YAKIMA — Hannah Bates’ dribble drive and scoop-shot layup with 5 seconds left capped a furious fourth-quarter comeback and lifted Sequim to a 34-32 win over Othello to earn fourth place Saturday morning in the Class 2A girls basketball state tournament at the Yakima Valley SunDome.
The Wolves closed the contest on a 9-0 run in the final two minutes of the game — erasing a first half full of offensive struggles — to rally for the first state trophy in program history in Sequim’s fifth overall trip to state.
Early on it appeared four games in as many days had taken its toll on the Wolves as Sequim struggled from the field, hitting just 4 of 31 shots in the first half — in fact, they were actually 2-for-29 at one point. The Wolves were held scoreless during a 15-0 Othello run for 7:28 of the first and second quarter and trailed by as much as 22-6 before a 5-0 mini-run to trail 22-11 at half.
“We started off slow couldn’t get in the flow of the game. But in the second half, we found our pace and was able to get back into the game,” said coach Joclin Julmist.
Sequim cut into Othello’s lead in the third quarter to trail 29-21 heading into the fourth but were having trouble inching closer while the Huskies weren’t doing much to put the game away, content to run down the shot clock and try to kill the clock in such a low-scoring contest.
The Wolves’ run started when senior Jelissa Julmist drained a 3-point basket from the top of the key with less than 2 minutes to play to trail 32-28.
Sequim’s Hannah Bates hit a shot with five seconds left in the game to beat Othello 34-32. (David Willoughby/for Peninsula Daily News)
Jolene Vaara followed up with a steal and a runout for a layup and Sequim put together a defensive stop followed by Julmist scoring on a textbook stepthrough move in the post to tie the game up at 32-all with 45 seconds left.
The Huskies worked the clock and took a 3-point shot with less than 20 seconds left. Julmist got the rebound on the miss.
After a timeout with 13 seconds, Bates did all the work, driving from the top of the key up the right side of the paint and scooping the ball softly off the window with five seconds to play.
Othello was unable to get a last-shot attempt on its final possession and Julmist ended up with a steal to finish the game.
“Hannah did a great job on both sides. She is an amazing leader she takes care of the ball and makes good decisions on offense. She’s going to be missed,” coach Julmist said.
“Jolene and Taryn [Johnson] had to guard two special players today who are committed to play for good programs and they did an amazing job. They doubled Jelissa and Jolene all day but they played lights out in the second half,” Julmist said.
“Sammie [Bacon] worked hard on defense and rebounds. Dani [Herman] did a good job playing defense and rebounding and passing the ball,” the coach added. “[The] seniors will be missed — Hannah, Jelissa and Sammie. Happy for the girls. Good way to end the season.”
Vaara led the team with 12 points and 11 rebounds, 10 of them on the offensive end. Julmist had 11 points and eight rebounds, while Bates had eight points and three rebounds. Libby Turella didn’t shoot great, but had a crucial 3-pointer in the third quarter to aid the Wolves’ comeback.
Vaara and Bates both made the 2A All-Tournament second team.
Sequim finished the season with a 23-4 record. The Wolves were undefeated (14-0) in Olympic League play, winning their first outright league title since 1987.
Sequim 34, Othello 32
Oth. 7 15 7 3 — 32
Seq. 6 5 10 13 — 34
Sequim (34) — Vaara 12, Julmist 11, Bates 8, Turella 3.
Othello (32) — Coronado 13, Andrade 8, Mondragon 6, Pruneda 5.
The Sequim girls basketball team had its highest finish ever at state, winning two games at the tournament to finish fourth. (David Willoughby/for Peninsula Daily News)
