Few groups on the state basketball match can almost mount two massive comebacks on back-to-back days.
However few groups have the closeness and cohesion of the Seton Catholic boys.
Thursday, the Cougars almost erased a 21-point second-half deficit, dropping 61-59 on the buzzer to Zillah within the Class 1A quarterfinals on the Yakima SunDome.
That got here sooner or later after Seton Catholic prolonged their keep in Yakima by erasing a 17-point third-quarter deficit to beat Cashmere 68-61 within the Spherical of 12.
The bonds between Seton Catholic’s starters go properly past final yr, when all 5 additionally began on the sixth-place crew that earned the primary state trophy in program historical past.
Senior starters Rico George, Brady Angelo, Lance Lee and Mason Glassmire have constructed connections that, in lots of circumstances, predate their time at Seton Catholic.
“It’s a different level of trust,” George mentioned. “When you play with a group of guys, like I’ve been playing with Brady since first grade. The level of trust is just different.”
That senior class has seen this system elevate over the previous two years since Donald Wilson took over as head coach. His son, sophomore Kaiden Wilson, has received back-to-back Trico League MVPs.
Towards Zillah, Wilson scored 11 of his team-high 25 factors within the remaining 4 minutes, together with Seton’s final eight factors. That included a game-tying shot with slightly below a minute to play and two free throws to tie the sport at 59 with 19.6 seconds left.
“It says a lot about the type of resolve we’ve been playing with for the past two years,” Donald Wilson mentioned. “We’ve been building this culture where we believe we can get it done even when it’s tough. We never dropped our heads, never wavered.”
Whereas the sting of Thursday’s loss received’t quickly fade, Donald Wilson predicted it wouldn’t put a damper on his crew’s enjoyment of reaching the ultimate 12 in Yakima for a second consecutive yr.
“By the time we get on the bus the music will probably be happening,” he mentioned. “We’ll go back to the hotel and the music will be on. … There’s no real roller coaster here. Not too high, not too low.”
— Micah Rice
Seton ladies make long-awaited dome debut
Taking part in on the Yakima SunDome on Thursday was a very long time coming for the Seton Catholic ladies basketball crew.
After the Cougars suffered season-ending defeats every of the final two seasons within the Class 1A state opening spherical, the Cougars made their dome debut within the 1A quarterfinals, falling to Annie Wright 48-39.
The consequence snapped a 17-game win streak and dropped the Cougars to the comfort facet of the bracket. However they didn’t take the second as a right, considered one of many in a memorable week.
“When we walked in here (Wednesday), we watched our boys team play, it was nice to be able to soak it all in,” junior Riley Seymer mentioned. “We were like, ‘OK, this is it. We’re here. This is the big stage that everybody is working toward.’ I think the biggest takeaway for our team is to realize that eight teams got to play (in the quarterfinals) today, and not everybody gets to experience that. So even though, yeah, we might’ve walked away with a loss, it’s still a big accomplishment for us.”
Final weekend’s win over Zillah within the state opening spherical assured the No. 6 seed Cougars would play a number of video games in Yakima. For a crew that usually talks about its robust bond, that additionally meant spending additional time collectively off the court docket between video games.
“It’s been incredible,” Seymer mentioned. “The girls, we all love each other so much and we’re so close outside of this that it’s just been so much fun. Being able to here, since freshman year this has been a big thing for some us. Being like, ‘We’re making it to the dome,’ and now to be here and actually be on this court (playing) in front of everybody, it’s incredible. It’s a great experience.”
The Cougars performed Naches Valley within the fourth-place semifinals Friday morning with the winner advancing to Saturday’s trophy spherical.
“It’s been an incredible ride,” Seton Catholic coach Phil Kent mentioned. “These girls have worked so hard. They’ve deserved it. They’ve wanted to get here from the beginning.”
— Will Denner
Acquainted foes meet once more
For the second time in three weeks, it’s a double-dose of Camas vs. Auburn.
After the Camas girls and boys basketball groups dropped their 4A quarterfinal video games Thursday, every took on Auburn in Friday’s comfort video games.
Two weeks in the past, Camas and Auburn girls and boys basketball groups met within the bi-district title video games. Auburn received each contests.
The Camas boys confronted much more familiarity of their 44-42 additional time loss to Glacier Peak on Thursday.
It’s the second straight season Camas and Glacier Peak met on the Tacoma Dome. The Grizzlies ended Camas’ season within the Spherical-of-12 in 2024.
