MOUNT VERNON — The Mariners’ drought has ended.
Sehome girls basketball, the No. 3 seed in the 2A District 1 tournament, is headed back to regionals for the first time since 2015 following a 44-42 victory over No. 5 Archbishop Murphy.
The Mariners made key defensive plays down the final stretch and benefitted from crucial missed free throws by the Wildcats in the game’s closing seconds to secure the victory.
Senior post Madison Hogan and junior guard Emmy Hart each led Sehome with 14 points — Hart got most of hers on four 3-pointers.
Pushing beyond the district tournament was a primary goal for Sehome’s players and first-year coach Kim Stensgar.
“[It] was really important for us to go to state this year,” Hogan said. “We’re ready for more.”
Stensgar was tasked with turning around a program that had fallen short of regionals and the state tournament for nearly a decade, and a team that finished last season 8-11 overall.
“I’m super proud of these kids. Super proud of how hard they’ve worked, how disciplined they’ve been with our scouting report,” Stensgar said. “They’re students of the game. We know we’re going to be undersized most nights, and yet they were able to execute what we knew we had to do.”
A first-quarter run by Archbishop Murphy turned a 6-4 Sehome lead into a 13-6 advantage for the Wildcats with 2:21 remaining in the opening period.
The Mariners entered the second quarter trailing by four.
Sehome’s shortcomings in its semifinals loss to Burlington-Edison on Feb. 13 persisted early on, particularly in the lack of offensive rhythm and shooting efficiency.
Defensively they were sound, and often very difficult to breach, which allowed them to stay within striking distance early.
Sehome finally settled in after a 3-pointer by Hart with 12 seconds remaining in the first half gave the Mariners a 21-19 edge heading into halftime.
“We knew we had to be patient offensively, not let the moment be too big for us,” Stensgar said.
Scoring the first five points of the third quarter, Sehome took a 26-19 lead with five minutes remaining in the period. Archbishop Murphy then scored the next 10 to go up by one.
The period featured two lead changes and three ties, including the 35-35 knot between both teams heading into the fourth quarter.
Led by the staunch defense of their backcourt and rebounding from Hogan and junior post Natalie Brewer, the Mariners limited the Wildcats to two points in the first five minutes of the final period.
When Archbishop Murphy freshman guard Brooke Blachly hit a 3-pointer with 2:46 remaining in the game, trimming Sehome’s lead to one, Hart responded with her fourth trey to push it back up.
Archbishop Murphy had two opportunities to tie the game at the free throw line while trailing 44-42 — first with 26.3 seconds and then with 5.2 seconds remaining — but missed all four shots.
That sealed it for the Mariners.
“I wouldn’t change anything about it. I think it was perfect,” Hart said. “The fact that it came down to the last minute made it that much better.”
Senior guard Mac Cooper added seven points for the Mariners while junior guard Madi Cooper finished with six.
Archbishop Murphy was led by a team-high 13 points from junior post Caroline Burns and nine from sophomore guard Ava Marr.
Sehome improved to 18-5 overall and advanced to regionals for the first time since 2015. The Mariners will play their regional game on either Feb. 24 or 25. A win there — or a seed within the top eight — sends them to the round of 12 at the Yakima Valley SunDome.
“I just keep thinking, it’s amazing what kids can do when you just put your belief in them and build them up — build up their confidence,” Stensgar said.
Archbishop Murphy concluded its season 13-11 overall and was eliminated from the playoffs.
