By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
In a slow-starting loser-out matchup at the Tacoma Dome, the Lakeside Lions gradually found their rhythm and pulled away from the Ridgeline Falcons for a 55-41 victory to advance to the quarterfinal round of the Class 3A girls state basketball tournament.
Lakeside’s Kaliya Woodard led the way with 23 points, including several second-half three-pointers that helped the Lions build separation and secure the win.
The game opened with both teams struggling to find their offensive rhythm. Turnovers, missed shots and out-of-bounds passes defined the first two minutes as neither side could find the basket.
Lakeside finally broke the scoreless stretch when Anvi Bhatia finished a layup to give the Lions the first points of the night. Even then, offense remained hard to come by. For the next two minutes, the teams continued to struggle to score, leaving Lakeside clinging to a 2-0 lead midway through the opening quarter.
Bhatia struck again with just under four minutes remaining in the period, finishing underneath the rim to extend the Lions’ lead to 4-0.
Ridgeline eventually found its spark as Madilyn Crowley knocked down a three-pointer to put the Falcons on the board and cut the deficit to one. Makinley Simmelink followed with back-to-back three-pointers, turning a narrow deficit into an 11-8 Ridgeline lead and energizing the Falcons’ bench. However, Woodard closed out the quarter with a three-pointer to tie the game as Lakeside regained momentum heading into the second quarter.
Woodard started the second quarter with a bang, sinking another three-pointer to give the Lions a 14-11 lead.
From there, the teams traded baskets until Lakeside went on a 4-0 run led by Woodard and Bhatia, extending the Lions’ lead to 20-14. With just under four minutes left in the half, Ridgeline’s Noelia Axton and Lakeside’s Lili Brown traded three-pointers, which led to a Lakeside timeout. After the timeout, Woodard and Bhatia combined for four Lakeside points, and Ridgeline’s Emma Goldstein added a close-range basket as the two teams entered halftime with Lakeside holding a 27-19 lead.
Lakeside’s Phoebe Porter started the second half with a steal in hopes of setting up a play, but the Lions were unable to score as Ridgeline utilized strong defense to slow down Lakeside. The two teams struggled to score as the defensive intensity on both sides of the court picked up. Woodard broke the scoring drought with another three-pointer, resulting in a Ridgeline timeout. After the break, Woodard drained another three-pointer to push the Lions’ lead to 33-19.
Frustration began to show for the Falcons, but Crowley responded by drawing a foul and completing a three-point play to trim the deficit to 33-22. However, Woodard quickly responded with her third three-pointer of the quarter to give her team a 14-point, 36-22 lead.
The closing minutes of the third quarter featured a burst of offense from both teams.
Bhatia and Olson each connected from beyond the arc for the Lions, while Brown added a long jumper to extend the advantage. Crowley did her best to keep Ridgeline within reach, scoring six points late in the quarter, but it wasn’t enough as Lakeside held a comfortable 46-28 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Ridgeline opened the final period with renewed energy. Simmelink went to the free-throw line and converted one of two attempts. Ridgeline then called a timeout to regroup and organize its comeback effort. Out of the break, Crowley knocked down two consecutive jump shots, cutting the deficit to 46-33 and forcing Lakeside to call a timeout of its own.
After the timeout, the Lions stretched their lead with back-to-back three-pointers from Woodard and Brown to give Lakeside a 52-33 lead.
The pace slowed during the final three minutes as Lakeside focused on protecting its lead. Crowley continued to battle for Ridgeline, scoring six points late in the game, including a three-pointer and free throws, to close the gap to 54-41. However, the comeback effort fell short as Woodard stepped to the free-throw line with 30 seconds left and converted one shot to seal a 55-41 victory for Lakeside.
Crowley led Ridgeline with 25 points, 10 rebounds and one assist. Woodard led Lakeside with 23 points and four rebounds.
With the win, Lakeside advances to play Roosevelt tomorrow at 3:45 p.m.
After the game, Lakeside head coach Sandy Schneider said her team played another gritty game.
“We played really gritty. We know they have several really highly talented players, and our goal was that they didn’t have a career game and I think we did an awesome job on those kids,” said Schneider. “They are a young team, they are going to be back next year, but Crowley is an awesome player.”
Photos/Aaron Allen
