Girls basketball: Wolves fall short of Yakima

A season that started in storybook fashion came to a disappointing conclusion as No. 13 Sequim dropped a loser-out Class 2A State Regional Round contest with No. 12 Lynden 50-26 on Feb. 25 at Mount Vernon High School.

The Wolves couldn’t keep up with the Lions, technically the defending state champions from 2020, but who return just one player from that title-winning squad.

That player, Ada Newcomb, did lead all scorers with 16 points and drained two 3-point baskets late in the first quarter as Lynden’s lead grew from 7-3 to 16-3 after one period.

Sequim was able to get a little more offensive in the second quarter with Taryn Johnson coming off the bench to score five of the Wolves’ 10 points, but Sequim trailed 24-13 at halftime and could come no closer the remainder of the contest.

Jolene Vaara scored 10 points to lead the Wolves and Michaela Green knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to add six to the Sequim tally.

The Wolves went 19-5 overall on the season, snapped a seven-season losing skid against rival Port Angeles and shared the Olympic League title with the Riders.

Injuries plagued Sequim all season, with promising freshman guard Bobbie Mixon lost in early January and junior post Jelissa Julmist going down with a torn ACL in late January.

Julmist really was the center of activity for Sequim’s offense. In 16 games with her in the starting lineup the Wolves averaged 59.9 points per game. After her injury, Sequim still managed a 5-3 record, including two loser-out district games, but the Wolves were a different squad, putting up just 39 points per game.

Sequim loses seniors Hannah Wagner and Addie Smith to graduation, but should return the bulk of its core: Vaara, Julmist and Hannah Bates along with a number of contributors including Johnson, Green, Mixon and Lauryn Stephens.

Port Angeles teams fall, play on

In a double-header at Mount Vernon, Port Angeles’ boys built a sizable lead over No. 2-seeded Lynden, but in the fourth quarter the Lions roared back and came away with a 58-48 win over the Roughriders.

One silver lining came out of the loss: it wasn’t an elimination game. The No. 7-seeded Riders (18-6) will face a very familiar foe in their game at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 2, in Yakima — Franklin Pierce. The Roughriders played Franklin Pierce in the District 2/3 tournament, winning 68-51.

If the Riders lose that game, their season is over. If they win, they get to play two more games — including another match-0up with Olympic League champ and top-seeded North Kitsap — and enter the quarterfinals where they will finish somewhere in the final eight.

Against Lynden, Port Angeles controlled the first 16 minutes, with Xander Maestas zooming around causing chaos offensively and defensively with 11 first-half points and Wyatt Dunning connecting from inside and out for 14 halftime points for a 31-22 advantage. The Riders held as much as a 12-point lead, 39-27 with a little more than four minutes to play in the third quarter, but the Lions — a perennial state participant under the leadership of former Sequim High boys head coach Brian Roper — chipped away at the lead, and surged ahead with a big fourth quarter.

Port Angeles’ girls (17-7), seeded sixth overall, fell 58-47 to Hudson’s Bay on Feb. 26 and will face No. 11-seed Prosser on March 2. A win puts the Riders into the quarterfinals against No. 10 seed Archbishop Thomas Murphy (13-6) in the quarterfinals on March 3; a loss ends PA’s season.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell Sequim’s Hannah Wagner views for the ball as Lynden’s Claire Devries, left, and Mya VanderYacht try to pry the ball away in a state regional playoff game at Mount Vernon High School on Feb. 25. Lynden won, 50-26.

Sequim’s Jolene Vaara, right, looks to take the ball from Lynden’s Haylee Koetje in the first half of the Wolves’ 50-26 loss in a state regional playoff game on Feb. 25 in Mount Vernon. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell Sequim guard Taryn Johnson, left, drives to the basket as Lynden’s Kiki York guards the play in a regional state playoff game in Mount Vernon last week. Lynden prevailed, 50-26.

Sequim guard Hannah Bates, center, muscles her way into the lane looking for a basket in the Wolves’ state regional playoff game against Lynden on Feb. 25. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell