Federal Way girls upset 3-time defending champs Lewis & Clark at state

By Casey Olson • March 5, 2009 2:38 am
Federal Way sophomore Talia Walton goes up for a shot during Wednesday's 61-44 win over Lewis & Clark at the Class 4A State Girls Basketball Tournament at the Tacoma Dome. Lewis & Clark won a state-record three state titles in a row from 2006-08. Walton finished with 10 points for the Eagles.
Federal Way sophomore Talia Walton goes up for a shot during Wednesday's 61-44 win over Lewis & Clark at the Class 4A State Girls Basketball Tournament at the Tacoma Dome. Lewis & Clark won a state-record three state titles in a row from 2006-08. Walton finished with 10 points for the Eagles.

The T-shirts being worn by members of the Federal Way High School student section said it all Wednesday night — “We heart haters.” — referring to people doubting the sixth-ranked team could win their Class 4A State Girls Basketball Tournament opener Wednesday night.

The Eagles (22-5) took those words on the T-shirts to heart during their first-round win over the Lewis & Clark Tigers (25-3) inside the Tacoma Dome. Federal Way dominated the defending three-time state champs, 61-48, in their first tournament appearance in 11 years.

The Tigers entered the game against the Eagles on a 13-game winning streak at the Class 4A state tournament, including a state-record three titles in a row (2006-08).

“We knew they were the defending three-time champ, but we knew what kind of competition we played all year long,” senior Jacqie Evenson said. “People didn’t think we could win, but we knew that we could. We believe we can win every game.”

The victory over Lewis & Clark earned Federal Way a quarterfinal matchup with the ninth-ranked Issaquah Eagles (18-6) at 8:30 p.m. Thursday. The winner will play in a state semifinal at 8:30 p.m. Friday against either Kentwood or Pasco.

“Everybody was telling us that we got a bad draw, even teachers at school,” Graham said. “That was getting a little irritating and we didn’t let that bother us.”

The Eagles jumped all over Lewis and Clark and proved to be the better team from the opening tip. Federal Way led 13-3 after a Talia Walton jumper with 1:02 left in the first quarter and cruised to a 31-19 lead at halftime.

The Eagles used a 9-0 run in the second quarter, highlighted by 3-pointers from Evenson and freshman Darah Huertas-Vining.

Things got a little dicey for Federal Way during the third quarter, when Lewis and Clark used a 10-0 run to cut the Eagle lead to two points, 33-31, with 1:52 left in the period. But Federal Way responded with its own 13-4 run to push the lead back to 14 points, 49-35, midway through the fourth quarter.

“We just needed to play defense and block out,” sophomore guard Brittany Barrington said. “Coach told us to just keep our composure. We knew they were going to make a run.”

And defense was the difference for the Eagles Wednesday night. Federal Way forced the usually-surehanded Tigers into 23 turnovers and limited Lewis and Clark to just 25 percent shooting from the field (14 of 56).

Sophomore 6-footer TyShana Burgess led Federal Way with 15 points and eight rebounds. Huertas-Vining added 13 and Walton finished with 10.

“There were a lot of excuses we could have made before this game,” Graham said. “But we didn’t talk about how great they are. But beating the three-time champs, that’s pretty special. This is a huge win for our program.”