TACOMA — When the lights are at their brightest, Ava Schmidt is at her best.
One day after her buzzer-beating three-pointer in overtime against Bellarmine Prep sealed Eastlake’s spot in the Class 4A girls state semifinals, the Wolves’ star senior came up big yet again, scoring 29 points to lead the Wolves to a 64-53 victory against Kamiakin (22-5) on Friday night.
With the win, Eastlake (22-6) is headed back to the Class 4A state finals for the first time since winning it all in 2019.
“Last night was emotional, so to be able to come back levelheaded and grounded, to execute a great offensive game, a great defensive game, and keep them off the line, that was one of our keys,” Eastlake coach Sara Goldie said. “So I just think the girls did a really good job.”
Schmidt got her big day started early. She scored the first six points of the game for the Wolves and had 16 first-half points to push her team to a 34-21 lead, as she and fellow senior Natalia Sefair-Lopez combined for six first-half three-pointers.
Schmidt added 13 more points to her total in the second half as Eastlake cruised to a comfortable victory over the seventh-seeded Braves.
Sofia Alaus finished with 14 points for the Wolves, with a team-high nine rebounds and six assists, while Sefair-Lopez had 12 total points on four three-pointers.
The Wolves finished 8 for 11 from beyond the arc.
“Our team gets offensive energy from our defense,” Schmidt said. “So all the steals from our guards, that was super awesome to get. Then we got it up the court and moved the ball around, beating their zone and my teammates making really good passes; that’s how it happened.”
Nikole Thomas had a team-high 14 points for Kamiakin, and the Braves also finished the night with eight three-pointers. Liv Whitemarsh and Nicole Wertenberger had 10 points apiece.
“They’ve got so many weapons, and they execute really well,” Goldie said. “They play great defense and they’re really long. So all of those things together, you think, like, what kind of game plan can you come up with? But we basically had to put in a whole new offense.”
However new it was, the offense worked. The Wolves shot 56.8% from the floor, and Kamiakin shot 36%.
The Wolves will play either Tahoma or Camas at 7 p.m. on Saturday for the Class 4A championship.
Kamiakin will play at 1 p.m. in the third-place game.
While this will be the current crop of Wolves’ first trip to the title game, they are no stranger to the bright lights of the state tournament. Eastlake lost to Woodinville in last year’s state semis, and Goldie, who coached the team to its last state title, has been to the Tacoma Dome many times.
To her players, that experience is crucial on the big stage.
“Coach Goldie knows what she’s doing,” Schmidt said. “She gives us the confidence that we need, and that really helps. We all feel like this is where we belong. We’re here for a reason, and make it work.”
Schmidt was an eighth-grader the last time Eastlake won the state title. Now, the hot-shooting senior is eager to make her own stamp on school history.
“It means so much,” Schmidt said. “I mean, we came here with a plan and that’s really how I hope it’s going to happen. I’m excited.”