Lakeside of Seattle girls book Sea-King District basketball finals date with Garfield, 2 takeaways
BELLEVUE, Wash. - Yes, playing Garfield multiple times a year gets to be a tad overwhelming.
But as Lakeside of Seattle girls basketball coach Mia Augustavo-Fisher also put it, "They have been a huge part of our story."
Another chapter will take place Saturday night in the 3A Sea-King District finals.
The sixth-ranked Lions set that up by bottling up No. 5 Lake Washington, 53-44, in the district semifinals Thursday afternoon at Bellevue College.
Mia Broom scored a team-high 12 points - five coming in the final 2:58 to finally put the Kangaroos away. Willa Chinn added 10 points.
Julia Benthin led all scorers for the 3A KingCo champions with 14 points.
Here are two takeaways from the Lake Washington-Lakeside of Seattle game:
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LIONS TOUGHER THAN EVER
It was Lake Washington that prevented the Lions from reaching the district finals a year ago, beating them in the final four.
On Thursday, the Lions led most of the way, turning away all Kangaroos' efforts to get on a scoring spree.
"Big-time win," Augustavo-Fisher said. "I was really proud of our effort, especially on the defensive end. They shoot the ball so well, especially this year. That is a huge part of their offense.
"It's impossible to shut down somebody completely, but we wanted to make it hard on them."
Broom, the team's undisputed leader, never really got going toward a big scoring game. First-half foul trouble limited her. Instead, Lakeside of Seattle got contiributions from everybody - especially Chinn, the point guard.
She’s been very steady," Augustavo-Fisher said. "She fills up the stat sheet on every category, and has been super poised.
"People have overlooked her."
Lake Washington cut it to 42-36 on Ashley Uusitalo's 3-pointer with 4:35 to go, but five different players scored down the stretch for the Lions - including Broom, who sank a 3-pointer to push it to 49-41 at the 1:51 mark.
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KANGAROOS A LITTLE OFF
Whether it was a few days of sickness, or just an off-night - Lake Washington just didn't play in its usual pep-in-its-step mode.
Except for Benthin, none of the team's scorers got in any rhythm. The team made just five 3-pointers, well off its season average.
"Just didn't feel like our normal, fun, energetic, joy wasn’t there for us," Lake Washington girls coach Jeff Wilson said. "We just felt we were a step or two slow."
The Kangaroos cut it to 49-44 with 1:12 to go on a Paige Citron 3-pointer, but Sayka Green took a pass from Broom and scored inside on the other end just 27 seconds later.
Now with a top-four seed - and regional home game - likely gone, Kangaroos have to hope they stay safe in the top eight.
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