Edmonds-Woodway boys blow out Lincoln to reach first state semi
Published 7:30 pm Thursday, March 6, 2025
TACOMA — To get to the Tacoma Dome, Edmonds-Woodway boys basketball had to weather a storm.
A fourth-quarter collapse against Bellevue in the Regional round last week saw a 12-point lead vanish, but clutch free throws saved their season. Now in the Boys 3A state quarterfinals for the first time since 2008, they were prepared for whatever came next.
Turns out the weather forecast was clear skies. The No. 5 seed Warriors (25-2) jumped to a 12-point halftime lead against No. 6 Lincoln (26-5), and instead of folding, they outscored the Abes 26-6 in the third quarter before settling on a 73-36 win.
For the first time in program history, Edmonds-Woodway is heading to the state semifinals.
“I think our defense was really good,” Warriors coach Tyler Geving said. “Ten (of Lincoln’s 17 points through two quarters) was either off of turnovers or not rebounding, so we were like, ‘Guys, they can’t score if we just don’t turn the ball over, rebound,’ and we did that in the third quarter. We built that lead up, took care of the ball, we rebounded. So I was proud of the kids, the way they played.”
Senior Cam Hiatt had 33 points and 14 rebounds, and junior William Alseth had 15 points and 7 rebounds to lead the way. Lincoln sophomore Trey Collier led with 11 points for the Abes, who had a dismal shooting performance the entire night; they shot 11-of-47 from the field (23.4 percent) and 2-of-16 from 3 (12.5 percent).
For a group of kids playing in the Tacoma Dome for the first time, the Warriors certainly looked at home. Getting accustomed to that stage with a win like this did wonders for their belief going forward.
“I think (it’s) a matter of playing with momentum and playing with confidence, right?” Hiatt said. “This is a big stage, and you’re playing big-name teams, and a lot of these teams that we’re going to face from here on out have been here before, and we just got to roll that confidence through.”
The Warriors started out strong, scoring efficiently while not letting the Abes get easy looks. The offense stalled a little after a couple of ball-handling miscues from Hiatt, but the shots were not falling for Lincoln, which shot just 18.5 percent (5/27) from the field in the first half.
The Warriors started to pick things up offensively again, with DJ Karl (seven points, nine rebounds) hitting a corner 3 with under 40 seconds left in the half, extending the lead to 13. They held the same-sized lead at half (12) as they did in the fourth quarter against Bellevue last round, but this time Edmonds-Woodway would not let the Abes sniff a comeback.
Junior Julian Gray (eight points) got things started in the third quarter, and the Warriors locked down defensively to keep Lincoln without a field goal from 5:30 down to 1:53 left in the quarter. In that time, the Warriors stretched the lead to 21.
Frustration started to get the better of the Abes. With the score 44-21 with 2:38 left in the third, Lincoln freshman Davion Shareef-Dulaney got tied up with Karl, and they both fell to the ground. The foul was called on Karl, and a heated Geving wasted no time gathering his team together ahead of the foul shots.
“Be mentally tough,” Geving told them. “Don’t get into it with them. Keep your head. We don’t need anyone getting kicked out. We got the lead, they’re frustrated, so keep your head mentally.”
They did. Lincoln started handing Edmonds-Woodway free throw attempts via technical fouls, in part by voicing their frustrations from the bench. The Warriors took advantage and kept trucking. Hiatt and Karl converted and-1s on back-to-back possessions before Karl blocked a Lincoln layup attempt as time expired to close out the third quarter, which ended 55-23.
“They got caught up in all the calls the refs were making,” Alseth said. “We just stayed focused on basketball a lot more.”
As special as it was for Edmonds-Woodway’s key rotation to experience playing in the Dome, they built enough of a lead to let their reserve teammates get the same opportunity. After taking a 66-29 lead with 4:18 left, Geving subbed the bench into the game.
“That was super cool,” Alseth said. “Just to see them go out there and play their best, some of them scoring, is really cool.”
The Warriors will face No. 2 seed Mount Spokane in the semifinals on Friday. In a benchmark season for the program, Geving wants what Edmonds-Woodway has accomplished so far this season. Although Hiatt will be playing at Dartmouth College next year, he’s excited for the narrative around Warriors basketball to change.
“I’ll be the first one to tell you: This program is here to stay,” Hiatt said. “I’m just fortunate to be part of this first year, and be able to say that I was a helpful part of the turnaround.”
The Warriors will worry about the future when it comes. For now, they are focused on weathering any more storms while exploring uncharted territory this deep into the postseason.
