Just like in the regular season, purple-flash Garfield runs off with another Metro League girls basketball championship

But it wasn't as easy as it has been as No. 7 Lakeside rallies from a 19-point deficit to make things interesting before falling, 64-57, to the No. 1 Bulldogs at Seattle Pacific.

SEATTLE — For a program that was the last one to hoist the gold ball with the Class 3A title in the Tacoma Dome - the top-ranked Garfield Bulldogs were pretty bouncy, cheery and merry in their Metro League championship Friday night.

The reason?

This group is largely new to it all.

Except for senior Lucille Richardson, who was part of the Bulldogs' last league title in 2018-19, and junior Malia Samuels, who led Eastside Catholic to the Metro crown a year later - the rest of these girls had never won a title.

That changed in a hurry.

Led by Katie Fiso's game-high 21 points, including five 3-pointers, the Bulldogs took a hard-earned 64-57 victory over No. 7 Lakeside at Royal Brougham Pavilion on the campus of Seattle Pacific University.

"A lot of these girls are young, like freshmen," Garfield girls coach Marvin Hall. "Of course, they are going to be excited."

After Navaeh Talbert sank a 3-pointer, the Bulldogs matched their biggest lead - 54-35 - with 3:45 to go in the third quarter.

But Hannah Dickinson (21 points) and recently-anointed Metro player of the year Claire O'Connor (19 points, 13 rebounds) fueled the Lions' rally, cutting the deficit to seven points twice in the final 3:45.

Here are three takeaways from the Garfield-Lakeside game:

THERE WAS A SWELLING OF EMOTION IN THE GYM

As Hall pointed out, this was a big moment for his program - one favored to repeat as Class 3A champion in a few weeks.

Lakeside had given the Bulldogs their toughest game earlier in the season - 58-46 in late January - and players were ready to redeem themselves with a better showing.

And a few hours before the game, Garfield players found out that neither Fiso nor Samuels were voted the Metro MVP. The top vote getter was on the other side.

"There was a lot of emotions coming into this game," Fiso said. "As we set out on the court, we knew we had each others' backs."

Fiso was especially charged up - and shot lights-out from the 3-point line in tallying 16 first-half points.

"I have been working on my shot. Just trying to prove to people I can shoot and can attack with the ball whenever (I want)," Fiso said.

WHEN THE MOMENT IS BIG, NAVAEH TALBERT SHOWS UP

Fiso and Samuels are the headliners - the "superstars," as Talbert coined them - of this Garfield team.

But Talbert has more mileage on her tread for this team than anybody on the roster.

When this Bulldogs' nucleus mostly opted out of the spring season to concentrate on AAU training, Talbert was the leader of this squad at point guard.

Now. she can roam free off the ball - and still run the point, too.

Talbert had seven first-quarter points, including her layup off a turnover, as Garfield closed the first quarter on a 9-0 run to grab a 23-11 lead.

She also sank 3-pointers in the second and third quarters.

"This is better for me honestly that I don't have to do as much as I used to," Talbert said.

She was a big contributor in a game that ended up being tight.

"We don't know how good we are," Talbert said. "To have a team that pushes us ... we know know what we need to fix, and how to get better together."

LAKESIDE ISN'T INTIMIDATED BY GARFIELD

Nobody is saying Lakeside is full-go toward winning a state championship next month.

But it would not be surprising to see the controlled-tempo Lions make a serious run.

They have low-post presence, especially with Dickinson, who has signed with USC as a soccer goalkeeper. They have more than one ball-handler. And O'Connor can score from any spot.

What they also have is belief, especially against a Garfield squad that intimidates other opponents with its speed and star power.

"A lot of teams defeat themselves before the game starts because they hear about the dynamic players they have, and that can be intimidating," Lakeside girls coach Mia Augustavo-Fisher said. "A lot of it is getting your team prepared and feeling you can be on the same court and compete."

Turnovers were a critical statistic Friday: The Lions committed 14 of them in the first half, and were down big. They had five of them after intermission, and got back into the game.

How about a third matchup later in the playoffs?

"Absolutely, I really would like to," Augustavo-Fisher said. "I believe in our kids. I know they want to play (Garfield) again."

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(All photos by Mason Kelley)