Girls basketball: Sequim have their backs to the wall after tournament loss

Wolves drop game to Fife, face two win-or-else games in district tournament

By Conor Dowley • February 19, 2020 1:30 am
Sequim Wolves seniors Hope Glasser (0) and Jessica Dietzman (2) celebrate with head coach Linsay Rapelje (left) and their teammates after coming off the court to a standing ovation in the final minute of the Wolves’ 92-22 district playoff win over the Foster Bulldogs on Feb. 12. It was the final home game the seniors will play, with Sequim slated to head out on the road for the remainder of the tournament. Sequim Gazette photo by Conor Dowley
Sequim Wolves seniors Hope Glasser (0) and Jessica Dietzman (2) celebrate with head coach Linsay Rapelje (left) and their teammates after coming off the court to a standing ovation in the final minute of the Wolves’ 92-22 district playoff win over the Foster Bulldogs on Feb. 12. It was the final home game the seniors will play, with Sequim slated to head out on the road for the remainder of the tournament. Sequim Gazette photo by Conor Dowley

Sequim’s girls basketball team is in the consolation bracket after losing to the Fife Trojans in the second round of the West Central District 3 playoffs on Feb. 14.

“We struggled to finish tonight and Fife did not,” Sequim head coach Linsay Rapelje said after the 61-49 loss.

“We had a lot of great opportunities and ran our offense well, but our shots just would not fall.”

The Wolves were set to play the Kingston Buccaneers for a third time this season on Feb. 18 in a loser-out game in the district playoffs consolation bracket; results were not available at press time. Sequim beat Kingston 58-44 on Dec. 11 and 87-42 on Jan. 17, and topped the Buccaneers 63-37 at districts last season.

With a win, the Wolves play the winner of a game between White River (20-3) and Orting (10-12) at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, at Wilson High School in Tacoma. The winner of that game will heads to a fifth/sixth place seeding game for the regional round of the 2A state tournament, while the loser sees their season end.

Against Fife, three of Sequim’s normally-reliable top scorers — Hope Glasser, Kalli Wiker and Jayla Julmist — combined for just 18 points, illustrating the team’s struggle to score.

Jessica Dietzman led the team with 17 points, the only Wolves player with double-digit points.

Glasser and Julmist contributed heavily on the defensive end, however: Julmist pulled down 22 rebounds with three blocks and three steals, while Glasser had eight rebounds and four steals.

The Wolves closed out the game strong, scoring 20 points in the fourth quarter to cut Fife’s lead.

“We played hard the whole game and closed the gap,” Rapelje said, “but (we) ran out of time.”

Walking the Dogs

The Wolves advanced to play Fife game by a 92-22 rout in the district opener against the Foster Bulldogs — the same school that a year ago Sequim needed an 18-point comeback to beat in the regional round of the state tournament.

This time around the Wolves got off to a hot start, scoring nine points before the Bulldogs got on the board, and ending up leading 25-6 after one quarter. Sequim had a distinct size advantage and used it well, with Julmist and LeeAnn Raney getting easy buckets inside that Foster couldn’t defend against, and dominating on the defensive end of the court.

Julmist and Raney each posted a double-double, with Julmist scoring 15 points with 13 rebounds and six blocks, and Raney getting career highs with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Sequim also had significant success on fast breaks, with Melissa Porter scoring a game-high 19 points and Dietzman adding 18 as the two combined with ruthless efficiency after Foster turnovers.

“I did try and mix some things up for us,” Rapelje said, “(to) do some things that we don’t normally do defensively and some things we need to work on.

“Offensively, we tried to work on some plays but we obviously had more fast-break opportunities. But making the girls understand when to pull the ball out and run through some things. We were trying to work on all those things, but it’s hard. I played my bench and we did all we could to be good sports while still preparing for another playoff game.”

Record-setter

Sequim’s 70-point win over Foster in the West Central District 3 tournament’s first round (92-22) is the Wolves’ largest margin of victory in at least 20 years. Sequim beat Bremerton by 69 points (85-16) on Jan. 24. The next largest margin of victory since 2000: 57, when the Wolves routed Klahowya 77-20 on Dec. 16, 2005. The Wolves previous largest margin of victory in a postseason game: 26, a 63-37 win over Kingston last season.

Sequim Wolves post Jayla Julmist looks for a pass from the top of the three point line during the Wolves’ 92-22 district playoff win over the Foster Bulldogs on Feb. 12. Julmist scored 15 points with 13 rebounds and six blocks in a dominant interior performance at both ends of the court. Sequim Gazette photo by Conor Dowley

Sequim Wolves post Jayla Julmist looks for a pass from the top of the three point line during the Wolves’ 92-22 district playoff win over the Foster Bulldogs on Feb. 12. Julmist scored 15 points with 13 rebounds and six blocks in a dominant interior performance at both ends of the court. Sequim Gazette photo by Conor Dowley

Sequim Wolves guard Melissa Porter goes up for a fast-break layup in the second quarter of the Wolves’ 92-22 district playoff win over the Foster Bulldogs on Feb. 12. Porter scored 14 of her game-high 19 points on the night off fast breaks, drawing praise from head coach Linsay Rapelje for her quality in that phase of the game. Sequim Gazette photo by Conor Dowley

Sequim Wolves guard Melissa Porter goes up for a fast-break layup in the second quarter of the Wolves’ 92-22 district playoff win over the Foster Bulldogs on Feb. 12. Porter scored 14 of her game-high 19 points on the night off fast breaks, drawing praise from head coach Linsay Rapelje for her quality in that phase of the game. Sequim Gazette photo by Conor Dowley