DISTRICT BASKETBALL: Rough night for area squads

Published 1:30 am Friday, February 20, 2026

CASTLE ROCK — Delayed by Forks’ snow day off on Tuesday, No. 1 Napavine was spoiling for the Spartans, building an insurmountable lead in the first quarter as Forks fell 73-15 to the Tigers in the Class 2B District 4 girls basketball tournament semifinals at Castle Rock High School on Wednesday.

It was complete dominance from the very start. The Tigers opened the game with six straight points, and a 22-0 run in just 4:43 of game time helped Napavine build a 28-1 lead.

The Tigers went on another 22-0 run in the second, ending the half with 22 straight points across a span of 6:20 to enter the locker room up 54-6.

Takeaways fueled both runs, and Forks finished the first half with 17 turnovers.

Brooklyn Rondeau and Bailey Johnson each scored five to lead Forks.

The Spartans (12-10) faced Raymond-South Bend in a loser-out, winner-to-state district playoff late Thursday.

The winner will face Onalaska/Adna for third/fourth place at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at W.F. West High School in Chehalis, with both teams advancing to the state tournament

Napavine and Toutle Lake will follow for the district title Saturday at 6 p.m.

Steilacoom 44, Sequim 38

STEILACOOM — The Wolves couldn’t maintain a seven-point halftime lead and fell to the Sentinels in a Class 2A West Central District tournament quarterfinal on Wednesday.

Sequim didn’t play Olympic League MVP Gracie Chartraw in the contest, a “coach’s decision,” according to Wolves head coach Joclin Julmist.

Kaiya Robinson stepped up with 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.

Freshman Jordyn Julmist scored seven with 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals.

Hailey Wagner added seven points and nine rebounds for the Wolves

“The girls worked hard,” Julmist said. “I’m proud of their effort.”

Sequim (13-7) will host Orting tonight in a loser-out district playoff at 6 p.m. at Rick Kaps Gymnasium.

Boys Basketball Rainier 58, Forks 44

CASTLE ROCK — The Spartans’ season came to a close with a Class 2B District 4 tournament loser-out defeat to the Mountaineers at Castle Rock High School.

The Mountaineers came out of the gates firing on Forks, building up a 23-6 lead and holding a 17-point lead at halftime.

Forks hung around in the second half but couldn’t cut into the Rainier advantage.

Noah Foster led the Spartans with 17 points. Ty Rowley added 16.

Forks finished with a 13-9 overall mark.

“Unfortunately we took eight minutes too long to get going in the game,” coach Keith Weekes said. “Rainer played an excellent 1st quarter, shooting almost perfectly and making 5-6 three pointers right away. We were able to win the turnover battle and were only slightly out rebounded, but when you give a district opponent, one round away from going to state, such a big head start it will be incredibly difficult to overcome.

Our shooting struggles continued, making only 27%, so that doesn’t help when your opponent shoots 50%. Our guys fought hard until the end. If the first quarter could have been a warmup we won the game in the next 3 which demonstrates that even though we did not perform to our standards the players never gave up.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the effort our senior leader Noah Foster put forward during the post season and his determination to do everything he could for his team, especially after badly rolling his ankle in the first game,” Weekes said. “We didn’t have Radly Bennett for this game either as he badly hurt his knee during practice. We are incredibly proud of what this team did this year, outside of Titus [Rowley] it was a complete reload.

“We didn’t have players we expected, dealt with injuries, but just never stopped stepping up. Coming off an undefeated league championship some think it was a disappointment. This brand new group however was able to come within one game of what last year’s team did. We set a very high bar and standard for ourselves. We couldn’t be more grateful for our outgoing group continuing to push the program and are excited for what we still have coming up.”

MOUNTAINEERS 58, SPARTANS 44

Rainier 23 12 10 13 — 58

Forks 6 12 11 15 — 44

Rainier (58) — Pringle 16, P. Sheaffer 15, D. Sheaffer 8, Linson 8, Martin 5, Hanson 4, Morrison 2

Forks (44) — Foster 17, T. Rowley 16, Barajas 6, Clark 3, Highfield 2.