TACOMA — The Snohomish High School girls basketball team played a perfect first half against Kennewick. As a result, a highly anticipated Wesco rubber match is now on deck.
Addyson Gallatin scored 18 of her 23 points in the first half, and the Panthers held off a second-half charge as they defeated the Lions 48-40 in the Class 3A state round of 12 Wednesday afternoon at the Tacoma Dome.
Snohomish did whatever it wanted on both sides of the floor during the first half, building a 31-11 halftime lead. Kennewick rallied in the second half and closed within three late in the fourth quarter, but the Panthers hung on.
”I think we knew they were going to double Tyler (Gildersleeve-Stiles) down in the post, just because she’s so strong down there, both her and Catherine (Greene),” Gallatin said about the key to Snohomish’s strong first half. “So I think it was the kick-outs that they got, moving the ball really fast, and getting it into them when we could.”
Now the fun begins. Third-seeded Snohomish (18-6) advanced to face No. 5 seed and Wesco 3A rival Arlington in the quarterfinals at 3:45 p.m. Thursday at the Tacoma Dome. The teams have already played a pair of thrillers, with the Eagles winning on a last-second 3-pointer during the regular season and the Panthers winning on a buzzer beater to win the district championship.
”The energy is going to be huge, it’s going to be big,” Gallatin said about facing Arlington one more time. “They’re going to come out hard and it’s going to be a hard game, pretty physical. We’ll see what happens.”
Gildersleeve-Stiles and Sienna Capelli added strong all-court games for Snohomish. Gildersleeve-Stiles, Snohomish’s leading scorer, instead became a facilitator from the post as she dished out six assists, most of those on kick-out passes to Gallatin, who made five 3s. Gildersleeve-Stiles also contributed six points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots. Meanwhile Capelli, Snohomish’s point guard, finished with nine points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Dylyn Dress had 14 points and eight boards to lead 11th-seeded Kennewick, which finished its season 18-8.
The Panthers — and specifically Gallatin — dominated the first half. Snohomish had a distinct size advantage, and the Panthers also hit their 3s, making life miserable for Kennewick. Gildersleeve-Stiles kicked out to Gallatin for four 3s, and on the defensive end Gildersleeve-Stiles was a monster at the base of Snohomish’s 2-3 zone defense, swatting away four shots as the Panthers took a commanding 31-11 lead into halftime.
Snohomish’s Tyler Gildersleeve-Stiles looks for a teammate to pass to during the 3A girls state basketball game against Kennewick on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024 in Tacoma, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
The game seemed all but over midway through the third quarter when something clicked for the Lions. Ashlyn Dress, who played just two minutes in the first half after picking up two quick fouls, got hot from 3, and Kennewick scored the last 15 points of the quarter as Snohomish saw its lead shrink to 37-30.
Kennewick kept chipping away and Ashlyn Dress’ 3 pulled the Lions within 43-40 with 1 minute, 3 seconds remaining. But the Panthers stiffened on defense, with Kendall Hammer coming up with a key strip, and Snohomish closed it out at the free-throw line.
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