Lake Washington’s girls basketball team won the upper division of the recent Cactus Jam in Tempe, Arizona. LW defeated Riverside, British Columbia, 61-52, in the final.

Kang junior Sophia Liesse was named the tourney’s most valuable player, and she and sophomore Rosa Smith notched all-tourney team honors.

“The team competed with relentless effort on defense on both makes and misses. On offense, they moved the ball, making the extra pass and looking for open teammates. It was a TEAM win on both sides of the ball, plus tons of fun to watch from our perspective,” said head coach Jeff Wilson.

Class 3A squad LW (6-3 overall, 3-0 league at press time) downed 4A’s Tahoma of Maple Valley, 58-55, in the semifinals. Tahoma was undefeated heading into the game and held an 18-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

“Great fight by the girls!” Wilson said.

LW began the tourney with a 60-44 victory over North Marion, Oregon, during which Liesse had 14 points and Jen Estes went 6-for-6 from the field and tallied 13 points.

Against Tahoma, Liesse had 19 points; Elise Hani had 13 points, 19 rebounds and five blocks; and Smith had 12 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and five steals.

Liesse saved her best performance for last with a career-high 23 points to go along with five rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks against Riverside. Elise Hani had 13 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks and Smith had eight points, seven assists, five rebounds and five steals.