The Sehome-Squalicum girls and boys doubleheader might have been for the mythical Bellingham city championship on Wednesday, Feb. 5, but all four teams had their sights set on bigger goals.
“It was good to win,” freshman Taylor Turrell said after her Sehome girls upset the host Storm, 37-34, in the first game. “But there are bigger games (to come).”
With Wednesday’s win and last week’s victory over Bellingham, Sehome completed a sweep of its rivals and improved to 8-11 overall and 6-8 in the Northwest Conference. Squalicum, meanwhile, dropped to 10-8 overall and 8-6 in league.
In the second game, the Squalicum boys defeated the Mariners, 66-46, which combined with an earlier win over Bellingham gives the Storm bragging rights in the city and raised their record to 10-9 overall and 6-8 in the NWC. Sehome fell to 5-14 overall and 3-11 in league play.
“It was a good all-around game for us,” said Storm senior Marcus Nixon. “But we’re thinking state.”
Before all four teams start the Class 2A district playoffs — which begin Monday for the girls and Tuesday for the boys — they each have one more regular-season game to play … weather permitting, of course.
Sophomore Stella Hogan grabs a rebound for the Mariners.
Sehome Girls Stop Storm In Final Minutes, 37-34
In a back-and-forth defensive battle, it was the Sehome defense that won the day by holding the Storm to two too-late points in the final, exciting two minutes.
After Squalicum sophomore Lexi Robbins scored to give the Storm a 32-31 lead, the Mariners retook the lead on Turrell’s 3-pointer. With just over a minute left, the Storm missed a chance to tie when they first missed a pair of free throws and then a long jumper before turning the ball over.
But it still wasn’t over. Having only committed one foul, the Storm fouled four times in eight seconds to force Sehome to shoot free throws. With 18 seconds left, sophomore Kate Schroeder made one of two to give the Mariners a three-point margin.
Squalicum had another chance to tie but missed a 3-pointer. When sophomore Carli Kiesau put in an offensive rebound with two seconds left, the Storm still only trailed by one. However, when they fouled Schroeder again with less than a second left and she made both free throws, it truly was over.
“I was very nervous,” Schroeder said afterward. But her teammate wasn’t. “I knew they’d go in,” said Turrell.
While the Mariners’ defense shined by holding the Storm to almost 12 points below their average, Schroeder and Turrell provided enough offense for Sehome by scoring 12 points each. They scored all the team’s points in the fourth quarter with each making a 3-pointer and Schroeder hitting the three free throws.
“We knew we had to play extra hard on defense,” said Turrell. “We put our heart out.”
“We’re definitely a defensive team,” said Schroeder, who recovered from a concussion in the Bellingham game. “We really wanted this win. We’ve played with a lot of them (Storm players).”
For Sehome coach Kim Stensgar, the victory meant a lot to a team without any seniors and very little returning varsity experience. It was the Mariners’ third win in a row after a stretch where they lost nine of 10 games.
“We wanted to be loose and poised,” she said. “This game showed we can do it … and finish the game. These kids are still young. We’re trending in the right direction.”
For Squalicum, it was the second tough loss in a row after the Storm had won seven of eight games.
“Kudos to Sehome; they pulled it off,” said Squalicum coach Jenalyn Brown, whose Storm has lost six straight to the Mariners over the past four seasons. “We wanted to change the narrative. Our defense played well. It was just our offense.”
The Storm’s defense was, indeed, up to the task, holding Sehome to only three field goals in the first half. But the Squalicum offense only managed six points in the third quarter and went cold in the last four minutes.
“They wanted it more,” said Squalicum sophomore Addison Kettman, who led the Storm with 8 points and 6 rebounds. “They played better as a team tonight. It’s never great to lose, but you can learn from what happens. We have to work on our stuff to be prepared for district. It’ll be another level up.”
Freshman Kai Perez added 7 points and sophomore Tiana Thompson had 6 points for the Storm, who wrap up their regular season on Friday when they travel to Oak Harbor.
For Sehome, junior Keira Reeves came off the bench to score 6 points, making all six of her free throws as the Mariners went 10 of 13 from the line. Sehome’s final regular-season contest is Saturday when the Mariners host Burlington-Edison.
Sehome 37, Squalicum 34
Sehome 12 4 12 9—37
Squalicum 11 7 6 10—34
Sehome: Gustafson, Schroeder 12, Turrell 12, Barge 5, Panagos 2, Hogan, Ke. Reeves 6.
Squalicum: Murphy-Kangas 3, Singh-Sanchez, Horst, Paz 2, Perez 7, Thompson 6, Kiesau 4, Robbins 4, Harper, Kettman 8.
Senior Marcus Nixon had the hot hand for the Storm.
Storm Boys Blast Sehome In Second Half, 66-46
Like their entire season, the Squalicum boys took a while to get going Wednesday, but once the Storm did, they blew past Sehome, scoring 39 points in the second half for their fourth straight win.
“I’m happy for the guys, especially the seniors,” said first-year Squalicum coach David Dunham, whose team lost five of its first six games. “It was a good game. In the second half, we were able to pull away. Things are clicking for us right now.”
At halftime, Squalicum only led by four points, but came out with a 20-point third quarter and followed that with 19 more in the fourth period.
Leading the way was Nixon, who started the second half with a three-point play and a 3-pointer. He would finish with a game-high 26 points, 20 of them coming after intermission. He also led the Storm with 8 rebounds.
“We couldn’t stop Nixon … and we couldn’t buy a bucket,” said Sehome coach Brad Jackson. “They were the better team tonight.”
Nixon praised the entire Squalicum team’s effort.
“We haven’t had a blowout win since the first game,” he said, referring to a 29-point victory over Sultan in Squalicum’s opener. “Tonight, we played four good quarters.”
The senior wing had a lot of help on offense. Sophomore Hunter Calloway had 12 points, seniors Ezra Nichols and Jaxon Hofer had 9 points each with Hofer’s coming on three 3-pointers, and sophomore Blake Elson added 6 points. Hofer also had 7 rebounds, and Hunter had a team-high 4 assists.
“The energy in the building …we rode that energy,” Dunham said of the boisterous crowd. “They just didn’t make their shots, and we made some.”
Junior Xavier Kelley led the Mariners with 13 points and 13 rebounds, and junior Nolan Wright had 9 points and 9 assists.
Senior Cooper McAtee, junior Klay Jackson, and sophomore Quincy Tanovan each had a pair of 3-pointers and 6 points. Junior Cole Turrell, who sat out most of the second half because of illness, also had 6 points.
Squalicum wraps up its regular season on Friday, when it hosts Oak Harbor, while Sehome finishes its regular season at Burlington-Edison on Saturday.
Squalicum 66, Sehome 46
Sehome 14 9 11 12—46
Squalicum 14 13 20 19—66
Sehome: Wright 9, Jackson 6, Tanovan 6, McAtee 6, Miller, Kelley 13, Mitchell, Rusk, Watson, Turrell 6.
Squalicum: Nichols 9, Calloway 12, Nixon 26, Knowlton, Hoffmann 4, Hofer 9, Savage, Weener, Lee, Granberg-Kiddle, Elston 6.
