By all accounts, on Jan. 27, the girls basketball game at Decatur High School felt like a championship game.

Because in many ways, it was.

Tied atop the NPSL 3A standings, the Decatur Gators (8-1) faced off against the White River Hornets (7-1) in a game that could determine the league champion. White River jumped out to an early lead, forcing Decatur to play catch-up for much of the game.

Despite a late surge from the Hornets, Decatur fell short, losing 57–48.

“It was a championship game, so the goal was to come in with high energy, just try and get a big win,” freshman guard Avaieya Sinclair said. “There’s a lot of pressure on a lot of girls, but we thought we had it, and we fell a little short, but we’ll get past it.”

The Hornets jumped out to an early lead, capitalizing on hot shooting and rebounding to take a commanding 24-12 lead after the first quarter. Hornets’ sophomore guard Kaitlyn Hewlett couldn’t be stopped as she scored eight and went to the charity stripe three times in the first.

Decatur, on the other hand, struggled to find rhythm offensively and turned the ball over and missed open looks.

“We started off slow and then we have to spend extra energy to try to get back into it,” third-year head coach Morris Anderson said. “We’re not very deep. So of course, we get a little bit of tiredness in there.”

The second quarter followed a similar script. With two minutes left in the first half, White River had stretched their lead to 35-16, its largest advantage of the night.

But the Gators refused to fold. Sinclair, who is playing in her first season of high school basketball, provided a spark late in the half. She knocked down a three-pointer and added a couple of baskets to help Decatur close the gap to 36-24 heading into the break.

“I think I played good,” she said. “I was looking for teammates getting some hoop and just looking for my open shots.”

Coming out of halftime, Decatur looked like a different team. After White River scored some quick shots to start the third period, the Gators responded with a run of their own.

Decatur finished the third quarter on an 11-0 run, trimming their deficit to just seven points, 45-38. Sophomore guard Autumn Glover fueled the surge with two timely three-pointers.

“In that third quarter, we were getting stops and going down and scoring, pretty much the nature of the game, right? We work so hard on defense, like go reward yourself on offense,” Anderson said.

The fourth quarter turned into a back-and-forth battle. Each time Decatur made a basket, White River answered. The Hornets’ size proved decisive as they controlled the offensive glass and converted on second-chance opportunities.

Junior guard Maggie Schmitz led White River with 18 points, including eight in the fourth quarter.

After entering the fourth with a seven-point lead, the Hornets kept their pressure on the Gators and won 57-48.

Despite the loss, Anderson pointed to plenty of positives for his team. The Gators outscored White River 24-21 in the second half and held the Hornets to just eight made baskets after halftime.

Decatur also finished 9-for-10 from the free-throw line and placed three players in double figures. Sinclair led all scored with 15 points, while Glover and Leila Mulivai-Tobin added 13 apiece.

Decatur head coach Morris Anderson speaking to his team. Nathan Hyun / The Mirror

“We’re all just really close, I would say. And we trust each other on the court to all play our roles

and just to do our job,” Sinclair said.

That trust has defined Decatur’s season. With only three games left in the regular season, the Gators put themselves in position to compete for their first league championship in school history.

Decatur has made the state tournament just four times, and only twice has reached the Tacoma Dome, most recently in 2000. Last season, the Gators were one game shy.

“I want our girls to have some legacy here at the school. If you look at our banner, we have nothing up there. So, I just try to instill that into them,” Anderson said. “Let’s finish strong, and then we got to start a whole new season right after so we’re going to be ready for that.”