By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
Coming in on a four-game win streak, the Lakeside Lions (14-2 overall, 21-1 in Metro) defeated the Holy Names Cougars (7-11 overall, 4-9 in Metro) 57-36 last night as the regular season finale for both teams.
Despite having a tremendous season so far, Lakeside High School Girls Basketball Head Coach Mia Augustavo-Fisher was not taking the Cougars for granted.
“Any given night in the Metro League is a battle; you don’t know which way it could go, so we have a lot of respect for Holy Names,” said Augustavo-Fisher. “They are a talented team with really good players like Genesis Hopkins and Ella Bischoff.”
The Lions, led by senior Mia Broom, look ready to make a strong push towards the playoffs and a shot at winning the State 3A championship. Broom, who scored a majority of her team’s points during the first quarter, lit up the scoreboard as she drained multiple three-point shots to give the Lions an early 10-0 lead.
“Mia is really fun to watch; she is one of our best talents we’ve had to ever come out of our school, and she’s an even better person and leader,” says Augustavo-Fisher.
Struggling to stop the Lions, the Cougars kept themselves in the game with numerous defensive rebounds by senior Genesis Hopkins.
Hopkins, leading her team early on in the game, scored the first points of the night for the Cougars with 3 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Despite the defensive effort from Hopkins, the Cougars had difficulties putting a stop to the great shooting of the Lions. Losing possessions quicker than the 30-second shot clock, Holy Names was in need of more aggression to truly make a run on Lakeside.
With five three-point shots in the first quarter, Lakeside held a 19-8 lead at the end of the quarter.
Holy Names’ Ella Bischoff brought some much-needed energy to her team, as she drained a three-point shot at the beginning of the second quarter. The shot seemed to light a fire in her team, as they began to get more aggressive on defense, and sophomore Maya Goldwire and Bischoff both found success getting to the free-throw line.
However, the aggressiveness from the Cougars did not faze the Lions. Three additional three-point shots by Lucy Ackerman, Ashlyn Ryan, and Broom helped the Lions stretch out their lead to 34-15 over the Cougars.
As a team, the Cougars only added 7 points in the second quarter; Hopkins and Goldwire were still working hand-in-hand to try and keep up with the pace of the game as their combination of offense and defense allowed them to do so.
The energy for Holy Names amped up as the two teams entered the second half of play. After facing the 19-point deficit, the Cougars started to score almost every possession. With wide-open layups and continuous defensive rebounds, Hopkins was trying to change the game for her team.
Having three offensive rebounds in one possession, Holy Names, with encouragement from their teammates on the bench, was starting to show a great deal of resilience and fight despite the score.
On back-to-back possessions, Hopkins continued to rally her team with her scoring efforts. Even though Lakeside continued to stretch out the lead further and further as the game inched closer to the final quarter, the Cougars were still battling and looking to make a run. Leading her team throughout the game, Hopkins opened up the final quarter with a seemingly flawless jump shot.
For Lakeside, Broom was not done proving that her team was ready for what was to come during playoffs. A blind pass under the rim to freshman Kaliya Woodard, Broom’s way of seeing the court allowed her to find teammates for open shots.
Riding on a 15-point and 10-assist night in their previous game against Roosevelt, Broom on any given night can produce a lot of points, but she also can manufacture a lot of offense for her team and get a lot of assists.
“Mia is a dynamic scorer; I noticed that sometimes she could have easily taken shots and she decided to set it up for her teammates instead,” says Augustavo-Fisher after the game.
Setting the tone for the remainder of the game, Lakeside junior Sophia David facilitated high-quality shots for her teammates. Stealing the ball away from the Cougars, David set up teammate Sienna Olsen for a wide-open three-point shot.
With the playoffs being seconds away, the Lions ended the game with a 21-point, 57-36, victory over the Cougars by running the shot clock down until the final buzzer.
Augustavo-Fischer believes that her team is peaking at the right time as they go into playoffs.
With the win, the Lions finished the regular season tied for first place in the Metro League with Ballard, Lincoln, and Garfield, as all four teams were 13-1 in Metro League play. Now, the Lions have their sights set on next week’s Metro League playoffs.
“I am proud of them for tonight, and hopefully we can keep it going for next week,” shared Augustavo-Fisher.
Pictorial Highlights of Lakeside Girls vs Holy Names
