Things were quickly slipping away from Skyline Friday night.
Shots weren’t falling, and when they did, rival Eastlake answered.
Trailing 41-31 with 50 seconds left in the third quarter — their second largest deficit of the game — the Spartans appeared ready to fold.
Then, something clicked.
“Our defense was picking it up, and up, and up …, sophomore guard Morgan Farrar said.
Sparked by swarming defensive pressure and a Kassia Fortier jumper, Skyline rattled off an 18-6 run to close the game, stealing a 49-47 victory on Eastlake’s home floor.
“They’ve been our rivals for a long time and finally we got them back,” Farrar said.
Farrar, who missed seven straight shots, broke her skid of cold shooting with 18 seconds left. Taking a give-and-go from Haley Smith, Farrar laid the ball up and in for the Spartans’ first lead since the final minute of the first quarter.
Eastlake, which turned the ball over eight times in the fourth, gave the ball up twice in the final seconds.
The Spartans jumped out a fast start, taking a 12-4 lead in the first quarter. The Wolves answered, however, going on an 8-0 run in the final 3 minutes of the first. Katy Ainslie capped off the quarter with a 10-foot jump shot, tying the game 12-12.
Eastlake nabbed the lead, 15-12, on a Kendra Morrison three-pointer at the 6:45 mark of the third and held on until the final seconds of the game. The Wolves led 29-20 at halftime, and 41-33 at the end of the third.
Eastlake, which dropped to 5-7 in league and 9-7 overall, was led by Alyssa Charlston’s 15 points, and Morrison’s 13.
Skyline was led by the 12 points of Fortier. She had seven of those in the third quarter. Farrar scored nine for the Spartans, who improved to 6-6 in league and 9-7 overall.
“We needed to win that in order to push us into the playoffs and into a good spot,” Farrar said.
Skyline is currently tied with Lake Washington for fifth and sixth place. Eastlake is tied with Roosevelt and Inglemoor for seventh and eighth place. Only the top eight teams from KingCo advance to the playoffs.
Issaquah drops second straight
After winning 10 straight league games, Issaquah has hit a speed bump. The Eagles lost their second straight league contest Friday night, falling 59-53 at Garfield.
The Bulldogs, who led 46-34 after three quarters, managed to hold off a late Issaquah rally.
Mackenzie Schiltz scored a team-high 17 for the Eagles, while Maddey Pflaumer had 14.
Garfield’s Alyse Harris led all scorers with 20 points.
Issaquah fell to 10-2 in league and 13-3 overall. Garfield improved to 9-3 and 10-6.
Crusaders break losing skid
Eastside Catholic ended a five-game losing streak Friday night beating Ingraham, 60-56.
The Crusaders trailed after the first quarter, but clamped down in the final three. Michaela O’Rourke and Carly Webster scored 16 apiece for EC, and Sarah Hill contributed 10.
Rose Harbor had a game-high 22 for the Rams.
Eastside Catholic improved to 4-8 in league and 7-9 overall with the win.
