TACOMA — Sequim grabbed a late lead but was unable to hang on against South Puget Sound League champion White River in a 57-53 Class 2A West Central District Tournament defeat.
“This game was back-and-forth the whole time with intense defense by both teams,” Wolves head coach Linsay Rapelje said.
“Seniors Hope Glasser and Jessica Dietzman played exceptionally well. Hope had a double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds, three steals, two blocks and two assists. Deitz added three steals, three rebounds, and a block to her team high 14 points.”
Sequim Wolves center Jayla Julmist (right) looks for a pass against the defense of White River Hornets forward Sam Fiedler (32) during the first quarter of the Hornets’ 57-53 win over the Wolves on Feb. 20 in a district playoff loser-out game on Feb. 20 to qualify for the regional round of the 2A State Championships. (Conor Dowley/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
Rapelje said junior Jayla Julmist “was all over the boards” with six points, 19 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a pair of blocks.
“Hannah Wagner, Hannah Bates and Melissa Porter all had great defense and some clutch scoring for us,” Rapelje said. “And our bench was so supportive and loud.”
Sequim’s (17-7) district defeats came against No. 3 seed Fife and the top-seeded Hornets, who ended up in the consolation bracket after they were upset by Olympic League foe North Kitsap in the quarterfinals.
Sequim Wolves forward Hope Glasser drives through traffic to attempt a layup in the third quarter of the Wolves’ 57-53 loss to the White River Hornets on Feb. 20. Glasser scored seven of the Wolves’ first 10 points and 11 overall, but the Wolves came up short in the final few minutes against the Hornets in a district playoff loser-out game on Feb. 20 to qualify for the regional round of the 2A State Championships. (Conor Dowley/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
“It’s tough to lose out this way when both teams deserve to move on, but I’m so proud of these girls and how well they played together,” Rapelje said.
“I’ve seen a lot of growth individually and as a team. “They are outstanding role models on and off the court for young girls like my own daughter who was at the game. I am honored and grateful to coach them.”
White River 57, Sequim 53
Sequim 12 17 13 11— 53
White River 13 18 13 12— 57
Sequim (53) — Dietzman 14, Glasser 11, Porter 9, Julmist 6, Wagner 5, Bates 4, Wiker 2, Raney 2.
White River (57) — Marele 22, Schmidtke 11, Fleaver 10, Lund 7, Robbins 6, Mahler 1.
Neah Bay 71, Muckleshoot 25
TACOMA — The Neah Bay basketball girls moved on to the 1B Tri-District championship game by crushing Muckleshoot with a 48-point second half in a 71-25 win in the district semifinals.
Neah Bay shot 18 for 26 (70.8 percent) in the second half Friday in the game held at Evergreen Lutheran High School. Five Red Devils ended up with nine or more points. Laila Greene led the team with 14 while Ocean Aguirre had 12, Ruth Moss 10 and Cei’J Gagnon nine.
Aguirre had a great all-around game with 15 rebounds, six assists and seven steals. Greene had six assists and four steals.
The game was still competitive at the half with the Red Devils holding a 23-13 lead at the break. Neah Bay blew the game open with a 25-9 third quarter.
Neah Bay (9-0, 16-5), ranked No. 5 in the state among 1B girls’ teams, has already earned a trip to the state 1B tournament in Spokane next week. The Red Devils played Mount Vernon Christian Saturday night after press deadline for the Tri-District championship.
Neah Bay’s next game will be at regionals, but because the Red Devils are ranked among the top eight schools in the state, their regionals game is strictly for seeding purposes. Neah Bay will play in regionals on Friday or Saturday and the girls begin playing at state on March 4.
In other Tri-District play, Clallam Bay lost 58-50 to Mount Vernon Christian in the other semifinal on Thursday.
The Bruins faced Muckleshoot for third or fourth place late Saturday. No. 12 Clallam Bay will play in a state regional contest next weekend.
Neah Bay 71, Muckleshoot 25
MS 9 4 9 3 — 25
NB 12 11 25 23 — 71
Muckleshoot (25) — N. Yellowbear 7, Thompson 5, Sam 4, Reyes 4, Lezard 3, Jansen 2.
