Sequim Gazette staff

The Olympic Avalanche select girls basketball squad earned a top-three finish at the 29th-annual Best in the West tourney in Yakima last weekend, capping their season with a 35-11 record and four championships in 10 tournaments.

“These girls can compete with any club team in the Pacific Northwest,” coach Joe Marvelle said. “We beat some darn good ones this past weekend and this season. I cannot wait to see what the next two seasons hold for these girls.”

In Yakima, the Avalanche opened with a 41-28 win against Local Lady Hoops of Bellevue, with Millie Long scoring 11, Hannah Reetz with eight and Sequim’s Kalli Wiker with six points and eight rebounds.

Olympic fell in game two to the eventual champs, The Locomotives, a top club team from Spokane, 44-41. Reetz led the team with nine points and 12 rebounds, but Olympic was just 4-of-11 from the free throw line in defeat.

The Avalanche rolled in game three, topping USA Basketball Kent 48-24, with Long tallying 13 points, four assists and four steals, Myra Walker snagging 16 rebounds and Wiker going for eight points and eight boards.

The Avalanche fell to The Locomotives 41-24 in the semifinals, but rebounded for a 45-21 win in the consolation finals against Triple Threat. Long had 14 points and five steals while Wiker had 11 points and seven rebounds.

Season leaders

Long led the Avalanche with an 8.4 points per game average, followed by Madison Cooke (8.0), Reetz (7.0), Jaida Wood (6.3) and Wiker (6.0).

Wood led the team in rebounding with 7.1 boards per game, with Walker second (6.4) and Wiker third (6.3).

Cooke was the team’s top free throw shooter at 63 percent, with Wiker second at 54 percent and Walker third at 53 percent.