3A State Title Favorites + Top Dark Horse

The regional playoff and a preview of what the state tournament brackets can look like are officially live on the WIAA website. In this preview article we will take a look at the favorites in the 3A class as well as the dark horse looking to surprise some people. <h3><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>3A Class Favorites:</strong></span></h3> <a href="https://www.wpanetwork.com/wiaa/brackets/tournament.php?act=view&amp;tournament_id=3467">Bracket Link Here</a> <em>Favorites:</em> Mead High School (#1 Seed) - The Mead Lady Panthers are on a roll this season capturing a GSL and District title with a 22-0 season to date. Mead has a strong core senior group with 2022s [player_tooltip player_id="22332" first="Olivia" last="Moore"], [player_tooltip player_id="27952" first="Alicia" last="Suggs"], [player_tooltip player_id="185649" first="Parker" last="Brown"] (Air Force commit) and Haley Burns. 2024 [player_tooltip player_id="367306" first="Teryn" last="Gardner"] is playing her best basketball right now as well to give this senior led group some strong fire power. Garfield High School (#2 Seed) - The Lady Bulldogs of Garfield High School are the number two seed, but the statewide favorite according to most publications and just in talking to people in the basketball scene. Garfield boasts a crew of young players that have a 17-0 record. 2023 [player_tooltip player_id="115413" first="Malia" last="Samuels"], 2023 [player_tooltip player_id="115418" first="Navaeh" last="Talbert"] and 2024 [player_tooltip player_id="279612" first="Katie" last="Fiso"] give this group a dynamic backcourt trio. 2023 [player_tooltip player_id="115405" first="Imbie" last="Jones"] will need to rebound strong and enforce in the paint as much as possible. 2025 [player_tooltip player_id="391868" first="Jayda" last="Lewis"], 2024 [player_tooltip player_id="281965" first="Naima" last="Joseph"] and 2025 [player_tooltip player_id="391867" first="Sarah" last="Lessig"] are three young prospects that add depth to Garfield’s attack. <em>Dark horse:</em> Lakeside High School (#9 Seed) - The 3A class is is top heavy this year with two clear favorites, but Lakeside is one program that has shown some potential to be able to pull off a upset. 2023 [player_tooltip player_id="267050" first="Claire" last="O’Connor"] is a Division 1 prospect that is showing she is one of the top 2023s in the state without a doubt. 2022 Hannah Dickenson is a strong post presence with great hands. She will be headed to USC for soccer and will have to be at the top of her hoop game to help Lakeside ultimately pull off some upsets.