By Ed Shepherd
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

Foster won when it mattered.

The Bulldogs won their first game against Highline, 19-17, and despite a loss to host, Lindbergh, 22-11, in the second game of a three-team Seamount League 2A playoff elimination format will still go on to the West Central District tournament.

The two games were played on Friday at the Renton Highlands area school and the low scores are because the games were shortened to two eight-minute halves instead of the usual four eight minute quarters of a regular season high school game.

Highline, Lindbergh and Foster tied for third place in the Seamount for 2A teams in the league that includes Kennedy and Hazen, who are 3A squads and don't count. Renton went as the first place team (third in the Seamount) and Evergreen was second. So, after this mini playoff, Linbergh goes as the third seed and Foster the fourth. Highline is, unfortunately, out.

Foster will play at Liberty High School in the East Renton Highlands on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. for its opening round district game.

On this day, the Bulldogs just escaped the clutches of a comeback minded Highline team. The Pirates were outscored, 14-7, in the first half of play, but outdid the Bulldogs on the scoreboard in the second half, 10-5. And the Pirates had the last chance to score with the basketball, having 6.7 seconds left following a second Bulldogs free throw miss with the score, 19-17. The Pirates' Olivia Beckham let fly an off-balance shot as time was winding down to zero on the clock. The ball went toward the basket, but past it, hitting the backboard and bouncing off .

"They did the first part of it," said Bulldogs coach Eric Smith of beating the Pirates in the first game. "But, not exactly how I wanted it, but glad we got in."

Smith wanted to have a different result in the second game against the Eagles. The Pirates were hoping for a Bulldogs win, too, so they could, then, play the Eagles with the winner going to districts as the No. 4 seed.

"We got to hope," said Pirates coach, Darrin Stolz, after his team had lost to the Bulldogs in the first game. "Got to hope."

But nothing went right in that kind of hopeful respect, for the Pirates, who witnessed their season end when the Eagles beat the Bulldogs. That Eagles team, by the way, is a team the Pirates just beat, 59-58, on Wednesday, to have forced this three-way playoff of third place teams in the Seamount. So kudos there to the Pirates.

The Bulldogs, in that second game, just had a hard time scoring against the Eagles pretty much the whole game.

Summing it up, the Bulldogs trailed the entire game and were down, 14-8, early in the second half off an Eagles' three ball hitting the twine perfectly. Then the Bulldog team's young, but talented, freshman point guard, 5-4 Grace Williams, made a bucket inside before the Eagles were just not much threatened after that.

The next two scores went to the Eagles, completely unraveling any Bulldogs hopes of coming back, as that four points by the Eagles upped the foe's lead to 18-10 with 3:00 left in the second half. And, besides Williams making 1-for-3 free throws after having been fouled on a three-point shot, that made it 18-11 it was all Eagles.

But, going to the playoffs for this Bulldogs team is a good thing, almost not expected, and the season is an improvement over last season.

"We didn't make it to the playoffs (districts) last season," said Smith, in his second season coaching the Bulldogs. "We keep improving. We are a very young team. Three starters are freshmen, and one is a sophomore."

Williams handles that ball well despite her youth in high school ball.

"Yeah, she does well," said Smith. "She makes freshman mistakes, but I'm happy with what she does."
The youth is what stays on the mind of Smith.

"My team is really young, this playoffs tonight is a lot of pressure for them," said Smith.

Williams, though young, is a point guard who plays composed for being but a frosh on the court.

"It's been a great experience for my first year," said Williams. "I want to come back stronger for the playoffs."

And she offered some words to her teammates, going into its district game on Feb. 11 at Liberty at 7 p.m.
"Keep head in the game," said Williams. "Defense wins games. We need to push harder, focusing, letting each other know we have each others' back, no matter what."

And, what is Smith, when asked, wanting to tell his young Bulldogs team.

"Have fun," he said.

Smith wants them to enjoy the experience, and realize this kind of postseason experience is just the beginning this season, in districts, for the Bulldogs girls basketball team.

"We've never been in a situation like this," said Smith, adding, "We will be doing it many more times."
In the loss to the Eagles, Williams led her team with five points, and Chasity Spady scored four.

In the win over the Pirates, Spady scored seven, Williams five, and Aolani Medrano, Emolani Morris and Arian Serafica two each.