PUYALLUP — Hudson’s Bay took the long road back to its first state tournament berth since 2007.
After losing in the second round, the Eagles girls basketball team won three games in as many days, capped by Saturday’s 62-55 win over North Thurston at Rogers (Puyallup) High School, to nab the fifth and final berth out of the 3A West Central/Southwest bi-district tournament.
When the final horn sounded, the Bay bench — at times the most vocal section of the gym — rushed the floor. While teammates and coaches jumped up and down around them, Aniyah Hampton and Jaydia Martin found each other’s gaze and didn’t exchange any words. They just smiled.
A look worth a thousand words.
“We’re going to the dome,” Martin said. “We didn’t even have to say it.”
Anasticia Mikaele immediately looked for coach Michael Rainville, who embrace her with a hug as the two jumped up and down, an uncharacteristic sight befitting of the moment, Mikaele said.
“Ge always tells us, ‘don’t start celebrating, we haven’t won this game yet!’” Mikaele said. “So to see him celebrating was huge to us.”
Hampton, a freshman, hit a go-ahead baseline floater with just over a minute left to give Bay a 57-55 lead. Mikaele then hit a midrange jumper with 45 seconds left to push the lead to four, then Hampton then hit two free throws with 33.4 left to further seal the win.
Hampton finished with 21 points, Martin had 20 and Kamelai Powell added 12 for the Eagles, who, despite being led by a freshman (Hampton) and a pack of sophomores (Martin, Powell and Mikaele), play with the assured confidence typically assigned to upperclassmen.
“We knew we had it in us from the beginning,” Martin said. “When we lost to Gig Harbor I knew we were going to take that (fifth).”
Hudson’s Bay led by 10 at half, but withstood a 23-point second half by North Thurston’s Brooklyn Harn. Harn hit all five of the Rams’ 3-pointers, and led the charge in the second half as the Eagles fell cold from the field.
Martin and Hampton combined for 23 of Hudson Bay’s 35 first half points. But the two went cold in the third quarter, and North Thurston pounced.
The rams mounted a 7-0 run, then Brooklyn Harn hit a 3 pull within two of Bay at 41-39 less than three minutes to play in the quarter. Harn hit a transition jumper in the final minute to bring the Rams within one.
Bay scored 12 of its 28 points from the foul line in the second half.
Though the Eagles went to state in 2007, led by Jasmine Foreman who went on to play at BYU, Saturday’s state berth feels like a landmark accomplishment for everyone associated with the program, from Rainville, who is in his third year, and athletic director Patrice Woods, who stepped into her post after the last state run.
For Rainville, that makes this run all the more special.
“I’m feeling really emotional,” he said, choking back tears, “because they really played great, stuck it out when we needed to. Made the big shots, made the big plays. That was a good team we had to get over.”
And though the odds were stacked against the Eagles, they say — in unison, when asked — they’re far from surprised.
“We knew we had it in us from the beginning,” Martin said.
Added Hampton: “We were riding high going into the Gig Harbor game. I think it knocked us down in a good way. We need to get to work now, win these next three games.”
HUDSON’S BAY 62, NORTH THURSTON 55
HUDSON’S BAY — Gabriella Garcia 0, Shelby Delong 0, Maria Mendez 3, Jaydia Martin 20, Xena Le 0, Aniyah Hampton 21, Kamelai Powell 12, Anastacia Mikaele 6. Totals 21 (5) 15-20 62.
NORTH THURSTON — Brooklyn Harn 32, Rokki Brown 10, JaclynAnn Reid 0, Jazmin Arnold-McClanahan 1, Sarah Parker 0, Janae Kalama 7, Aurora Goodwin 5. Totals 19 (5) 12-17 55.
Hudson’s Bay 17 18 10 18 — 62
North Thurston 14 11 17 13 — 55
