Sequim’s girls basketball squad lost a heart-breaker in the consolation finals of the West Central bi-district tourney Saturday, falling to familiar foe North Kitsap 58-57 — a defeat that ends their season one win short of the state 2A regional tournament.

The fourth-seeded Wolves (13-7), who fought off elimination the night previous in Sequim with a rout of North Mason, held a five-point lead (44-39) heading into the final quarter before seeing the lead slip away to the eighth-seeded Vikings.

Sequim shot just 21-of-63 (33%) from the field, including three-of-17 (17.6%) from 3-point range and 12-of-22 (54.5%) from the free throw line.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Sequim’s Jolene Vaara (3) and Gracie Chartraw (4) defend the basket at Enumclaw’s Kalee Swanson (3) passes to teammate Ava Smith in a bi-district tournament game on Feb. 14 in Sequim. Enumclaw’s Hornets won, 66-49.

“We struggled tonight finishing and making good decisions tonight, but the girls … went out fighting,” SHS coach Joclin Julmist said.

“I’m proud of the girls and the season they had.”

In her final game with Sequim, senior Jolene Vaara paced the team with 21 points, eight rebounds, four assists and six steals.

“She will be missed; she has had an amazing career,” Julmist said. “Those are going to be some big shoes to fill.”

Freshman guard Gracie Chartraw had 15 points five rebounds and four steals to cap what Julmist called “one of the most incredible freshmen campaigns in school history.”

He added, “I can’t wait to see what she does next year.”

Libby Turella played solid defense and rebounded well for SHS in the elimination game, with 13 points, four rebounds, four steals and four charges taken, giving her 12 charges taken for the season.

”Libby was the heart and soul for us this year,” Julmist said. “She sacrificed her body every game .. [and] she does the things that don’t show up in stats for us.”

Sequim freshman guard Gracie Chartraw drives past Enumclaw’s Ava Smith in a bi-district tournament game on Feb. 14 in Sequim. Chartraw led the Wolves with 27 points.

Bobbi Mixon played solid defense against the Vikings (13-10) while Raimey Brewer sank a key 3-pointer off the bench, Julmist noted.

Sequim had beaten North Kitsap twice during the regular season: 56-40 on Dec. 15, and 66-51 on Jan. 23.

In district play, top-seeded White River topped third-seeded Sammamish 48-29 for first place while Port Angeles,the No. 2 seed, edged fifth-seeded Enumclaw 44-41 for third place. All four teams area headed to the class 2A state regional round, along with North Kitsap and sixth-seeded Kingston.

Vaara scores 40, tops 1,000

Jolene Vaara picked a fine time to have a career game.

The SHS senior nearly out-scored the visiting North Mason Bulldogs in the a 76-48 rout at home on Feb. 16, keeping the Wolves (13-6) alive in the bi-district tournament.

The defending Olympic League MVP was omnipresent in helping Sequim beat North Mason for the third time this season, racking up 40 points, 12 rebounds six steals and three blocks.

With the effort, she surpassed the 1,000 career points mark at SHS.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell Sequim’s bench erupts in cheers after the Wolves capitalized on a North Mason turnover in a bi-district tournament match-up on Feb. 16. Pictured are, from left, Gracie Chartraw, Rilynn Whitehead, Clare Turella, Raimey Brewer, Kiley Winter and Sydney Thomas-Harris.

The Wolves started strong, gave up a 10-2 Bulldog run late in the first quarter. Then, in the second quarter, the Wolves’ full-court pressure finally cracked the Bulldogs. One series saw the Wolves pick off three consecutive passes before the ball reached mid-court, with Vaara finishing all three with layups — the final resulting in a three-point play. Sequim out-scored North Mason 27-5 in the second frame to lead 42-20 at halftime.

Chartraw finished with 18 points.

Teammate Hailey Wagner had a big game starting in the place of injured senior post Dani Herman, tallying six points, 11 rebounds and four steals.

Turella led the defense, taking three charges that shifted the momentum in the first half. She added seven rebounds and had four assists and two steals.

“Libby was amazing tonight,” Julmist noted.

SHS stung by Hornets

Missing their senior post, the Wolves missed a slew of shots and in the end missed a chance at an automatic berth in the state tournament.

Enumclaw sank a bevy of 3-pointers and dominated the glass on both ends of the court in a 66-49 win on Feb. 14 in Sequim in the opening bi-district tourney for both teams.

Sequim had seen both North Mason and North Kitsap twice this season, winning all four games. The Wolves topped North Mason’s Bulldogs 68-49 on Jan. 2 and 73-66 on Jan. 26, and NK’s Vikings 56-40 on Dec. 15 and 66-51 on Jan. 23.

Against Enumclaw (15-6), Sequim jumped out to an early 6-4 lead but that advantage quickly dissipated as the Hornets ran roughshod over the Wolves, who were missing Herman, the team’s leading rebounder.

Led by Kalee Swanson’s 15 first half points, the Hornets grabbed an 18-10 lead after one quarter and held a 38-17 advantage by halftime.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Sequim’s Libby Turella, left, vies with North Mason’s Adrianna Tupolo for the ball in a bi-district tournament match-up on Feb. 16. Sequim routed the visiting Bulldogs, 76-48.

“They shot the lights out during the first half and won the battle of the boards,” Julmist said.

The Wolves, thanks to some timely shots from leading scorer Chartraw (27 points), made a run in the third quarter, at one point cutting the lead to 12 (42-30).

But Enumclaw proved too tough on the boards and pulled away early in the fourth quarter, going on a 12-0 run midway through the final frame.

“We struggled from the field once again, but the girls played hard,” Julmist said.

Sequim wound up just 18-of-73 from the field (25%), including five-of-21 from 3-point range.

Chartraw was playing sick, Julmist noted, and has been injured for much of the season.

“Tonight she played her heart out for us; she a special player,” he said.

Vaara was kept off balance as Enumclaw shadowed the Sequim senior all night. She still managed eight points, six rebounds and eight steals.

Turella posted a near double-double with eight points and nine rebounds.

Swanson paced Enumclaw with 18 points, while Natalie DeMarco had 14 and Bella Firnkoess added nine.