No stopping this Avalanche — although the Northside Swarm Gold team nearly found a way.

Jada Cargo-Acosta sank two free throws with 10 seconds left to lift Olympic Avalanche Black, a select group of girls basketball youths from the North Olympic Peninsula, to a 41-40 victory at the 25th-annual Tulip Tournament in Mount Vernon in late March.

It was the 17th championship overall for the Olympic squad and coach Joe Marvelle said it wasn’t easy. Millie Long, Hannah Reetz and Myra Gale Walker each fouled out in the final, and Jayla Julmist of Sequim filled in for Camille Stensgard, who missed the tourney with a broken finger.

“The girls showed tremendous heart and resiliency in the face of adversity in the championship game,” Marvelle said. “Northside Swarm Gold (a club squad from Mill Creek) was a very tough and talented team.”

Olympic opened with a 60-21 win over a club team from British Columbia. Long had 18 points and 14 steals, Reetz had 10 points and eight steals, and M.J. Cooke had a big all-around game with 13 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and seven steals.

In game two, Olympic routed HD Seattle 69-34, getting 22 points from Cooke, 15 from Long and 10 from Julmist.

In the tourney semifinal, Olympic edged the Lynden Lazers from Whatcom County, 32-23. Jaida Wood led the team with 11 points while Cooke added seven.

In the championship game, Long led Olympic with 11 points and Reetz chipped in eight points and four steals.

“(The) girls were very emotional after a truly grueling game,” Marvelle said.