Sequim High’s girls basketball team took two tough non-league losses in the last week, but still showed their quality in defeat with close losses to Edmonds-Woodway and an undefeated Tumwater sqaud.

The Wolves went to Edmonds on Jan. 2 to face the Warriors and kept the game fairly close despite struggling to get into a good flow on offense according to head coach Linsay Rapelje, trailing by just two points at 36-34 going into the fourth quarter.

Unfortunately for Sequim, Edmonds-Woodway started hitting 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, putting the game away down the final stretch for a 58-48 win.

Edmonds-Woodway, a much bigger school that sits atop the highly competitive Wesco 3A league, is a talented, tough team who last year only got knocked out of the 3A state tournament by the eventual winners, the Prairie Falcons.

Scoring for Sequim was a little limited, with Jayla Julmist leading the way with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Kalli Wiker and Hannah Bates added eight points apiece, while Hope Glasser scored seven.

Against Tumwater on Jan. 4, the Wolves kept the game close all the way down to the final minutes of the game to the team ranked No. 3 in the WIAA RPI rankings. The Thunderbirds came away with a 52-45 after they were able to run the clock down with a three-point lead in the last minute, forcing the Wolves to foul and send Tumwater to the free throw line.

Tumwater is undefeated so far this season, dominating each team they’ve faced this season — that is, until the Thunderbirds faced Sequim. The Wolves’ seven-point defeat is the Thunderbirds’ smallest margin of victory this season, with the next-closest being a 15-point win over Hockinson on Dec. 13.

Jessica Dietzman led the Wolves in scoring in the game, adding six rebounds for good measure. Julmist was a point away from another double-double with nine points at 15 rebounds, and Glasser added seven points and eight rebounds.

With a tough stretch of their Olympic League schedule fast approaching, the Wolves will have a chance to take their tough winter break schedule and turn it into lessons to apply going forward.

“I think we learned a lot over the winter break,” Rapelje said. “(I think) we can apply it to league (play).”

Looking ahead

The Wolves had an away game against the North Kitsap Vikings (record) scheduled for Jan. 7; results were not available at press time.

Sequim heads south to face the Olympic Trojans on Jan. 10 before returning home to play in the first game of a girls-boys doubleheader against the Port Angeles Roughriders, with the girls game slated to start at 5:45 p.m.

The Wolves stay at home to host the Kingston Buccaneers at 7 p.m. on Jan. 17, then head out on the road to face the North Mason Bulldogs on Jan. 22.

Olympic League standings

(as of Jan. 6)

Team Lg. Ovr.

Port Angeles 3-0 7-3

Sequim 3-0 7-3

North Kitsap 2-1 5-5

North Mason 2-2 4-5

Olympic 1-2 5-4

Kingston 1-3 3-8

Bremerton 0-4 2-8