By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
Last night at Seattle Pacific University, a packed house witnessed a thrilling 3A girls Metro League championship showdown between the Eastside Catholic Crusaders and the Roosevelt Roughriders. The two teams battled possession by possession until the final seconds, with a championship trophy on the line.
Roosevelt controlled the opening tip, but Eastside Catholic struck first after forcing an early turnover. The Crusaders’ Amy Nduka opened the scoring, and after Roosevelt’s Emma Curtis answered to tie it, the tone was set for a fast-paced first quarter. A three-pointer from Talia Cermak pushed Eastside Catholic ahead 7-2, but Roosevelt responded behind Ellery Burke-Brown. A steal and layup from Curtis cut the deficit to one and forced an Eastside Catholic timeout midway through the opening quarter.
After the timeout, Burke-Brown calmly knocked down two technical foul free throws to give Roosevelt the lead. The teams traded baskets the rest of the quarter, with Sa’Fine Sampson scoring inside for Eastside Catholic and Roosevelt countering with strong finishes from Burke-Brown and Curtis. Late buckets from Audrey Richardson and Curtis helped the Roughriders build momentum and extend their advantage. Despite Nduka’s work inside the paint to keep Eastside Catholic close, Roosevelt finished the quarter leading 18-15.
Eastside Catholic wasted no time setting the tone for the second quarter. Sophie Lugolobi drained a three-pointer to tie the game, and Sampson followed with a strong finish and a coast-to-coast layup off a steal to give the Crusaders a four-point lead at 22-18. Roosevelt quickly answered. Sloane Sprangers drained a three-pointer, Richardson scored a basket, and Giselle Dollar added another three-point shot to swing the lead back to the Roughriders at 26-22.
As the quarter progressed, the teams continued to trade baskets. Nduka and Burke-Brown each added points at the line, while Sampson capped an impressive quarter with another layup. Still, Roosevelt maintained a slight lead. In the final minute of the first half, Sampson came up with yet another steal and layup, but it was Roosevelt that carried a 31-28 lead into halftime.
The third quarter belonged to Nduka and the Crusaders. Nduka opened the half with a three-pointer, then hit another moments later to give Eastside Catholic its first lead since early in the game. Roosevelt briefly regained control behind Dollar and Carmen Derda, but Eastside Catholic responded with great effort in the paint. Nduka scored on back-to-back putbacks and added a layup to end a dominant stretch that shifted the momentum firmly in favor of the Crusaders.
Roosevelt stayed within striking distance thanks to baskets from Molly Kirkland and Burke-Brown, but Eastside Catholic’s offense slowly but surely found its rhythm. Cermak added a key bucket, and Dunnam’s layup late in the quarter extended the Crusaders’ lead to 49-42. After a pair of free throws and a late three-pointer from Dollar that helped keep the Roughriders alive, Roosevelt had cut the Eastside Catholic lead to just two points, 51-49, heading into the fourth quarter.
The final quarter had all the drama expected in a Metro League championship game. Richardson opened the quarter with a three-pointer to give Roosevelt the lead, but Nduka answered immediately. The teams exchanged scores in a tense back-and-forth battle, with neither side able to take control of the game.
Midway through the quarter, Dollar connected for another three-pointer and Burke-Brown added a layup to put Roosevelt up four points. Eastside Catholic responded once again as Lugolobi scored on a putback, and Nduka tied the game at 61-61 before Sampson finished with a clutch layup to give the Crusaders the lead at 63-61.
After using back-to-back timeouts to set up their final possessions, Eastside Catholic turned to Nduka to bring home the championship trophy. With just 8.5 seconds remaining, Nduka drove through multiple defenders, was fouled on the finish and converted the free throw to stretch Eastside Catholic’s lead to five. Roosevelt’s final shot attempt went out of bounds, and as the clock expired, Eastside Catholic secured a 66-61 victory to claim back-to-back Metro League championships.
Nduka had a strong performance with 34 points to lead the Crusaders, while Burke-Brown led the Roughriders with 17 points in the hard-fought matchup.
Photos/Aaron Allen
