By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
For the 3A girls state championship game, the Bellevue Wolverines and the Eastside Catholic Crusaders met for the third time this season. This time, the teams met under the bright lights of the Tacoma Dome for a Metro League versus KingCo League showdown with a state title on the line.
The Crusaders won the opening tip, but Bellevue’s Nayvi Robinson and Lucia Mayorquin scored the first 4 points of the game, as the Wolverines took an early 4-0 lead. Nearly 3 minutes went by with no scoring until the Crusaders’ Raquel Dunnam drained a three-point shot, making the score 4-3, still in favor of Bellevue. Eastside Catholic’s defense then forced Bellevue into a shot-clock violation, and the Crusaders’ Amy Nduka drew a foul and converted one of two free-throw attempts, tying the game at 4 with 2 minutes left in the first quarter. In the final minute, the Crusaders’ Sophie Lugolobi added a basket, and Bellevue’s Dilynn Johnson hit a jump shot to tie the game at 6 heading into the second quarter.
Bellevue would take a 10-6 lead early in the second quarter as Robinson and Mayorquin scored on Bellevue’s first two possessions of the quarter. Lugolobi would then trade baskets, on her own, with Robinson, who converted 4 of 4 free throws during the exchange, as the Wolverines held a 16-10 lead midway through the second quarter. Despite it being a low-scoring game, the Crusaders finished the second quarter outscoring Bellevue in the remaining 4 minutes, 12-2, with Eastside Catholic’s Tavia Carter scoring on back-to-back shots under the rim, giving the Crusaders a 22-18 halftime lead.
After a shot-clock buzzer-beater made by Nduka to start the second half, fouls started to rack up on both teams during the next couple of possessions, with multiple players, including Bellevue’s Syesha Simanton and Iyla Jones, and Nduka taking trips to the free-throw line, where they each converted one of two attempts, and the Crusaders holding onto a 25-20 lead. The Crusaders then went on a 6-0 run, which started with a smooth shot under the rim from Dunnam, pushing their lead to 31-20, which forced Bellevue to call a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Lugolobi and Dunnam added to the run as the Crusaders built a 34-20 advantage. However, the Wolverines would strike back with a 6-0 run of their own to cut the deficit to 12 points, at 34-26.
In the final 30 seconds of the third quarter, Nduka made two shots at the free-throw line, and Bellevue’s Dilynn Johnson scored on a spin-move shot under the rim, as the teams headed into the final quarter with Eastside Catholic leading 36-28.
The Crusaders had possession to start the fourth quarter, but Mayorquin stripped the ball away and quickly ran down the court for a basket to make the score 36-30. After a putback from Nduka, she picked up her 4th foul 45 seconds into the final quarter and subbed out momentarily. Jones then stepped up to the free-throw line and sank two shots to cut the deficit to 38-32.
With 6 minutes remaining, Nduka checked back into the game. Mayorquin added a basket to help Bellevue stay in the game. But the Crusaders amped up their defensive and offensive pressure, as they went on a 5-0 run and forced Bellevue into a traveling violation to extend their lead to 43-34. Jones picked up her 4th foul for Bellevue, sending Nduka to the line, where she added two points to the lead to make the score 45-34. On the very next possession, Jones picked up her 5th and final foul of the game with 4:38 remaining and had to watch the remainder of the game from the bench.
After a timeout, Nduka scored on back-to-back possessions, as the Crusaders increased their lead to 49-35.
Determined to take back the lead, the Wolverines, led by Simanton, went on a 6-0 run, including two steals from Simanton, making the score 49-41. However, tensions were high on the court. The Wolverines’ Trinity Palmer-Wilson pushed Nduka to the ground and was called for an intentional foul, sending Nduka to the line, where she made both free-throw attempts and pushed the lead to 51-41 with 1:25 left in the game. After one final basket from Simanton, Tatum Carter converted two shots at the free-throw line, and Cermak followed with one, sealing a 55-43 victory for Eastside Catholic over the Bellevue Wolverines.
Nduka led the Crusaders with 23 points, 9 rebounds, 10 fouls drawn, and 1 assist. Bellevue was led by Mayorquin, who finished the night with 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 fouls drawn.
After the game, Eastside Catholic head coach Darnellia Russell held back tears as she celebrated the win with her girls.
“We just stuck together. Oh my God, this is crazy,” said Russell. “From the very beginning, I told them to believe in themselves, and they can beat anybody out there. We knew we had a good team, we just had to mesh together and love on each other, and then we can produce on the floor.”
Pictorial highlights Eastside Catholic vs Bellevue
Photos/Tyler Artis
