Obviously, it wasn’t our overall goal at winning state, but to come back and not lose two games back-to-back and end on a win — there’s only three teams in the state that get to end their season on a win, and it’s the highest finish we’ve had in a long time,” Grant said. “It felt really good to send the seniors off this way.
“We were really just connected and knew we could still have a strong finish, tied for fifth-best in school history. So I think we were sad when we realized we couldn’t win state, but we just really rallied and realized we still had two more games and could still do something really special.”
Sumner’s sixth-place finish is the program’s best since a fourth-place finish in 1970. Sumner’s win against Kentwood in the 4A state tournament regional round was its first state win in 49 years and the Spartans had perhaps the tournament’s most entertaining game, knocking out defending state champion Gonzaga Prep in the first round, 60-59.
3A BOYS: GARFIELD WINS TITLE, WILSON TAKES FOURTH
After spending his junior season at Federal Way High School, Tari Eason ended his high school career at Garfield High School, where he had spent his freshman and sophomore seasons. And he’s going out on top, with the Bulldogs winning the Class 3A state title, beating five-star recruit Paolo Banchero and Metro League peer O’Dea in the tournament championship game, 69-44.
“This is my last high school basketball game,” Eason said. “To go out on top, coming back to Garfield, this just means everything to me. This is the goal we set out and I set out since the beginning of the season. I worked so hard. Sometimes it’s underappreciated, but this at the end — this is everything. I’m just so happy I could go on top as a champion.”
Garfield, which had lost to O’Dea in both meetings this season, dominated this meeting, shooting 50 percent (27-54) from the field and holding O’Dea to just 36.4 percent (16-44) shooting. And the Bulldogs held 6-foot-9 power forward and Banchero in check. Banchero’s 16 points didn’t come easily, and no one else for O’Dea scored in double digits.
Playing its fourth game in as many days, the Wilson High School boys basketball team didn’t come out with its typical up-tempo, frenetic energy in the first half of the fourth/sixth place Class 3A state tournament game at the Tacoma Dome on Saturday morning, falling behind to Kamiakin at half, 28-24.
Then again, it’s tough to get up for an 8 a.m. tip.
“Man, it’s real early playing in an 8 a.m. game,” said Wilson senior guard Emani Mitchell. “We started off slow. We knew it was going to be slow. At halftime, coach talked to us, we came in with some fire and that sparked our lead.”
The Rams’ players eventually found their legs and Wilson outscored Kamiakin 47-34 in the second half en route to a 71-62 win, securing the fourth-place trophy in the process. It was Wilson’s best finish since current assistant coach Amad Robinson led the Rams to a runner-up finish in 1998.
“It feels great,” said Mitchell, who scored a game-high 21 points in the win. “This is the farthest I’ve ever been in the tournament. To be playing on Saturday means so much to me in my senior year.”
Cocke, in his second season at Wilson after previously coaching at Foss, seems to be building something in Tacoma, with Wilson winning the 3A PCL this season and the West Central III/Southwest bi-district championship, and now taking fourth in state in a loaded 3A classification.
“When I took the job two years ago, it was very much about changing the culture,” Cocke said. “When I met those guys who were going to be juniors, I told them this is what it looks like. There were some growing pains, but I think they all bought in and we got the most out of that group. They all gelled, they care about one another. I think they set the foundation for our program.”
4A GIRLS: CENTRAL VALLEY WINS TITLE, TODD BEAMER TAKES SIXTH
Central Valley beat previously undefeated and top-seeded Woodinville in the 4A state championship game, 59-55. The Bears led throughout the game and thwarted a Woodinville comeback in the fourth quarter, hanging on for the win and securing their second championship in the last three years.
“It’s amazing,” said Central Valley senior Peyton Howard. “We worked so hard and we put in so much time out of school and on weekends. Our coach pushes us so hard. She’s the best coach in the state, clearly.”
Howard was referring to head coach Felice Orrell, who led the Bears to the title in her first season as the team’s head coach.
Woodinville star Mia Hughes, the tournament MVP, scored 28 points in the loss.
It was a wonderful way for Howard’s Central Valley career to come to an end after missing all of her junior season with a knee injury.
“I knew going in to (the season) that we could do big things,” Howard said. “I knew we could win a state championship. This is the best way to go out. This is a great senior year.”
Second-seeded Todd Beamer lost to No. 12 Issaquah in the fourth/sixth place game on Saturday, 67-56, after beating Bellarmine Prep in the first round, losing to top-seeded Woodinville in the quarterfinals, and bouncing back to beat Chiawana in a consolation game.
Todd Beamer head coach Corey Alexander expected nothing less than the fight his team showed, even in defeat against Issaquah.
“It shows that we have heart,” Alexander said. “Four games in a row, it’s tough. It’s tough for anybody. We fought back. The girls decided that this was our senior year, let’s play for each other and see what happens.”
Alexander was referring to his three senior stars, Sharay Trotter, Halo Parks and Aaliyah Alexander, as well as fellow seniors Alexus Jackson, Najahia Forks and Brooklyn Humphrey.
Alexander led all scorers with 28 points and was a perfect 14-for-14 from the free-throw line.
“It’s been a joy coaching them for four years,” Alexander said of his seniors. “Their growth, and their playing for one another, it’s been fun. …They’re going to be missed.”
CLASS 3A GIRLS: GARFIELD WINS TITLE, BETHEL TAKES SIXTH
After three state tournament games, Garfield senior star Dalayah Daniels was averaging just 6.7 points per game as she was still recovering from an ankle injury suffered in December.
Still, the ninth-ranked Bulldogs found themselves taking on No. 6 Lake Washington for the 3A state championship on Saturday night.
As stars often do, Daniels saved her best for last, scoring 18 points to lead her team to the 55-41 win and the championship.
“I injured myself and I think a lot of people lost respect for me, but I knew that it wasn’t about me,” Daniels said. “It was bigger than me. I had to come back and fight even harder than before I was injured and just come back and get my team a ring, and we did that. It was so important to me.”
Daniels was named first-team all-tournament. Her teammate, senior Meghan Fiso was named the tournament MVP. Fiso scored nine points, all of which came in the first half in Saturday’s championship game.
The Bethel girls basketball team came into the state tournament with high hopes as the No. 2 overall seed in the 3A tournament, but the loss of freshman star Alyssa Smith to injury earlier in the season left the Braves without the third scoring option that they needed against the state’s better teams.
It caught up to them in the tournament, as the Braves (24-3) went 1-2 and were forced to settle for a sixth-place trophy. Bethel lost to No. 4 Mt. Spokane on Saturday morning in the fourth/sixth-place game.
“I think it was really big,” junior guard Esmeralda Morales said of the loss of Smith. “Just another 10 rebounds and 15 points. That’s what we’re missing. We wish we had her, but next year we’re going to have her and it’s going to be a different story.”
Nowhere was the loss of Smith more evident than in the Braves’ quarterfinal loss to No. 9 Garfield on Thursday. Morales and senior guard Tiarra Brown combined to score all but two of Bethel’s points in that game. Still, the Braves bounced back with a win over No. 5 Shorecrest on Friday to secure a trophy.
“We knew we were going to do good in state,” Morales said. “We wanted to get first. We wanted to get the big trophy, but it was a good experience. Next year, we’re going to come hard. We know how it feels, and just go get that No. 1.”
Reporter Aaron Lommers contributed to this story.
This story was originally published March 8, 2020 at 12:48 PM with the headline "Here’s what happened in the 4A and 3A basketball tournaments at the Tacoma Dome."
