SEATTLE — Inside the hallowed halls of Garfield High School, and inside a gym that's housed some of Seattle's best, Katie Fiso is cooking for the entire team.
"She has the Seattle sauce. She has the Seattle sauce," said her high school coach, Tre Simmons.
In fact, Katie is cooking for an entire city.
"Sometimes you know if that person's from Seattle just by the way they dribble," Simmons said.
Fiso is a junior at Garfield High and a top 40 player in the country for the class of 2024.
Though the Seattle sauce is evident, on this day, the southern California swagger is even stronger.
"Just that drive to win, it comes from them for sure," Fiso said.
It's a moxie that comes from The Mamba and Mambacita.
"October 2019 we went down to the Mamba Cup in California and I remember the first game, we played Kobe's team," Fiso said. "A lot of emotions coming into the game, playing against Kobe Bryant. The GOAT, the Mamba, everything. I remember all my shots were falling, all my floaters were falling. I was like, Dang I'm really cooking in front of Kobe Bryant."
"It was like a love-hate relationship. We loved each other, but when we got out there, we wanted to win," Mo Hines, Katie's AAU coach, said.
Hines has known Katie since she was in third grade, and coached her for those eighth grade clashes against Kobe and his daughter Gigi.
"I think he saw special, and kind of game recognize game," Hines said.
It was a rivalry that turned into respect.
"It seemed like he wanted to take Katie under his wing and he did. Every time she was in the gym, he went out of his way to talk to her or mentor her," Hines said.
"And I remember one time he said my last name wrong. I had to correct him. I said, 'I'm sorry, I know you're Kobe, but it's Fiso.'"
Kobe wouldn't make that mistake again. Katie pretty much owned his team.
"We beat them every single time except that last game," Katie said.
It was the last game that Kobe would ever coach.
"The whole Mamba facility just stopped," Hines said.
On the morning of January 26, 2020, Kobe and Gigi were on their way to the court, looking for another win after a big one the day before against Katie.
"We were in a game and I just remember whistles were blowing, everybody was crying, screaming. I had the ball and I was like, 'What's happening?' And I just remember someone just screaming, 'Kobe Bryant just died,'" Fiso said.
For Fiso, the grief was overwhelming.
"It was so surreal. I remember just tears falling down my face. It was definitely a hard time for me for sure," she said.
Yet three years later, it's Kobe's legacy that's overwhelming.
Fiso says his memory is motivation.
"I just want to make him proud," she said.
Hines says his imprint is all over her game.
"If you watch her game when she's shooting those pull-ups, her feet are boom, just like his," he said.
Katie is cooking, all thanks to Kobe.
"I know he would tell me, 'Keep working. Job's not finished,'" she said.