By CASEY OLSON, The Mirror
The future looks ultra-bright for the Federal Way High School girls basketball program.
This was supposed to be a year of learning. A year that Danny Graham’s extremely young, but talented, Eagles take their lumps in the rugged South Puget Sound League North Division while gaining much-needed experience.
But the Federal Way Eagles surprised a lot of people this season. While starting three freshmen and a junior, the Eagles finished second behind Kentwood in the SPSL North with an impressive 11-3 league record.
After snaring the third seed at the SPSL Tournament, Federal Way came within one win of qualifying for the school’s first Class 4A state basketball tournament in 10 years. The Eagles were beaten by Graham-Kapowsin in a loser-out, winner-to-state West Central District game.
Three of those underclassmen — Talia Walton, Brittany Barrington and Jacqie Evenson — snared spots on The Mirror’s 2008 All-City Girls Basketball Team.
Freshmen Walton and Barrington lived up to all the hype they generated even before arriving at Federal Way High School. The two ninth-graders were the Eagles’ two leading scorers.
The 6-foot-1 Walton, who was a first-team, All-SPSL North selection, averaged 14 points and 12.5 rebounds during the regular season and led Federal Way in shooting percentage at 44.4 percent. But Walton suffered a season-ending kneecap injury at the district tournament and was unable to play against Graham-Kapowsin in the winner-to-state game.
Barrington did everything on the court for Federal Way. The 5-foot-5 guard averaged 13.3 points, 7.15 rebounds and two steals a game. The second-team All-SPSL North selection also was the Eagles’ most prolific 3-point shooter, leading the team with 22 made.
Evenson, also a second-team All-SPSL pick, is the definition of an all-around basketball player. The 5-10 guard brought the ball up the court most of the time and led Federal Way in assists with over four a game. Evenson also averaged 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds a game.
Joining the Federal Way threesome on The Mirror’s All-City Girls Basketball team are Jefferson’s Sofia Malamura, Hannah Kiyohara and Jillian Rasmussen, and Beamer’s Kaylah Scott.
Malamura is making her second-straight appearance on the All-City team. The 5-11 forward led the Raiders in rebounding at 10.6 a game. Malamura also averaged 10.5 points for a team that rolled to a win at the West Central District Tournament after finishing fourth in the SPSL North.
Kiyohara was the motor that made the Raiders go during their 16-10 season. The sophomore point guard led Jefferson in scoring at 11.1 points a game and was the key to the Raiders’ late-season run that saw them win six out of seven games before losing two straight at districts. Kiyohara scored in double figures in 11 of TJ’s last 13 games, including a career-high 23 against Rogers at the SPSL Tournament. Kiyohara also shot 40 percent from behind the 3-point line (33-of-83) and averaged four rebounds a game.
Rasmussen played point guard for the Raiders and the senior averaged seven points and 3.5 rebounds a game. She also led TJ with over four assists a game.
Scott was a steady player all year for the Titans, averaging 11 points and five rebounds. Scott also shot over 44 percent from the field to lead Beamer to a 5-15 record. She was a second-team, All-SPSL South selection.
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2008 All-City Girls Basketball:
Talia Walton, Federal Way
Jacqie Evenson, Federal Way
Sofia Malamura, Jefferson
Brittany Barrington, Federal Way
Hannah Kiyohara, Jefferson
Kaylah Scott, Beamer
Jillian Rasmussen, Jefferson
