WA high school girls basketball: 3A state tournament bracket breakdown
State hoops have returned to the Tacoma Dome.
One of four basketball tournaments at the Dome this weekend, a Class 3A girls champion will be crowned Saturday from a pool of a dozen remaining hopefuls that include reigning three-time champion Garfield and a quartet of South Sound schools.
Find regional results, upcoming state schedules, and players to watch here:
REGIONAL RESULTS
Regional state play-in games
No. 17 Eastside Catholic 57, No. 16 Evergreen (Vancouver) 37
No. 15 Roosevelt 58, No. 18 Monroe 37
No. 14 Ridgeline 49, No. 19 Peninsula 39
No. 20 Seattle Prep 62, No. 13 Timberline 48
Winner-to-quarterfinals, loser-to-first-round games
No. 1 Mead 68, No. 8 North Thurston 46
No. 2 Lakeside (Seattle) 62, No. 7 Bonney Lake 45
No. 6 Garfield 46, No. 3 Snohomish 40
No. 5 Arlington 48, No. 4 Auburn 45
Winner-to-first-round, loser-out games
No. 9 Lake Washington 67, No. 17 Eastside Catholic 45
No. 10 Lincoln (Tacoma) 55, No. 15 Roosevelt 50
No. 11 Kennewick 63, No. 14 Ridgeline 42
No. 12 Everett 64, No. 20 Seattle Prep 60
TACOMA DOME SCHEDULE
Wednesday’s first round and Thursday’s quarterfinals
No. 11 Kennewick vs. No. 3 Snohomish, 3:45 p.m. Wednesday
Winner vs. No. 5 Arlington, 3:45 p.m. Thursday
No. 10 Lincoln (Tacoma) vs. No. 7 Bonney Lake, 5:30 p.m. Wednesday
Winner vs. No. 1 Mead, 5:30 p.m. Thursday
No. 12 Everett vs. No. 4 Auburn, 7:15 p.m. Wednesday
Winner vs. No. 6 Garfield, 7:15 p.m. Thursday
No. 9 Lake Washington vs. No. 8 North Thurston, 9 p.m. Wednesday
Winner vs. No. 2 Lakeside (Seattle), 9 p.m. Thursday
Friday’s semifinals
7:15 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Saturday’s championship and placing games
4th/6th – 9:30 a.m.
3rd/5th – 1 p.m.
Championship – 9 p.m.
10 PLAYERS TO WATCH
Mia Broom, Lakeside (Seattle)
Katie Fiso, Garfield
Teryn Gardner, Mead
Avery Hansen, Auburn
Samara Morrow, Arlington
Soraya Ogaldez, North Thurston
Jazmyn Shipp, Bonney Lake
Ashley Uusitalo, Lake Washington
Alana Washington, Everett
Ciona Wells, Lincoln (Tacoma)
TEAM PREVIEWS
No. 1 Mead (23-1) – Mead stormed to the 3A semifinals in the Tacoma Dome a year ago, falling to eventual-champion Garfield by single digits. Now, it’s back as the bracket’s top seed, and on Saturday, knocked off undefeated No. 8 North Thurston in the regional round, 68-46. Panthers are on a 16-game win streak and dropped one game all season to reigning 1A champion Nooksack Valley, 47-30, Dec. 28. Powered by senior guard Teryn Gardner (19 PPG, 7 RPG) and sophomore guard Addison Wells-Morrison (13 PPG), who dropped 20 points in Mead’s win over North Thurston. “A great balance of experience and youth,” coach Quantae Anderson said.
No. 2 Lakeside of Seattle (23-4) – The Lions are locked into the state quarterfinals – now three wins from a 3A title – and are led by Columbia commit and senior sharpshooter Mia Broom, who scores from all three levels. Lakeside split a two-game season series with rival and reigning three-time champion Garfield, including a 48-36 win Dec. 13 that avenged the Lions’ quarterfinals loss to the Bulldogs at last year’s Hardwood Classic.
No. 3 Snohomish (17-6) – The Panthers lost senior guard Addy Gallatin to a torn meniscus at an early-season jamboree, but she returned Jan. 5 with a knee brace and won’t receive surgery until after her final tournament at the Tacoma Dome. Snohomish was denied an automatic quarterfinals berth by Garfield in the regional round last weekend, but the Panthers could advance there with a win over No. 11 Kennewick on Wednesday. Junior forward Tyler Gildersleeve-Stiles paces Snohomish with 14 points and nine rebounds per game (55% FG) and has averaged a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double in her last five games. Sophomore point guard Sienna Capelli adds 11 points and seven boards.
No. 4 Auburn (21-2) – The Trojans won just two games last season, but a remarkably quick resurgence crowned the program this year’s district champions for the first time since 1992. It’s been quite the turnaround at Auburn, mixing “young and old” among six seniors and six freshmen alike. Freshman guard Avery Hansen leads the program in three categories: points (12 per game), assists (five), and steals (four). Freshman guard Keleesa Howard tallies a dozen points, four steals, and four assists per night; Emmalee Secrest adds 11 points and five boards. Auburn dropped a home heartbreaker in the regional round to No. 5 Arlington, 48-45 – but gets No. 12 Everett in the Tacoma Dome’s Round of 12 on Wednesday.
