TACOMA — Sydney Hani remembers what it was like playing for the first time under the Tacoma Dome’s bright lights, on the state’s biggest stage, as a freshman on the Lake Washington team that advanced to the Class 3A state girls basketball championship game three years ago.
“That was a lot of pressure,” the 6-foot-1 senior forward said. “It was a little scary.”
Back on the big stage Thursday, Hani and the No. 3-seeded Kangaroos, a favorite to return to the title game this weekend, survived a mighty scare from No. 5 Lincoln of Tacoma.
Hani scored 13 of her team-high 19 points in the second half as Lake Washington rallied for a 57-52 quarterfinal victory, sending the Kangaroos to the state semifinals Friday night against Arlington.
“That was super intense,” Hani said. “And it’s only going to get harder and harder the farther we go.”
Trailing by eight points in the third quarter, Hani scored 10 consecutive points for the Kangaroos (25-2) over the final 2:27 of the quarter to get them back in it.
She scored on a fastbreak layup with contact, converting the three-point play at the free-throw line to cut Lincoln’s lead to 44-36.
On the next possession, she added a three-pointer at the top of the key. She hit two free throws on the following possession, and followed with a 15-foot jumper to tie the score at 46-46 entering the fourth quarter.
“The same thing happened in our regional game (against Stanwood). She had an OK first half and they came out in the second half and went ballistic,” Lake Washington coach Jeff Wilson said. “It’s just really trying to get her to believe in her abilities.”
As a junior last year, Hani didn’t play in the state tournament while recovering from a torn ACL. Lake Washington again advanced to the Class 3A title game, and again lost to Garfield in a heartbreaking finish.
Hani is motivated for another shot at the trophy this weekend.
“That second half, I just came out and started shooting a little bit more,” she said. “But I truly feel anyone on our team could have done the same thing. It’s different from game to game who it is.”
Lake Washington senior Jolie Sim, also a freshman on that 2020 team, had several key baskets late to help the avoid the upset. Sim’s free throws with four minutes gave the Kangaroos a 51-49 lead, and she followed with back-to-back backets inside to extend the lead to 55-52.
Freshman Oliviyah Edwards nearly sparked the upset for Lincoln.
A versatile 6-foot-3 forward who is considered one of the nation’s top recruits in the Class of 2026, Edwards finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds.
She hit two of her five three-point attempts, including one with 1:04 remaining to get Lincoln (20-5) within 53-52.
“We were going to try to front her and double her — all that kind of stuff,” Wilson said. “And if she hit some jumpers, we were going to live with that. But she is a heck of a player for being a ninth-grader, and she made us pay a few times.”