SEQUIM — The Sequim girls basketball team had all of its players available and showed how fearsome they are capable of being, thoroughly dominating a Clover Park squad with a winning record 65-29 in their District 2/3 tournament opener.
With the win, the No. 1-seed Wolves (19-1) have already qualified for the 2A regionals, which is the first round of the state tournament.
They move on to the District 2/3 semifinals against No. 4-seed Enumclaw (17-4) at 7:45 p.m. Thursday at Highline High School in Burien and should be broadcast on www.NFHS.com.
The game saw the return from a sprained ankle of the Wolves’ leading scorer, Jolene Vaara. She contributed 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting, four steals and two blocked shots in limited minutes.
The Wolves were pretty much in control with a 36-17 halftime score, then opened the second half with a 20-0 run to open up a 56-17 lead. After a Libby Turella 3-pointer, her third of the game, put the score at 59-19, the game went to a running clock in the third quarter.
The Wolves had a whopping 28 steals with five players tallying at least four. Sequim also shot exactly 50 percent (26-for-52) from the floor.
“The girls played very good defense,” said coach Joclin Julmist. “Everyone got a chance to play and it was great getting Jolene back on the floor. She was great on both sides of the ball.”
Hannah Bates led Sequim with 15 points and six steals. Jelissa Julmist had 13 points and four steals, while Turella also finished with 13 points. Sammie Bacon had five steals and Bobbi Mixon hit two 3-pointers, finishing with eight points and four steals.
Sequim 65, Clover Park 29
Seq. 19 17 23 6 — 65
CP 6 11 5 7 — 29
Sequim (65) — Bates 15, Julmist 13, Turella 13, Vaara 10, Mixon 8, Heyting 2, Bloomenrader 2, Herman 1, Bacon 1.
Renton 44, Port Angeles 42
RENTON — The No. 6 seed Port Angeles girls held a nine-point lead entering the fourth quarter before No. 3 Renton rallied late for a 44-42 District 2/3 basketball tournament win at Renton High School on Tuesday.
“Kimarah Crockett scored on a drive inside with five seconds left to give Renton the win,” coach Michael Poindexter said. “After a timeout, we were able to get up a shot from half-court that fell short.”
The loss in the winner-to-state regional round contest sends the Roughriders into the consolation bracket, with Port Angeles now needing two loser-out wins to punch a regional berth.
The Riders (11-10) host league foe North Mason (10-9), 50-40 winners over Orting in a loser-out game Tuesday, tonight at 6 p.m.
A win tonight will send Port Angeles to play the Foster/North Kitsap winner in a winner-to-region game Saturday at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.
In Tuesday night’s game, the Riders built a 24-13 halftime advantage.
“We played consistently on both offense and defense in the first half,” Poindexter said. “We had a tough time scoring inside, particularly when 6-footer Nyachang Louk was near the rim; she had seven blocked shots in the game. On the whole, we attacked well early, scoring steadily and were up by nine going into the fourth quarter.”
The Redhawks got back into the game with some torrid shooting in the second half.
“Renton’s ability to climb back into the game in the third quarter and their 17-6 control of the final quarter came down to shooting percentages,” Poindexter said. “Renton hit six of their seven made 3-point shots in the second half and shot 50 percent overall in the half, as we struggled to close out well at times in our zone defenses.
“We were 2-of-17 from the field in the final quarter, missing a variety of shots both inside and out, and shot 19 percent for the half — a 9-for-10 shooting night from the free-throw line helped keep us close,” Poindexter said.
Lexie Smith contributed in a variety of ways with 11 rebounds, three assists and four steals.
Anna Petty also had four steals and led with five assists and 10 points.
Renton 44, Port Angeles 42
PA 12 12 12 6 — 42
Ren. 4 9 14 17 — 44
Port Angeles (42) — Petty 10. Lindsay Smith 9, Mason 7, Williams 5, clark 4, Felton 3, Rognlien 2, Lexie Smith 2.
Renton (44) — Washington 15, Victo 10, Petek 8, Crockett 7, Louk 4.
Forks 71, Wahkiakum 48
CASTLE ROCK — Kadie Wood stepped up as the Spartans eliminated the Mules, a Class 2B state power, in the District 4 tournament Tuesday.
Forks (17-6) will face Toutle Lake (15-8) for a state regional round berth tonight at 5:30 p.m. at WF West High School in Chehalis. The Spartans also can reach state regionals with a loss tonight and a win Saturday in a loser-out district consolation game.
“We figured our playoff inexperience would go against us, but our girls came out loose, excited and played with a lot of confidence. It’s important to remember to have trust in yourself and believe in your teammates, and they played with a lot of trust last night,” coach David Hurn said.
Wood led the way for Forks with 23 points and eight rebounds.
“You could tell the seniors, especially Katie, were certain that it wasn’t going to be their last game,” Hurn said. “Kyra [Neel] got into foul trouble with three fouls in the first quarter. So we needed somebody to step up and keep the aggressiveness up on offense. Wahkiakum applies a lot of pressure, so we needed to keep control of the ball and Kadie did a good job of that.”
Chloe Gaydeski-St. John added 10 points, including the freshman’s first 3-point make. Keira Johnson contributed 19 points.
“Game plan going in, we knew that we would like to be aggressive attacking the rack and they would help on drives from Keira [Johnson] and Kadie, so we knew that some of our role players would need to step up and be aggressive and knock down outside shots. All four of them hit 3s during the game. [Gaydeski-St. John, Vanessa Ramos, Bailey Johnson and Casadie Wharton].”
Now Forks faces the Ducks.
“Toutle Lake, they are young. They are led by some freshmen sisters, daughters of the coach,” Hurn said. “They will play hard and are perimeter-based, so we should have a similar game plan to Wahkiakum. Get out on their shooters, force bad shots and limit them to one shot per possession or less.”
Forks 71, Wahkiakum 48
Wahk. 11 11 8 18 — 48
Forks 16 15 18 22 — 71
Forks (71) — Wood 23, K. Johnson 18, Gaydeski-St. John 10, Neel 9, B. Johnson 5, Ramos 3, Wharton 3.
Neah Bay 75, Crescent 17
NEAH BAY — The No. 1-ranked Neah Bay girls basketball team qualified for regionals with a 75-17 win over a young Crescent team.
Ryana Moss led the Red Devils with 13 points, while Wiinuk Martin scored 12, Allie Greene 11 and Gracie Chartraw nine. Ten different Red Devils scored.
Crescent was led by Naomii Sprague with six and Ciara Cargo-Acosta with five.
Neah Bay (17-1) has won 17 straight. The Red Devils’ one loss was the first game of the year to Sequim, which is the No. 2-ranked 2A team in the state.
The Red Devils next play at 6 p.m. Friday vs. Orcas Island (11-10) at Mount Vernon Christian High School.
Crescent (10-9) is still alive in the postseason. The No. 9 seed Loggers next play No. 5 seed Lummi (17-4) at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Sound Christian High School (formerly Tacoma Baptist) in Tacoma.
Neah Bay 75, Crescent 17
Cres. 4 2 4 7 — 17
NB 17 31 9 18 — 75
Crescent (17) — Sprague 6, Cargo-Acosta 5, Mason 4, Dunavant 2.
Neah Bay (75) — R. Moss 13, Martin 12, A. Greene 11, Chartraw 9, C. Moss 7, Cumming 6, Halttunen 6, Q. Greene 6, Ramos 3, Swan 2.
Sequim’s Jolene Vaara, left, returned to action Tuesday, giving the Wolves 10 points, two blocks and four steals. (Emily Matthiessen/Olympic Peninsula News Group).