Neah Bay (71) — L. Greene 14, Aguirre 12, A. Greene 11, Ruth Moss 10, Gagnon 9, Ray 4, Ryana Moss 4, Horejsi 4, Yallup 3.
Boys Basketball
Renton 57, Port Angeles 55
UNIVERSITY PLACE — The Roughriders’ season came to a heartbreaking end with a loss to the Indians in a winner-to-state-regionals contest Friday night at Curtis High School.
The Riders had some tough luck as starter Damen Ringgold had to leave the game after three minutes with a concussion.
“He had four points and four rebounds after three minutes. They [Renton] had no one to match up with him,” said coach Kasey Ulin.
“Our depth really answered the call. Derek Bowechop had the best game he’s had in high school,” Ulin said. Bowechop came off the bench to score six points filling in for Ringgold.
Anton Kathol led the Riders with 12 points.
“Anton was a load,” Ulin said. “He gave everything he had.”
Port Angeles trailed 29-22 at halftime but rallied to lead 38-37 after three quarters. Ulin said a 14-2 run by the Riders was huge for getting back in the game.
The Roughriders held a seven-point lead, 46-39 with 5:14 to play and were up 55-50 with 1:53 before Renton put together its own game-winning comeback.
Ulin said the Riders made a couple of untimely turnovers and allowed a couple of crucial offensive rebounds by Renton in that fourth quarter.
And for the second straight year, it was a tough end of the season for the Riders, who were hoping for a trip to state.
Ulin said he on Saturday he’s still numb from the game.
“You can’t say enough about these kids. They rallied around each other. We told them after the game on one team ends the season with a win. I’m just so proud of them. They’re outstanding young men,” Ulin said.
Eight seniors played their final game for Port Angeles (17-7) — Gary Johnson, Anton Kathol, Damen Ringgold, Stuart Methner, Derek Bowechop, Brady Nickerson, Nolan Hughes and Lucas Jarnagin.
Renton 57, Port Angeles 55
PA 11 11 16 17 — 55
Renton 16 13 8 20 — 57
Port Angeles (55) — Kathol 12, Maestas 8, Johnson 6, Bowechop 6, Clark 6, Cobb 5, Ringgold 4, Vaara 4, Methner 2, Hughes 2.
Forks 65, Stevenson 59
CASTLE ROCK — The Spartans stayed alive in the Class 1A Southwest District 4 Tournament by holding down the Bulldogs defensively on Thursday night.
“It was a fast-paced game both ways,” Forks coach Rick Gooding said. “They shoot a ton of 3s and we used our speed to defend the 3-point shot and run them off the line when we needed.”
Logan Olson had 21 points to lead the Spartans while post Trey Baysinger added 20.
“Trey did a good job inside and Logan did well from outside,” Gooding said. “If we can get a guard and a big to get points we are tough.”
Gooding said Tony Flores played a big role — distributing the ball to Baysinger and Olson and hitting a big 3 in the fourth quarter to keep Forks in front.
“[Stevenson] never got it real close, but we have to get better at free throws,” Gooding said. “We could have really ended it if we had hit some more of those down the stretch.”
The Spartans held Jonathan Blackledge to seven points, 11 under his average.
“We did a good job of finding him,” Gooding said. “Defensively, we did what we needed to do and buckled down.”
Forks (15-8) played Trico League champion No. 7 King’s Way Christian (18-5) late Saturday for the third and final state regionals berth out of the Southwest District. King’s Way Christian is in the consolation bracket after losing to Seton Catholic, the same team that put Forks in the consolation bracket.
“We don’t have to, we get to,” Gooding said of the opportunity to play a top-rated team. “Same thing I tell my kids, the teams that are left playing basketball are all good teams. We are the last Evergreen League team remaining and we present matchup problems just like they do. So we are in a position to get to play them and kudos to these young men. I’m not sure how many would have had us one win away from an Evergreen League title or a state regional berth at the start of the season.”
Forks 65, Stevenson 59
Stevenson 12 14 11 17— 59
Forks 15 13 17 21— 65
Stevenson (59) — Blackledge 7, Krog, Hall, Miller 21, Haight 8, Wright 17, LaCombe.
Forks (65) — R. Davis 7, Gonzalez 3, Windle, Baysinger 20, Flores 10, Olson 21, Steffen 5.
