Photo: Wolves Junior guard Taryn Johnson had the best game of her career in win over NK
POULSBO — The Sequim Wolves girls basketball team went into North Kitsap with a #2 state RPI ranking and earned a grind-it-out road win against a solid Viking team 53-43 in a game you heard Monday night on KONP. The Wolves got off to a slow start and trailed 14-7 after one quarter. The Vikings scored the first bucket of the 2nd quarter and had their biggest lead of nine points at 16-7.
Then the Wolves went on a 11-point run to retake the led 18-16. Senior point guard Hannah Bates started the comeback when she hit a three-point shot from the left wing. Bates hit four, 3-point shots on the night, every shot seemed to come at a critical time in the game. Bates finished with 13 points. When Sequim put on their vaunted full court press the Vikings were like darting deer amongst a pack of howling Wolves. Wolves junior speedster Taryn Johnson fed off the turnovers which often led to Sequim lay ups. Johnson had the best game of her career hitting two critical three-point shots and scoring nine points. Johnson also hit the boards hard and her speed enabled her to beat the Vikings to long rebounds.
While Bates and Johnson were their battles in the back court, Jolene Vaara and Jelessa Julmist were winning their battles on the low blocks. Vaara finished with 16 points and Julmist added 12 more. Both Wolves big girls, like volleyball players, swatted several Viking shots off the court. Wolves Sophomore Bobby Mixson had critical steels down the stretch in the final quarter.
The Wolves are now 7-0 and have a break until their January 3rd game at Kingston.