A close victory on the road at North Mason last week helped Sequim go into the winter break with an unblemished 4-0 mark in the Olympic League and 6-1 record overall.

And it came thanks to a deep bench that helped the Wolves overcome a pair of injuries to starters as they beat the Bulldogs, 48-37.

Leading scorer Jelissa Julmist left with an eye injury in the first quarter and didn’t return.

“She took an elbow to the face splitting her eye open,” Sequim coach Joclin Julmist said. “She didn’t return for the rest of the game.”

Freshman Bobbi Mixon also twisted her ankle and had to be helped off the court at the end of the third quarter.

Sequim had to regroup at halftime, up just 16-14.

“We didn’t shoot the ball very well in the first half but heated up a little in the third quarter making four three-pointers,” Julmist said.

Jolene Vaara played a good game, taking over in the fourth quarter, Joclin Julmist said, while Sammie Bacon also gave the Wolves a spark off the bench by grabbing some big rebounds and playing solid defense.

“We are lucky we don’t have a game for a few weeks as it gives us a chance to get healthy,” Joclin Julmist said.

Sequim is off through Jan. 4, when the Wolves host Kingston’s Buccaneers. The Wolves are at Olympic on Jan. 8 and host rival Port Angeles on Jan. 11.

Sequim routs NK

Sequim harassed North Kitsap into 33 turnovers and claimed an early-season tussle for the top of the Olympic League girls basketball standings with a 65-36 win over the Vikings on Dec. 14.

The Wolves led nearly the entirety of the game, forcing North Kitsap into more turnovers (19) than points (10) after the first half and pulling away late in the third and fourth quarters.

“Our man-to-man defense was a lot better,” Joclin Julmist said. “The girls focused on their assignments and helped each other.”

He called it “a good team win” with multiple Wolves stepping up and shining.

Jelissa Julmist opened things up inside for the Wolves, scoring all 10 of the team’s points in the first quarter and 14 of her game-high 26 points by halftime. She added 11 rebounds for a double-double and nabbed four steals.

Vaara was instrumental in the win, seemingly all over the perimeter and the paint on both offense and defense, and posting the best all-around stat line of the night with 11 points, seven rebounds, six steals, five assists and three blocked shots.

“I think Jolene had the best game of all, she shut down their best player (Sophia Baugh) and she was all over the place. She finished and attacked also,” Julmist said.

Lauryn Stephens came off the bench and canned a big 3-point basket just before halftime to push Sequim’s lead to 13 at the break. The smooth-shooting Stephens added three triples in the fourth quarter for 12 points on the night on four-of-five on 3-point shooting.

“Lauryn was on fire tonight,” Julmist said.

A Vaara steal and feed to Addie Smith for an easy layup opened the third quarter.

Mixon draped herself defensively on North Kitsap senior Ayanna Selembo all game long, holding her to three points.

Mixon also connected on consecutive three-pointers in the third quarter and scored all 10 of her points in the frame as Sequim withstood a mini North Kitsap run that trimmed the Wolves’ lead back to 13, 37-24 with 3:28 left in the third period.

“Bobbi had her best game of the season playing the lanes,” Julmist said. Mixon had four steals to go along with her 10 points.

“She’s capable of that, but she’s been reacting to what has been happening rather than anticipating and tonight she played more naturally,” Julmist said.

Sequim closed the quarter on a 10-0 run to go up 47-28 before Joclin Julmist was assessed two technical fouls with 11.5 seconds left in the third.

Julmist said he asked the officials to call the game both ways after what he thought was some overly aggressive contact in the post that went without a whistle and was given his first technical with the second following in quick succession.

Comeback vs. CK comes up short

Sequim fought back from a 15-point halftime deficit against 3A Central Kitsap but couldn’t overcome some early defensive lapses and turnovers in a non-league girls basketball loss to the Cougars on Dec. 13.

“We came out flat tonight, didn’t play good defense and turned the ball over because we were rushing to make passes,” Joclin Julmist said.

“We also didn’t shoot the ball particularly well. We missed a bunch of easy layups and couldn’t make anything from the outside. We fought hard to get back into the game, (but) we must be better in all areas.”

The Wolves collectively shot just 14-for-53 (26.4 percent) from the field, sinking just four of 18 of their 3-point tries.

Jelissa Julmist led Sequim with 11 points and added five rebounds and four steals. Julmist had a tough night from the field, shooting two-for-10, but did knock down seven of eight free-throw attempts.

Vaara posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds plus three steals and three assists.

Hannah Bates added eight points, six steals and four rebounds while Malorey Morey had six points and three boards.

Stephens also added six points for Sequim.

“We had a few swing players come up and give us some valuable minutes,” Julmist said.