by Paul Moseley

The West Seattle girls basketball team proved, again, that they are the best team in the Metro League. The Wildcats beat the Cleveland Eagles 49-48 in front of a roaring crowd tonight to win the Metro League tournament.

The game was a nail-biter from the start, with both teams getting more rebounds than baskets as they struggled to settle in. Cleveland came out fast and applied pressure throughout the game, forcing turnovers and hurrying West Seattle shots.

The Wildcats returned the favor, and commanded the defensive boards and created opportunities to score as they struggled to convert. “We were all struggling on shooting” said head coach Sonya Elliott. When they did score, they spread the ball around, and had 5 players with nets in the first half.

For most of the first half, the Eagles led the game, but West Seattle stayed close.

Metro League MVP Lydia Giomi, who missed the Holy Names game due to illness, did not start tonight as she was still fighting a bug. But Elliott knew she needed Giomi to beat the aggressive and skilled Cleveland team. Asked what direction she gave to Giomi before the game, Elliott said she reminded Giomi that Michael Jordan had his best game when he was sick. "She probably barely knows who Michael Jordan is. But I was the same way. You have to buck it up."

Giomi bucked up, coming into the game and helping the Wildcats stay close as she shut down the lane and scoring 11 points on the night. At half-time, West Seattle was down by two at 24-22.

The third quarter saw the Wildcats find their groove, and they started handling the Cleveland pressure. Lexi Ioane led the charge with 3 buckets in the quarter, and Giomi scored 5 - three on free throws. Still, Cleveland led 36-35 going into the 4th.

The fourth quarter was a blur as both teams ran the college sized court and took chances as each tried to pull away. Once again, the Wildcats looked to Emily Fiso in the clutch, who scored 10 of the teams 14 4th quarter points and led the team down the stretch to a 1 point victory that took the game to the final seconds.

Elliott praised the across-the-board effort her team put in. “We didn’t give up” she said. "We tried to rotate players because the college court is bigger. It’s a disadvantage because we don’t have a deep bench. We have seven, so Lani (Taylor) came in did a great job, Izzy (Turk) came in and did a great job. Charli (Elliott) was all feisty”. And traditional support player Annalisa Ursino had a great night, scoring the first buckets of the first and second half to get them going. “Annalisa came out really hard…I love it when she comes out like that not afraid to shoot.”

And what was Elliott’s message to her team after the game? “We gotta get back to work tomorrow” said Elliott.

Lexi Ioane was the high scorer for West Seattle with 14. Fiso had 12 and Giomi had 11.

For The Eagles, Aqeelah Williams was the game high scorer with 16 and Zakeya Flowers had 10.

The Wildcats begin District Tournament play Tuesday night at Chief Sealth against the winner of the Garfield/Blanchet game.