3A Metro League Storylines
There are multiple storylines surrounding the Metro League as the league playoffs have come to a close. In the past two days we have seen the All-League teams announced, an upset in a District seeding game and Eastside Catholic steam…
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Continue ReadingThere are multiple storylines surrounding the Metro League as the league playoffs have come to a close. In the past two days we have seen the All-League teams announced, an upset in a District seeding game and Eastside Catholic steam roll their way to another victory over the Garfield Lady Bulldogs.
Metro First & Second All-League Teams:
MVP- 2023 5’5 PG Malia Samuels (Eastside Catholic HS)
First Team-
2020 6’4 F Dalayah Daniels (Garfield HS) *Committed to California
2020 5’10 SF Meghan Fiso (Garfield HS) *Committed to Michigan
2021 6’0 SF Molly Moffitt (Seattle Prep)
2022 5’10 SF Zahirah Walton (Eastside Catholic HS)
2020 5’11 G Olivia Wikstrom (Bainbridge HS) *Committed to Northern Colorado
Second Team-
2021 5’10 SF Taliyah Clark (Bishop Blanchet HS)
2021 5’5 SG Shaunice Reed (Franklin HS)
2023 5’9 PG Mjracle Sheppard (Eastside Catholic HS) *Defensive Player of the Year
2021 5’11 SF Tamia Stricklin (Seattle Prep)
2021 6’2 C Katie Thiers (Roosevelt HS)
Thoughts: All-League teams always come with a bit of controversy and this year is no different for the Metro League. Head coaches select the teams and players are typically listed in the order of the amount of votes received (see above). Players and parents put a lot of emphasis into All-League teams, but it is crucial to not get too high or too low based on these honors and awards. Every single year, there are girls that go Division 1 that were not first team every year or in the early years of their career. I have also seen four-time first team All-League players struggle to gain a scholarship offer by senior year. Stay the course and keep working either way!
An upset in a district seeding game!
Franklin and Seattle Prep each lost their semi-final game of the league championship tournament and played each other for third and fourth place as a result. The winner would receive a bye with the number four seed for Districts and the loser would take a number six seed with no bye. In the first matchup, Seattle Prep obliterated Franklin 71-33. It was really no contest from start to finish. Some pretty crazy things can take place in the playoffs and that is exactly what we saw in round two between these teams. Franklin’s junior, Shaunice Reed, had different plans for the playoffs and she led her team to a 46-41 win. Reed went off for 32 points on 5/10 3 point attempts, 9/10 free throws and 4/10 from 2 point field goals. She also had 5 steals on the night to add to her impressive stat line. Franklin will take on the winner of (12) Bainbridge and (5) Juanita. Seattle Prep will host (11) Lakeside.
Eastside Catholic wins Metro League title
Eastside Catholic had not lost a single in-state game heading into Metro playoffs and they really haven’t even had any close games in Washington for that matter. In their first highly anticipated game versus Garfield, the talented Crusaders destroyed the Lady Bulldogs 73-49. California commit and McDonald’s All-American Dalayah Daniels was clearly hampered in that game and played very limited minutes due to an ankle injury. Healthier and more mobile in round two, Daniels made much more of an impact in the Metro title game getting some put backs and providing length around the basket on the defensive end. Despite Daniels being more healthy, Eastside Catholic was still too much for Garfield as they took the victory 56-41. With less than two minutes left in the third quarter, 2020 5’10 SF Meghan Fiso had less than four shot attempts. When the game was slowed down and she got opportunities later on, she was money from the midrange and able to use her size to rise over the top of defenders with ease. Unfortunately for Garfield, Eastside Catholic refused to let the game slow down too much. 2022 5’10 SF Zahirah Walton may only be a sophomore, but her attacking mentality made a big difference in the game, even blocking multiple of Daniel’s shots. She does not really shoot the three ball much, as she plays the short corner and high post a lot, but she has shown the ability to knock down the 15 footer with ease. She is a legitimate Division 1 prospect that could easily have several offers when it comes to on-court ability. 2023 5’9 PG Mjracle Sheppard was recently named Defensive POY and she showed those abilities for Eastside Catholic once again. She has some sweet passes and I love how she throws the ball ahead consistently in transition versus dribbling the air out of the ball as some guards tend to do. 2023 6’0 SF Imbie Jones did her best to battle inside and keep Garfield off the boards. 2023 5’8 G Isabel Sullivan did not get as many opportunities as usual in this one, but she posed a threat from the outside versus Garfield’s zone defense. Lastly, 2023 5’5 PG Malia Samuels had a beautiful behind the back pass on one possession and scored inside and out throughout the game.
Eastside Catholic takes the number one seed in the Sea-King District playoffs and will play the winner of (9) Bellevue and (8) Roosevelt. Garfield is the number three seed for Districts and will play the winner of (6) Seattle Prep and (11) Lakeside.
Full bracket: http://www.wiaadistrict2.com/m2/tourn.php?act=vt&tid=3097#tabs-Bracket