3:23 PM: Just over at the Tacoma Dome – the second state 3A girls-basketball tournament game for West Seattle High School ended in a 55-35 loss to Mt. Spokane HS. They’re now in the bracket that leads to the fourth-place game, so the Wildcats are back here tomorrow, 10:30 am, to play Roosevelt. Photos and details from today’s game later.

ADDED EARLY FRIDAY: There was hope in the early going. We arrived with two minutes to go in the first quarter, and WSHS was up 7-4. Then it became the battle of the threes – five of them in those two minutes. Three were by Mt. Spokame – whose #1 Aspyn Adams sank six of her nine 3 attempts in the game – two by West Seattle, #21 Julianna Horne and #32 Meghan Fiso, who had three on the day.

The first quarter ended in a 13-13 tie. After that, the Wildcats began slipping behind. They were outshot and outrebounded – that last category in particular, with Mt. Spokane totaling 33 and West Seattle 18, was brutal, with few chances to try again after missed shots.

Mt. Spokane expanded the gap bit by bit through the second quarter, up to a 12-point advantage, trimmed a bit just before halftime by a #4 Kelsey Lenzie three.

Score at the half was 30-21. The Wildcats made another dent with a Fiso in the first minute of the second half.

But Mt. Spokane wouldnt let them get close. A Sarver basket at just under three minutes to go in the third made it 34=26.

But then – another Adams three. Seconds later, a Fiso three … but then a Mt. Spokane layup. And so it went. The third period concluded with yet another three by Adams, and the WSHS deficit was double digits, 42-31.

The fourth quarter was grimmer aside from four alternating baskets around the 3-minute mark. The Wildcat scoring woke up too late – none of them hit a double-digit point total in this game – and once it was down to the final few minutes, they were too far back to recover, and some of the reserves came in to get playing time under the bright lights of the big court. Final score 55-35, and back to Tacoma in the morning.

P.S. The WSHS sportsmanship award this game went to Fiso.