Girls basketball: Sequim routs foes, stays in hunt for league title

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Olympic League standings

(as of Jan. 21)

Team Lg. Over.

Port Angeles 7-1 13-3

North Kitsap 7-1 10-5

Sequim 7-2 10-4

Kingston 5-5 7-9

Olympic 3-4 5-9

North Mason 1-8 8-9

Bremerton 0-8 1-13

While North Kitsap and Port Angeles remain in a close fight for the Olympic League’s top spot, Sequim’s Wolves aren’t far behind.

Thanks to a pair of wins against struggling league squads and NK’s win over Port Angeles last week, Sequim (7-2 in league, 10-4 overall) is just a half-game back of the league’s top spot entering the season’s final two weeks.

The wins also secured a spot at the West Central District tourney that kicks off Feb. 7.

Juniors Hope Glasser and Jessica Dietzman sparked a 77-42 win at Bremerton on Jan. 18.

Glasser had a team-high 23 points and Dietzman had 17 point, five assist and five steals in the win.

“Bremerton battled us hard on the boards; however, we settled down in the second half and played our game,” Sequim coach Linsay Rapelje said.

Jayla Julmist had another big all-around game with 11 points, 18 rebounds, five blocks and three steals, and Kalli WIker added 11 points.

Rapelje credited Glasser, Melissa Porter and Bobbi Sparks with solid second half defense that saw Sequim hold Bremerton to 18 points in the final two quarters.

Brooklynn Tarbox led the Knights with 21 points.

Slow start turns to rout

The Wolves managed just a three-point lead after a quarter against an over-matched 1A Klahowya squad, but wound up out-scoring the Eagles 41-5 over the next two quarters en route to a 59-18 non-league win on Jan. 16 in Silverdale.

Glasser nearly matched Klahowya’s output with 16 points while Julmist added 12 points and 14 rebounds. Wiker had nine points.

“We got off to a tired start in the first quarter, but pulled it together and played much better in the second half,” Rapelje said.

The Sequim coach credited freshmen Hannah Wagner and Riley Pyeatt with solid defense and passing by sophomore Abby Schroeder.

Gabriella Dickey led Klahowya with nine.

Early eruption pushes SHS past Bulldogs

Sequim wasn’t about to let a struggling North Mason team get traction in Belfair on Jan. 15, jumping out to a 40-16 lead by halftime and cruising to a 68-29 win.

Dietzman had 15 points, Wiker had 11 and Porter chipped in 10 as the Wolves earned a season sweep of the Bulldogs.

“North Mason battled us hard in the first quarter, but we were focused and determined to play our game,” Rapelje said. “This was a total team effort with everyone playing tough defense and scoring.”

Julmist (20 rebounds) and Glasser (11) controlled the glass while Julmist added three steals and three assists. Schroeder tallied seven points.

“I’m proud of the teamwork and selflessness that my players had — they were willing to make the extra pass and have patience for the benefit of the team,” Rapelje said.

Natalie Mathews led North Mason with 10 points.

Looking ahead

Sequim was scheduled to host Lakewood in a non-league game on Jan. 22 — results were not available at press time.

The Wolves are at North Kitsap on Jan. 25 and Olympic (Silverdale) on Jan. 29 before finishing the regular season with a boys-girls varsity doubleheader at home on Jan. 31 against rival Port Angeles.

With their top-four finish in league play, Sequim secured a district tourney berth that begins Feb. 7 at Wilson and Curtis High schools in Tacoma.

The Wolves can earn a first round bye with a top finish in the league standings, but would need upsets of both North Kitsap and Port Angeles in the next nine days.

The top six teams from the 16-team tourney move on to the regional round of the 2A state tournament.