TACOMA — The Arlington girls basketball team won fourth in state after defeating West Seattle 41-40 during the 3A state tournament March 7.

“Getting the fourth-place trophy is fantastic,” coach Joe Marsh said. “We talked about it all year long. We had a fantastic season.”

Arlington’s Jayla Russ led with 12 points hitting three for five 3-pointers and teammate Serafina Balderas added 10 points with three for seven 3-pointers.

Arlington was again fighting through adversity in their final game of the tournament.

“At the first half we didn’t play very well, but we kept chipping away,” Marsh said. “This the hardest-working team I’ve ever worked with.

After a contentious first half with six lead changes, Arlington found itself behind at the end of the first two quarters 14-13 and 21-18.

It got even tougher for Arlington when they missed some shots in the third quarter falling behind 25-18, but Russ and Balderas scored a 3-pointer each to put the Eagles back in the game 26-24 going into the final quarter.

After trading goals in the final quarter Russ and Balderas added two three’s to get ahead of West Seattle 38-31.

After Arlington hit another putting the score 41-35, West Seattle snuck in a run to get the score 41-40 with only seconds left. But Arlington kept the ball safe on its last possession just long enough to win it.