One of the early surprises of the girls basketball 3A NPSL season was back on Dec. 12, when Federal Way defeated Decatur, 45-43, for the first time since 2017 — snapping an eleven-game losing streak to the Gators.
Decatur since that defeat in 2017 has a record of 85-67 (.560 win percentage) while Federal Way has gone just 33-109 (.232 win percentage). The loss weighed heavy on the minds of Decatur, and in the rematch on Jan. 24, Decatur exacted revenge, winning 60-38 over the Eagles.
“We had a little more energy (compared to the first game), we were ready to go. We might have underestimated them in the first game. Today they were more focused,” Head Coach Mo Anderson said.
Decatur itself has had a rough season, or at least a season that they were hoping could turn out a bit better. For the league season, Decatur is 7-2 after the Federal Way win. In non-league games, Decatur is 0-8.
The win was the Gators’ third in the past four games, and Anderson hopes this is where his team turns the corner.
“Right now we are supposed to be at our peak as we head into the playoffs. … We are trying to move in the right direction. I told my team to make a statement today that we still want to compete,” Anderson said.
In the first quarter, the Gators came out firing with a game-high 25-point quarter. Senior Jeralynn Sevaaetasi had nine points in the first quarter, which is in stark contrast to her play the past couple of weeks.
“She had a stretch where she wasn’t scoring a lot and energy-wise just wasn’t doing very well… Tonight she was a little more locked in and we needed this,” Anderson said.
She finished with a game-high of 23 in the win, and her mental battle over the middle of the season is paying off with a team leading performance. She faced a huge mental hurdle when her team needed her most, and it looks like she’s cleared that hurdle with four games remaining.
“It was rough. I was going through it,” Sevaaetasi said. “I needed to score and help my team win. It was do or die.”
She talked about how she tried not to pay any mind to it, even focusing on her teammates above herself.
“I would try to keep my teammates up and if they had energy maybe it would come to me. But it felt really good to score tonight, I was glad,” she added.
Decatur junior Iyanna Waltar also got involved early for the Gators. She racked up eight points in the first quarter and finished with 16 points in the win over Federal Way.
Heading into halftime, Decatur led 37-24 and was comfortably in the driver’s seat. The top Federal Way scorer was Sierra Viafale with 10 first-half points.
In the second half, Decatur’s defense shut down the Eagles’ offense, holding them to single digit points in both the third and fourth quarter. Federal Way freshman Jaieunna Kier made two field goals and senior Mariame Bongono made three field goals as the only players to make multiple shots in the second half for Federal Way.
Sevaaetasi went scoreless in the third quarter, but had 12 points in the fourth quarter. She scored 12 of the Gators’ 16 points to put the nail in the Eagles’ coffin. Despite the 22-point win, Decatur left the door open with a handful of open layups not finding their way through the net.
“We are just going to keep moving forward and hope we can make them in the long run,” Anderson said.
Decatur has now won three out of their last five games and sit tied for third in the league with Enumclaw after a loss to Thomas Jefferson High School on Jan. 25. Now there are just three games remaining on the schedule, and Decatur is set for the district tournament.
“I want to see a little bit more discipline defensively. On offense we need to make shots. Our defense is solid,” Anderson said.
The players echo the same thought as the coach.
“We do really good on defense. If we work on offense, moving the ball, we’ll be all right,” Sevaaetasi said.