No. 5 Arlington (21-3) – A perennial contender, Arlington notched consecutive 3A semifinal appearances in 2022-23 and grabbed third- and fourth-place trophies. But there’s another chance for a title this week, and the Eagles began the tournament with a statement win at Auburn to secure its trip to Thursday’s quarterfinals. Led by senior point guard Samara Morrow, who dropped 24 points in Friday’s win.
No. 6 Garfield (19-3) – Class 3A’s three-time defending state champion returns to the Tacoma Dome in search of a rare four-peat. Garfield hoisted each of the last three trophies, including back-to-back wins over Lake Washington in the 2022-23 championships, and are again through to Thursday’s quarterfinals. Bulldogs ended the regular season on a six-game win streak, including a revenge-win over No. 2 Lakeside (Seattle) on Jan. 20, 60-38. Directed by four-star senior guard Katie Fiso, an Oregon commit that fielded several Division-I offers.
No. 7 Bonney Lake (19-3) – The Panthers capped n undefeated, 12-0 league slate with a 3A PCL trophy. Bonney Lake swept rival No. 10 Lincoln in a two-game regular season series, won contests over PCL rivals by 39 points, on average, and return an experienced core to the Tacoma Dome powered by senior center Jazmyn Shipp (15 PPG, 8 RPG). Senior forward Ava Rice drops 10 points and grabs eight rebounds per game; senior guard Evin Elias adds nine points and four boards. Freshman Azy Jackson proved an instant spark for the Panthers with eight points, nine rebounds, and four assists per game – but the 6-foot-3 forward injured her knee in the district semifinals Feb. 14. Jackson will receive a second opinion on the injury early this week, and coach Kim Peters remains unsure on the freshman’s status.
No. 8 North Thurston (19-1) – The Rams opened their season with a 13-point win over 4A-Olympia, and in the 18 games that followed, no team managed a closer decision with North Thurston, once 19-0. It helps to roster star guard Soraya Ogaldez, a junior, who tortured the 3A SSC with 29 points, four rebounds, five assists, and five steals this year. Grace Lee (jr.) tallies 13 points and six boards per night, and Sadie Tanner adds an 8-5-5-5 line. The Rams drew top-seed Mead (22-1) in the state’s regional round and lost its undefeated status, 68-46, and will meet two-time 3A runner-up Lake Washington at the Tacoma Dome late Wednesday night.
No. 9 Lake Washington (19-3) – Having lost the last pair of 3A championships to Garfield, perhaps a third trip to the Tacoma Dome is the charm. The Kangaroos roster a trio of double-digit scorers, led by sophomore guard and 3A KingCo MVP Ashley Uusitalo (17 PPG) plus back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year Paige Citron (11 PPG). Both Uusitalo and Citron smashed the school’s all-time, single-season three-pointers-made record in 2023-24 and will sit atop that leaderboard following the state tournament – together. Freshman guard Julia Benthin adds 10 points per game. Their efforts preserved an historic stretch through the 3A KingCo: the Kangs sport a current 50-game win streak over league rivals dating back to 2020.
No. 10 Lincoln (Tacoma) (19-7) – The Abes return to the Tacoma Dome – the state tournament hosted, essentially, in their backyard – and guard Ciona Wells is the engine, now a four-time PCL all-league selection and the league’s reigning co-MVP. Wells, a senior, posted 13 points and dished five assists per game, and four-time PCL Defensive Player of the Year DeAndrea Woods-Singleton stuffed stat sheets with 12 points, five rebounds, four steals, and four assists per night. Lincoln grabbed a runner-up finish in the 3A PCL, falling only to undefeated champ Bonney Lake (twice), but the Abes get a third shot at revenge in Wednesday’s Round of 12 with the Panthers at the Tacoma Dome.
No. 11 Kennewick (17-7) – The Lions are surging at the right time: Kennewick has won seven of eight, its only loss to top-seed Mead. Senior guard Haylee Johnson drops a team-high 18 points per game; junior guard Dylyn Dress averages 13 points and a team-high six rebounds. Lions grabbed third place in a competitive 3A/4A Mid-Columbia Conference, behind a pair of 4A programs (Kamiakin and Chiawana).
No. 12 Everett (17-8) – The Seagulls fell in the opening round of last year’s state tournament, but Alana Washington just put Everett back in the Tacoma Dome: the senior forward dropped a game-high 33 points with six treys in Saturday’s loser-out regional, including the program’s first 13 points of the game. Everett is back in the Round of 12 – Lincoln (Tacoma) narrowly beat them there, 45-43, last year – and faces No. 4 Auburn this time, another South Sound local.
TNT Championship Pick
No. 1 Mead 54, No. 6 Garfield 49
This story was originally published February 27, 2024 at 5:00 AM with the headline "WA high school girls basketball: 3A state tournament bracket breakdown."
