By Gerardo Bolong

It all came down to one possession in SeaTac on Thurs., Dec. 13.

The clock showed 24.4 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and 1A Seattle Christian held a 45-42 lead, but 2A Highline owned the ball with a chance to tie the game.

In bounding the ball from the side in their own forecourt, the Pirates passed the ball in only to have Warrior guard Olivia Clark intervene by stealing the ball six seconds later.

HHS was forced to foul as Seri Anderson converted the second of two free throws with 5.9 seconds to go and lock up the Warrior 46-42 victory.

SC has a record of 1-2 while HHS stands at 1-6.

"We're struggling," said SC head coach Jasen Baskett. "Most of our players have no real basketball experience and need to develop more of a sense of basketball. It's been really rough...When our three key players play well, we do better."

The Warriors depend heavily upon returning players Emma Baskett, Anderson and Clark.

On this night, the teams toiled through the turmoil of turnovers on the way to a 9-6 Seattle Christian lead after one quarter.

Similar playing patterns emerged in the second quarter. Clark spearheaded the SC defense and converted a basket for a 17-12 margin before stellar Stella Fosberg gunned home a three-pointer for the Pirates to make the score 17-15 at the halftime break.

Leading 23-19 early in the first quarter, Seattle Christian appeared to put the game out of range for Highline.

In quick sequence, Clark sank a free throw and assisted for an Anderson three-pointer. Baskett bombed home an angled three-point goal followed by a Clark lay up to complete 9-0 scoring surge as the Warriors were in full control in a 32-19 largest lead of the game with just less than five minutes into the second half.

In addition to outside shots, SC was penetrating to the basket more often than in the first half.

Suddenly, the Pirates fought back with the help of unforced Seattle Christian errors.

Zanab Aliabdi pounded the inside for two consecutive goal while Fosberg continued her determined play for the next four points to shave the Warrior advantage to 35-30 entering the fourth quarter.

Seattle Christian powered the Warrior lead up to 44-36 midway through the frame, but Highline powered back on the strength of Fosberg and Aliabdi to draw within 44-42 with 57 seconds remaining.

Anderson drove the baseline to draw a foul. Her conversion on the second of two free throws set the stage for concluding drama.

"We're a young team with four freshman," commented Pirate head coach Johnny Bell. "This was one of our better efforts in this game. I'm proud."

Making Pirate fans proud was the dominating effort of Fosberg, who worked all angles of the court for 28 points plus nine rebounds. Aliabdi was a major force on the rebounds with 16 to combine with her eight points and two blocked shots. Shmyra Potts-Roberts contributed four points and eight rebounds as part of the Pirate 48-32 control off the glass.

The Seattle Christian big three scored all the Warrior points as all starters played the entire 32 minutes.

Anderson notched 23 points despite a sub par shooting percentage and added eight rebounds to go with three steals. Clark stormed to 14 points and ball hawked her way to 10 steals and four assists. Freshman Justyce Porter snagged nine rebounds.