by Paul Moseley

The #1 Seed West Seattle girls had their hands full in their Metro League tournament game against Holy Names. Playing short handed without All-Metro point guard Gabby Sarver and Metro MVP Lydia Giomi, the Wildcats put a new combination of starting 5 on the floor. Their preparation paid off and they advance to the Metro League finals as they beat the Holy Names Cougars 53-39.

Holy Names came out aggressively in the first half, and West Seattle could not pull away as the Cougars continued to force turnovers and win the battle on the boards. Holy Names achilles heel in the first half was fouls. They committed 10 by the middle of the 2nd quarter and West Seattle capitalized. Lexi Ioane and Izzy Turk were key at the line, sinking 7-of-9 and 5-of-6 free throws respectively in the half.

West Seattle had foul troubles of their own, and Sr. Forward Emily Fiso was given a rest as she got three fouls quickly. Holy Names took advantage and went into the half down only by 1, 25-24.

Holy Names came out in the third quarter with confidence, opening the half with a three-pointer. The Cougars took the lead at 27-25 and looked to keep the same fast paced, high pressure game going.

West Seattle responded. The first half was the Ioane and Turk show, the second half was the Emily Fiso show. Fiso scored 12 points in the 3rd quarter, including 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. The Wildcats as a team settled down and controlled the ball, pulling away in the 4th quarter and taking home a 14 point victory, winning 53-39.

Coach Sonya Elliott was pleased with the effort tonight with the modified roster. "I assumed we were going to be in this situation and we prepared to play with a different starting five. We knew we had the potential to win if we all played together and we did it. We didn’t give up."

West Seattle will play their next game in the Metro League championship against Cleveland, who won in double-overtime against Lakeside tonight. That championship game is at 5:45 at Seattle Pacific University on Friday.

High Scorers for West Seattle:

Emily Fiso: 19, 15 in the 2nd half including a 3-pointer
Lexi Ioane: 18 pts, 9 of 11 from the free throw line and a 3-pointer
Izzy Turk: 9 pts, 7 of 8 from the free throw line

High Scorers for Holy Names:
Janessa Willie: 14 points including three 3-pointers