By Kiana Doyal, The Seattle Medium
The Garfield Lady Bulldogs and the Lakeside Lions battled it out last night in a highly anticipated matchup between two of the top teams in the Metro League. The Bulldogs sought to avenge a 12-point loss to the Lions earlier in the season, while the Lions aimed to make a statement by remaining undefeated in Metro League play with a victory over the three-time defending state champion Bulldogs.
Bulldog senior Katie Fiso, one of the top 100 players in the country, was recognized before the game for scoring 1,000 career points at Garfield. Despite suffering from the flu, Fiso, who came into the game averaging 22 points per game, was instrumental in helping her team secure a 22-point win over the Lions.
“Katie is a phenomenal player. I knew it would happen sooner or later (scoring 1,000 career points),” said Garfield Head Coach Roydell Smiley after the game. “I am more impressed with her playing tonight, playing at the level that she did while being under the weather with the flu. 1000 points is normal for a player like that, and she will have many more.”
Garfield got off to a slow start as they couldn’t find a scoring rhythm to begin the game. Meanwhile, Lakeside’s Mia Broom set the tone early as she knocked down a three-pointer for the first points of the game. Garfield’s Jada Lewis tried to respond but missed a three-point shot that was rebounded by Broom, who brought the ball up the court and found teammate Sienna Olson for another three-pointer, as Lakeside took an early 6-0 lead.
Early on, the Lions truly showed how dominant of a team they have been, living up to their undefeated record for this season. A great rebounding team, the Lakeside players were not afraid to be in the paint and get physical.
Not backing down to the challenge, Lewis started to show more physicality as she powered up a field goal while being fouled in the lane to give the Bulldogs their first points of the night.
Rallying off the momentum of Lewis’ play, Fiso began to make her presence known on the court, draining a three-point shot to ignite a Bulldog rally. Lewis would get a steal and convert an easy layup as the Bulldogs quickly built a 13-9 lead. With just seconds remaining in the quarter, Broom would put up a three-pointer that fell short as time expired.
In the second quarter, Garfield ultimately seized momentum of the game. The Bulldogs’ Sarah Lessig hit a three-point shot, and Fiso added another layup as Garfield quickly increased their lead to nine points.
Only trailing by nine points, the Lions needed to reclaim their defensive capability. Despite being surrounded in the paint by multiple defenders in the lane, the Lions’ Willa Chinn stood her ground and put up a quick two points under the rim.
However, the scoring rally for Lakeside was short-lived as the Lions could not stop the Bulldogs. A wide-open three-pointer by the Bulldogs’ Devyn Hall forced the Lions to call a timeout to try and regroup.
Coming out of the timeout, the Bulldogs stepped up their defensive pressure, forcing the Lions to use the full 30 seconds of the shot clock. The Bulldogs would force the Lions’ Kaliya Woodard into a travel violation while also forcing Broom to settle for very long three-point attempts as the scoring struggles continued for the Lions.
The quarter clearly belonged to Lewis and the Bulldogs, as Lewis was unstoppable, adding a wide-open three-point shot with roughly a minute remaining in the second quarter, as the Bulldogs took a nine-point lead into the half.
During the third quarter, the Bulldogs seemed to score every time they were in possession of the ball, continuing to stretch out their lead. The back-and-forth play full of quick possessions saw the Bulldogs increase their lead to 20 points with just under four minutes remaining in the quarter.
Chinn and Olson temporarily stopped the bleeding for Lakeside as they helped cut the lead down to 15 points. However, Fiso and the Bulldogs were not going to let the lead fall to any less than that. A turnover by Lakeside’s Lili Brown allowed the ball to be back in the hands of Fiso, who used the opportunity to get a quick layup. Lakeside tried to get the ball back up the court, but Fiso put a halt to doing so and added another two points to the Bulldog lead, bringing the score to 47-31 as the two teams went into the final quarter of play.
The Bulldogs started the final quarter with the same amount of energy that they finished the third quarter with. Maya Davis connected on a fadeaway shot that negated any attempt by the Lions to seize momentum of the game.
Fiso once again stepped up her defensive pressure and made it very difficult for Chinn to get past half court. Fiso stole the ball and made another layup for the Bulldogs.
Finishing out the final quarter of play, the number 24 was a number to watch for both teams, as Lewis and Broom, both wearing number 24 for their respective teams, continued to light up the scoreboard.
Bulldogs senior guard Amira Devers put an exclamation point on the game as she connected on a three-point shot that drew a big reaction from her teammates.
“This was a big win because it is a get-back win,” said Coach Smiley after the game. “I think they (our players) knew the first game they could have played a lot better, and they came out [today] and they did. Going forward, that is what it is going to be about, worrying about ourselves and taking care of what we can take care of.”
The hopes of winning the 3A State title for the fourth year in a row look very promising, as Garfield (10-2, 10-1 in Metro) defeated Lakeside (10-2, 8-1 in Metro) 60-38 in a statement game for the Bulldogs.
Pictorial Highlights of Garfield vs Lakeside Girls
