It was déjà vu all over again for the Federal Way Eagles on Tuesday night. For the second time in 2009, the fourth-ranked Federal Way girls basketball team upset the powerful Lewis and Clark Tigers. This time, it came on the Eagles’ home floor at the South Puget Sound League vs. Greater Spokane League Challenge.
Federal Way (6-2) downed second-ranked Lewis and Clark, 75-72, thanks in large part to the return of junior guard Brittany Barrington. Playing in her first game of the season after rehabbing a knee injury suffered last spring, Barrington sunk a huge 3-pointer with just over a minute left Tuesday night to bury the Tigers of Spokane.
Lewis and Clark came to Federal Way looking to enact a little revenge against the Eagles. Federal Way upset the Tigers in the opening round of the Class 4A State Girls Basketball Tournament last March inside the Tacoma Dome. Lewis and Clark entered the 2009 tournament as the three-time defending champs, and the Eagles were making their first appearance at state in 11 years. But it was young and inexperienced Federal Way that beat the Tigers and went on to finish third.
Tuesday night it was all Lewis and Clark during the third quarter and early in the fourth. The Tigers led by seven points early in the fourth quarter, before the Eagles erupted on a 24-5 run to take a commanding 12-point lead. But Lewis and Clark wasn’t done. The Tigers made a run of their own and tied the game at 70-70 with just over two minutes left to play in the game.
That’s when Barrington converted on her big 3-pointer to give Federal Way a 73-70 lead with 1:20 remaining. The Tigers hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to one with just under 30 seconds left before Eagle junior Talia Walton sunk two free throws with 10.9 seconds remaining to put Federal Way back up by three.
Megan Bush’s long three-point shot missed the mark at the buzzer. Sophomore point guard Darah Huertas-Vining led the Eagles with 15 points and six assists, and TyShana Burgess finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. Walton filled up the stat sheet with 11 points, five rebounds, five steals and four assists, and senior Molly Campbell chipped in 10 points.
Jefferson 45, University (Spokane) 41 (Dec. 30)
The Raiders picked up a huge non-league win over perennial Eastside power University Wednesday night on the second night of the South Puget Sound League vs. Greater Spokane League Challenge at Auburn Riverside High School.
The Raiders got the opportunity to play University because Federal Way did not have another nonleague game available on its schedule with a date in Pasco against No. 8 Chiawana Jan. 2 (after press time). The Jefferson victory gave the SPSL a 4-0 sweep during the two-day tournament.
Jefferson (4-5) outscored University 13-8 during the fourth quarter to erase a one-point deficit. The Raiders were led by the 20 points of senior guard Hannah Kiyohara. Palvi Soni finished with 11 points and Unique Taufa’asau chipped in 10 for TJ.
