Girls basketball: Wolves make first state tournament since 2023
Published 11:30 am Monday, February 23, 2026
The Wolves have made a run into the opening round of the 2A state girls basketball tournament with consistent defense and a strong core after back-to-back wins in districts.
Sequim, the no. 14 seed, will face Nathan Hale, no. 11 overall, at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28 at Bellevue College. The loser of the game will be out of the tournament, and the winner will move on to the 12-team bracket and face the loser of Prosser and W.F. West at 9 a.m. Wednesday, March 4 in the Yakima SunDome.
Port Angeles also faces a winner to state game against Renton at 6 p.m. Feb. 28 at the University of Puget Sound.
This is Sequim’s first appearance back in the state tournament since 2023 when the team led by Jolene Vaara, Jelissa Julmist and Hannah Bates finished fourth overall, their best ever finish.
Head coach Joclin Julmist said this season’s success has been unexpected but the team has come together and gelled well.
“We’ve got a core five that plays so well,” he said.
“Gracie (Chartraw) is a dynamic scorer and when she’s on we can beat anyone.”
Julmist said his daughter Jordyn Julmist, a freshman, has “come along to become a great sidekick” for Chartraw, this season’s Olympic League MVP.
He said Kaiya Robinson plays good defense and shoots 3-pointers well, and senior post players Nevaeh Owens and Hailey Wagner have provided stability down low while being good teammates.
As for the scouting report on Nathan Hale, Julmist said he’s been told about their D-1 commit Zia-Daye Anderson who signed to play with Boise State who plays similarly to Chartraw and shoots deep 3’s.
He said Jordyn, who typically guards the top players, will defend her, and they’ll send help as needed and see what happens.
District wins
To get to state, the Wolves defeated Bainbridge 46-44 at the Spartan’s home court on Saturday in a district game.
Bainbridge had defeated the Wolves twice before this season and Julmist said the difference makers in this game were Wagner and Owens playing good defense and boxing out their low post players.
Wagner recorded nine rebounds and she and Owens, whom Julmist called the MVP of the game, did a “great job communicating and helping each other.”
“(The team) defended like crazy that game,” he said.
Chartraw had eight steals in the game to go with 22 points and four assists.
Julmist said she did a “great job putting pressure on the defense and getting to the (free throw line making 7-12).”
Chartraw also grabbed the final rebound of the game to seal the win.
Jordyn Julmist recorded a double-double for the Wolves with 16 points and 13 rebounds to go with three steals.
The day prior, Chartraw scored a personal record 43 points, and possibly Sequim girls record, to help the Wolves overtake Orting at home 77-55.
Chartraw even had to sit out the end of the first and part of the second quarters due to picking up three fouls. When she came back midway through the second quarter, she helped the Wolves pull ahead of the Cardinals for good with 14 points in the quarter.
By the fourth quarter and up by 21 points, Chartraw fouled out with 6:25 to go.
Rilynn Whitehead hit a 3-pointer and Robinson two 3-pointers in the final frame.
Chartraw shot 14-21 with four 3-pointers, five rebounds and five steals, which Julmist called her play level “electric.”
Jordyn Julmist filled the state sheet with a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds with five steals and assists.
In the second round of the 2A District 3 tournament, Sequim lost to Steilacoom 44-38 on Feb. 18 in the away game.
Sequim was up 21-14 at halftime, but fell behind in the second half.
Chartraw was unavailable for the game, Julmist said, but Robinson led the Wolves with 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists, while Jordyn Julmist had seven points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Wagner had nine rebounds and six points.
Steilacoom did not make the state tournament after losses to Port Angeles and Kingston.
