Mia Augustavo-Fisher gives in to family tug over championship bug with Lakeside of Seattle girls basketball

Coach who led Lions to 3A championship game in March is leaving for head job at Bishop Blanchet and its deep family roots

After guiding Lakeside of Seattle girls basketball into the Class 3A championship game in March, Mia Augustavo-Fisher is leaving to take the head job at Bishop Blanchet. / Photo by Mason Kelley

It took something great for Mia Augustavo-Fisher to leave a WIAA championship contender at Lakeside of Seattle.

And that tug was family.

Nearly two months after leading the Lions to the Class 3A girls basketball championship game, Augustavo-Fisher has left the program to take the head job at Bishop Blanchet, also a member of the 3A Metro League.

So why would see leave a promising team that should be in the championship hunt again in 2026 for a retooling Bears;' program (albeit with 20 wins) that was competing in the league's second tier last season?

If you check out her married name - Augustavo - you'd understand how intertwined it is with Bishop Blanchet athletics.

"My wife, Michelle, graduated and played there. And here father was the previouys coach before his cancer diagnosis," Augustavo-Fisher said.

"It just made sense for our family to go there."

As exciting as last season was at Lakeside, Augustavo-Fisher was also dealing with the loss of her father-in-law, John, who lost his battle with cancer in December. He had been the girls basketball coach at Inglemoor and Bishop Blanchet.

And yet, it took a personal tragedy to also remind her how special a connection she had at Lakeside.

"When John passed away, and I was at Blanchet for his memorial, I looked around and my whole (Lakeside) team was behind me," Augustavo-Fisher said. "Nobody told then to do that. That is how incredible they are. They were there from some of my hardest times."

In her seven seasons at Lakeside, Augustavo-Fisher led the Lions to the Class 3A championships in each of the past four seasons - including a third-place showing in 2024, and losing to Brynn McGaughy and Central Valley in the state championship game in March in the Tacoma Dome.

"They are a big piece of my life," Augustavo-Fisher said. "They helped me become a pretty good coach."

But now, it is on to Bishop Blanchet where her wife, Michelle, starred (2002-04) before going to the University of San Diego, then the University of Washington.

Michelle and longtime assistant Peter Garmoe will be joining her on a Bears' squad that returns its top four scorers, led by forward Brooke Campbell.

"Bringing the crew over," Augustavo-Fisher said.

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