By RayJaun Stelly, The Seattle Medium
With the Metro League championship at stake, the Garfield Bulldogs (13-0) looked to capture the trophy and remain unbeaten against Lakeside. Despite both teams beating their previous opponents by double digits to advance, only one team would be crowned this year’s league champion.
When asked what their mindset was heading into the game Garfield head coach Marvin Hall stated, “come in and play our game, not make too many adjustments just do what we do.”
During the first quarter, Garfield’s defense did not allow Lakeside to run their offensive sets which forced turnovers and led to easy points in transition for the Bulldogs. Navaeh Talbert and Katie Fiso carried the scoring load for the Bulldogs with their ability to shoot 50% from three-pointers combined, facilitate, and score on fast breaks during the quarter.
Talbert, who has come off the bench majority of the season, described her performance as, “playing my role and helping my team win.”
The Bulldogs’ defensive pressure resulted in a 23-11 lead heading into the second quarter and that momentum carried throughout the game. Lakeside’s offense was limited to just one shot per possession, and upon grabbing the rebound Garfield was off to the races for uncontested layups.
Consistency on defense and easy points on offense was the theme for Garfield in the first half, with momentum in their favor they led 42-29 heading into halftime. The Bulldogs, who have yet to find themselves down at half time in every game this year, were unphased and started the second half the same way they did the first.
Garfield’s Malia Samuels set the tone with back-to-back layups which gave the Bulldogs energy as a whole. Samuels scoring energy rubbed off on Imbie Jones who finished everything around the rim, her six rebounds provided second chance points and helped initiate the Bulldog offense.
Although Garfield controlled the majority of the game, Lakeside’s effort and energy continued to keep them within striking distance. Forcing bad possessions and holding Garfield to two points in a three minute span, the Lions went from being down 15 at the start the fourth quarter to being down only 7 with 1:28 left in regulation. Although their defense held up, offensively Lakeside was unable to execute which hindered their attempted comeback.
The scoring drought from the Bulldogs was put to an end when Fiso made a short jump shot. On the next possession, she executed a crossover and no-look pass to Jayda Lewis for a score completing her fourth assist. Those two possessions were the icing on the cake, and as the final buzzer sounded off Garfield was victorious.
When asked about her role in tonight’s win Fiso stated, “distributing the ball and my energy was key, as the game was going on, I kept my energy on 10.”
Fiso finished with 21 points for the Bulldogs. Talbert finished with 15, while Samuels and Jones both had 10 each. This group of four combined for 56 of the teams 64 total points.
Winning 64-57, Garfield defeated Lakeside for the Metro League championship improving their record to 14-0 and now they will wait to see their opponent as they advance onto districts.
Pictorial Highlights of Garfield vs Lakeside Girls – Metro League Championship
