3 Questions for tonight’s 3A and 4A Semifinals

I love semifinal matchups. Obviously we’re all looking forward to the championship games, but tonight we get to see two huge games in each bracket rather than just one. For 4A, Glacier Peak will take on Woodinville in a rematch of their district finals and Union will take on Central Valley. Union is coming off a close game against Moses Lake while Central valley is riding the momentum of a 17-point win over Issaquah. For 3A, Lake Washington will meet Eastside Catholic in a game featuring two outstanding defensive teams, and Arlington will take on Garfield after the latter pulled off an upset over Bethel last night. Here are some of the questions I have ahead of tonight’s games. <span style="font-size: 14pt;color: #f75617"><strong>Can Glacier Peak maintain defensive pressure for 36 minutes?</strong></span> I was able to watch these teams in their district matchup last month, and it was an incredible game that went to overtime before Woodinville pulled off the victory. They enter this game undefeated with a record of 26 and 0. In the last matchup, the Grizzlies of Glacier Peak took a 7-point lead into halftime before Woodinville stepped up their game to even things out in the second half. Glacier Peak started the game with high energy and high activity on the defensive end of the court. They got out to an early lead that they maintained throughout the half, but the energy did seem to die down in the second half, and that allowed Woodinville to get back into the game with a lot of help from sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="27947" first="Veronica" last="Sheffey"] and junior [player_tooltip player_id="82922" first="Mia" last="Hughes"]. Glacier Peak got great minutes from junior [player_tooltip player_id="144520" first="Aaliyah" last="Collins"] - one of the better defenders I’ve seen this season - and junior [player_tooltip player_id="82932" first="Maya" last="Erling"]. If Glacier Peak is able to maintain their energy on defense, I think they have a shot to take down the undefeated Falcons, but we’ll have to wait and see how things play out. <span style="font-size: 14pt;color: #f75617"><strong>Who controls the pace of the game between Arlington and Garfield?</strong></span> The thing that stood out to me in Arlington’s win over Shorecrest last night was their quick ball movement. Arlington was able to score a lot of points on breakaways, and even in their half-court set, they had the ball zipping around. Of course, when they absolutely had to get a basket, they put the ball into the hands of their junior stud [player_tooltip player_id="82935" first="Hailey" last="Hiatt"], but for the most part, Arlington shared the ball and scoring was wide-spread as their ball movement led to ample touches for the whole squad. Garfield has plenty of athleticism and the ability to run with Arlington, but they do tend to slow things down in their half-court sets. Senior [player_tooltip player_id="20155" first="Meghan" last="Fiso"] carried the team when [player_tooltip player_id="20150" first="Dalayah" last="Daniels"] went out due to foul trouble, and Fiso’s ability to control the game with the ball in her hands contrasts the movement of Arlington. That’s not to say that Garfield doesn’t share the ball. They make a concerted effort to get the ball into their workhorse [player_tooltip player_id="20150" first="Dalayah" last="Daniels"] in the post, and they found timely scoring from [player_tooltip player_id="85932" first="Sahcari" last="Davis"] when her team was down big early. In an earlier matchup this season, Garfield struggled with the speed and activity of Eastside Catholic, and Arlington plays in a similar way when they want to add full-court pressure. I would expect that [player_tooltip player_id="20155" first="Meghan" last="Fiso"]’s experience will trump any effort to fluster her, but if Arlington is able to force turnovers and move the ball quickly, I’d give them the edge in this matchup. <span style="font-size: 14pt;color: #f75617"><strong>Can Eastside Catholic rebound from last night’s poor performance?</strong></span> Maybe I’m being too hard on Eastside Catholic, a team that remains undefeated against Washington competition, but they had a very close game last night against Seattle Prep. The Panthers deserve a lot of credit for pushing the Crusaders to their breaking point. They came in ready to break Eastside’s press, and they had strong performances from juniors [player_tooltip player_id="82936" first="Molly" last="Moffitt"] and [player_tooltip player_id="20229" first="Tamia" last="Stricklin"], but the fact remains that Eastside struggled. Sharp-shooter [player_tooltip player_id="115417" first="Isabel" last="Sullivan"] couldn’t find the range from deep, [player_tooltip player_id="115414" first="Mjracle" last="Sheppard"] battled with foul trouble, and Metro MVP [player_tooltip player_id="115413" first="Malia" last="Samuels"] missed a breakaway layin on top of a tough shooting night. No one shot free throws particularly well. I would not bet against the Crusaders, however. This was their first game of the tournament, and it’s likely that they will settle down today in their matchup with Lake Washington. The Crusaders will come up against a very strong defensive team in Lake Washington, and one that is riding high after taking down #4 seed Mt. Spokane yesterday. I’m very excited to see how this one plays out. The point guard matchup between freshman [player_tooltip player_id="115413" first="Malia" last="Samuels"] and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="27948" first="Rosa" last="Smith"] should produce some great basketball, and both teams have strong post players, so rebounding will be critical.