The 2008-09 girls basketball season was one to remember, especially for the Federal Way Eagles.
The upstart Eagles rolled into their first Class 4A state tournament in 11 years, starting four sophomores, and went on to beat the defending three-time champion Lewis & Clark Tigers in their opener before advancing into the semifinals. Federal Way eventually lost to the 2009 state-champion Kentwood Conquerors before downing Moses Lake in the consolation bracket to finish in third place.
It was the highest finish for a Federal Way school district team since the Eagles won the 1997 state championship.
Four of those Eagle players — Brittany Barrington, Jacqie Evenson, Talia Walton and TyShana Burgess — earned spots on The Mirror’s 2009 All-City Girls Basketball Team, which also includes a pair of Jefferson players, Stacy Albrecht and Hannah Kiyohara, and Decatur guard Sarah Quantz.
Albrecht and Kiyohara led the Raiders to within one game of qualifying for the Class 4A State Girls Basketball Tournament after finishing fourth in the South Puget Sound League North Division.
Barrington was ultra-solid all season long for Federal Way. The 5-foot-5 sophomore averaged 11.3 points a game and was named second-team, All-State Tournament. Barrington also was second on the Eagles with 8.6 rebounds a game and led Federal Way in steals at 4.8 a game.
Evenson was the heart and soul of the Eagles, according to head coach Danny Graham. The only senior starter, Evenson averaged 11 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals a game. She also shot 76 percent from the free-throw line and 33 percent from behind the 3-point line.
The 6-foot-2 Walton was a force in the middle all year for the Eagles. The sophomore averaged eight points and 11.2 rebonds a game. This is the second year in a row that Walton earned a spot on the All-City Team after a huge freshman season, when she averaged 14 points and 12.5 rebounds and earned first-team, All-SPSL North honors.
Burgess, also a SPSL North first-teamer, was Federal Way’s leading scorer all season long by averaging 14.1 points and 10.7 rebounds. Burgess also shot 58 percent from the field and 77.4 from the free-throw line.
The Jefferson pair of Albrecht and Kiyohara led the Raiders to within one game of qualifying for the Class 4A state tournament. Jefferson lost to South Kitsap in a loser-out West Central District game.
Albrecht, a 6-foot senior headed to Central Washington University, scored in double digits in 18 Raider games and averaged 13 points a game. But rebounding is where Albrecht was the most dominant.
Albrecht led the SPSL North at 12.2 rebounds a game and set the all-time Jefferson career record for rebounds. She finished the 2008-09 season with 292 rebounds, including 114 on the offensive end. Albrecht also led the Raiders in steals with 70.
Kiyohara makes her second-straight appearance on the All-City Team after scoring 12.1 points and four rebounds a game. Kiyohara scored more than 20 points three times, including a 32-point outburst in a win over Kent-Meridian in December and back-to-back 25- and 24-point efforts against Kentwood and Federal Way.
Quantz led the Gators within one game of qualifying for the postseason just a year after Decatur finished 1-19 and 0-16 in the SPSL South. The guard averaged 10.7 points a game and was a second-team, All-SPSL South selection.
2009 All-City Girls Basketball Team
G — Jacqie Evenson, Federal Way
G — Brittany Barrington, Federal Way
G — Hannah Kiyohara, Jefferson
G — Sarah Quantz, Decatur
F — Talia Walton, Federal Way
F — TyShana Burgess, Federal Way
F — Stacy Albrecht, Jefferson
