The Federal Way Eagles just didn’t have enough in the end.

The Lewis & Clark Tigers used a furious fourth-quarter comeback to down the Eagles in the Class 4A State Girls Basketball Championship Saturday night inside the Tacoma Dome, 62-49. The state title was the fourth in the last six years by the Tigers, who hail from Spokane.

Federal Way (26-3) held a seven-point lead late in the third quarter, 40-33. But the Tigers (20-6) used a 10-0 run during the final period to grab the lead for good from the Eagles.

Lewis & Clark, which won three-straight state titles from 2006-08, never looked back after that.

Junior point guard Devyn Galland, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player, made sure of that. Galland finished with 10 of her game-high 24 points during the fourth quarter.

“I’m really proud of our girls,” said Federal Way coach Danny Graham. “They did so awesome. They fought until the end. I can’t say enough about our team. I love them.”

Federal Way was led by the 13 points and 13 rebounds from 6-foot-2 Talia Walton and 10 points from junior Darah Huertas-Vining.

After the Tigers jumped out to a 16-15 lead after the first quarter, the Eagles turned up the defensive pressure, holding Lewis & Clark to just four points in the second period to snag a 26-20 lead at halftime. Federal Way did a lot of its damage in the first half on the offensive boards. The Eagles outrebounded Lewis & Clark, 30-19, during the first two quarters and 15-4 on the offensive glass.

Things turned around during the second half for the Tigers. Lewis & Clark actually outrebounded Federal Way, 20-13, in the third and fourth quarters, limiting the second chances that the Eagles got during the first half.

The third quarter started with the Tigers scoring the first five points to take a 27-26 lead. But the Eagles fought back with a 14-5 run of their own, highlighted by 3-pointers from Brittany Barrington and Walton, to take a 40-33 lead with 27 seconds left in the period.

But the momentum was short-lived. Galland hit a pair of free throws after being fouled in the backcourt with 0.7 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

The points were the start of a 29-9 run by Lewis & Clark to end the Class 4A title game. The run included 15 points scored from the free-throw line. Federal Way’s last hope came when Walton hit a 3-pointer with 1:02 left in the game to cut the Tiger lead to seven, 56-49. But Galland made six-straight free throws down the streatch to ice the game.

The Eagles finished just 14 of 60 (23 percent) from the field, while Lewis & Clark shot 40 percent. The Tigers finished 23-for-31 from the free-throw line to offset a 1-for-8 night from behind the 3-point line. Federal Way made just 14 free throws.

The Eagles also ended up in second place back in 1990, when they lost to another Spokane school, Mead, in the championship game. The program’s only state title came in 1997. Federal Way beat Spokane’s Central Valley for the title, 58-45.

The championship was the last prep game for Walton, who is headed to the University of Washington in the fall on a full-ride basketball scholarship, and Barrington. The twosome were both named to the 4A All-Tournament Team after the championship. Walton finished the state tournament with 34 points in three games and Barrington finished with 40 points.

Also graduating will be Jaleecia Roland, Chantel Dixon and Alex Huertas-Vining. Dixon, who was a three-year starter for Federal Way, tore knee ligaments before the season and was relegated to the role of a cheerleader/assistant coach for the entire year.

“I can’t tell you what those girls have meant to this program,” Graham said. “You can’t be good unless you’ve got good players. I’m really proud of these girls.”

Graham, however, will bring back another impressive team next year, led by Huertas-Vining. Also back will be fellow starters Raven Benton, Dyesha Belhumeur and Tanji Ajeto.

Federal Way 48, Chiawana 45 (Friday)

The Eagles earned the berth into the Class 4A state championship game with a hard-fought win over the Chiawana Riverhawks Friday night in a semifinal game inside the Tacoma Dome.

The veteran Eagles needed all their experience Friday against Chiawana, a 2-year-old school from Pasco. Federal Way trailed 29-20 entering the fourth quarter, before responding by outscoring the Riverhawks, 28-16, during the final eight minutes.

The Eagles needed the big fourth because Chiawana held Federal Way without a point during the entire eight minutes of the third quarter. The Riverhawks outscored the Eagles, 8-0, during the period to extend a one-point halftime lead. Federal Way was 0-for-10 from the field during the third quarter and finished the game with just 11 field goals.

Federal Way was led by seniors Brittany Barrington and Talia Walton during the fourth-quarter comeback. Walton finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and two steals. Barrington ended up with a team-high 17 points and six rebounds, including 11 in the final quarter. Barrington also led the Eagles with 17 points in their quarterfinal comeback win over Mount Rainier Thursday.

Hayley Hodgins made three free throws for the Riverhawks to get them back within four with eight seconds left, part of her game-high 18 points. But Hodgins, who was voted to the all-tournament team, finished just 2-for-10 from the field. Most of her damage came at the free-throw line, where she made 11 of 14. She also had 10 rebounds.

The win by Federal Way offered a little revenge from a season ago. Chiawana upset the Eagles in the opening round of the 2010 state tournament in its first-ever trip to Tacoma.