Garfield vs Stanwood Preview
Jack Jassy
On Saturday, February 26th, the #2 seeded Garfield Girls Basketball team will take on the #7 seeded Stanwood in a regional game. This regional game is for seeding in the 3A State Tournament; with a win, Garfield will play their next game in the quarterfinals on March 3rd, but with a loss, Garfield will have to play in the first round of the 3A State Tournament on March 2nd.
Coming into this game, Garfield is undefeated with all but two of their games being won by double-digits. Stanwood, on the other hand, is 12-4 and finished 2nd in the District One Girls Basketball Championship. They lost to the #3 seed in the State Tournament, Arlington.
After going undefeated in the regular season, Garfield won the Metro League Championship by beating West Seattle 75-39 and Lakeside 54-47. After that showing, the team went to the District Tournament and beat all of their opponents by more than twenty points. That effort included a 55-33 win over Lakeside, who gave Garfield the most trouble this year in their other two meetings.
Similar to the regular season, Garfield’s star guards, Katie Fiso and Malia Samuels have performed well in the playoffs. Samuels has had two games of over 30 points this postseason and Fiso led the way with 21 points and 4 assists in the team’s Metro League Championship win over Lakeside. Starters Navaeh Talbert and Jayda Lewis have also been impactful this postseason, providing depth in scoring and on defense. But perhaps the biggest increase in production during the District Tournament was from Imbie Jones. Having played on the powerhouse of Eastside Catholic alongside Malia Samuels in 2019-20, Jones has experience playing in meaningful games. In the regular season, Jones averaged 4.3 PPG and had a 39% field goal percentage. In the three District Tournament games, those numbers jumped to 10.7 PPG and 75% shooting, providing Garfield a different, post game dimension of offense to add to their attack.
Although Garfield is surging right now, Stanwood is a formidable opponent. They are led by 6-4 Vivienne Berrett, who has averaged 23.5 PPG and 8 rebounds in the last week of games. Containing Berrett will be a tall task for Garfield forwards, Imbie Jones and Rakiyah Jackson. Stanwood also beat #5 seed Snohomish last week and have competed legitimately with #3 seed Arlington all season long.
The WIAA 3A State Tournament will be exciting for Garfield and they’ll hope to secure a spot in the quarterfinals this Saturday vs Stanwood.
Coming into this game, Garfield is undefeated with all but two of their games being won by double-digits. Stanwood, on the other hand, is 12-4 and finished 2nd in the District One Girls Basketball Championship. They lost to the #3 seed in the State Tournament, Arlington.
After going undefeated in the regular season, Garfield won the Metro League Championship by beating West Seattle 75-39 and Lakeside 54-47. After that showing, the team went to the District Tournament and beat all of their opponents by more than twenty points. That effort included a 55-33 win over Lakeside, who gave Garfield the most trouble this year in their other two meetings.
Similar to the regular season, Garfield’s star guards, Katie Fiso and Malia Samuels have performed well in the playoffs. Samuels has had two games of over 30 points this postseason and Fiso led the way with 21 points and 4 assists in the team’s Metro League Championship win over Lakeside. Starters Navaeh Talbert and Jayda Lewis have also been impactful this postseason, providing depth in scoring and on defense. But perhaps the biggest increase in production during the District Tournament was from Imbie Jones. Having played on the powerhouse of Eastside Catholic alongside Malia Samuels in 2019-20, Jones has experience playing in meaningful games. In the regular season, Jones averaged 4.3 PPG and had a 39% field goal percentage. In the three District Tournament games, those numbers jumped to 10.7 PPG and 75% shooting, providing Garfield a different, post game dimension of offense to add to their attack.
Although Garfield is surging right now, Stanwood is a formidable opponent. They are led by 6-4 Vivienne Berrett, who has averaged 23.5 PPG and 8 rebounds in the last week of games. Containing Berrett will be a tall task for Garfield forwards, Imbie Jones and Rakiyah Jackson. Stanwood also beat #5 seed Snohomish last week and have competed legitimately with #3 seed Arlington all season long.
The WIAA 3A State Tournament will be exciting for Garfield and they’ll hope to secure a spot in the quarterfinals this Saturday vs Stanwood.