Seton Catholic stays perfect in Trico League girls basketball with 54-28 win over Columbia-White Salmon

Size. Shooting. Speed.

The Seton Catholic girls basketball teams boasts a rare triple threat of skillsets that give them versatility to attack opponents in a variety of ways.

The Cougars used a little bit of everything in Wednesday’s 54-28 win over Columbia-White Salmon, a matchup of the top two teams in the Trico League standings.

In the first half, Seton Catholic took advantage of its size mismatch by feeding the likes of post players Riley Seymer, Hailey Hammerstrom, Adyson Maddock, and Emma Whitehouse for baskets inside. Seymer scored 10 of her 12 points in the first quarter to spot the Cougars a quick 17-8 lead.

“I think we all played with high intensity and we really just came out with a lot of energy,” Seymer said. “All the girls were ready to work as hard as possible, and it definitely showed.”

After a cold shooting second quarter, the Cougars found their rhythm with Madison Lee leading the charge. The shifty junior guard scored nine of her game-high 20 points, helping the Cougars outscore the Bruins 18-3 in the third and put the game out of reach.

“I definitely knew we had to pick it up,” Lee said. “It was a close game … I feel like I kind of just took advantage of the opportunities.”

Seton Catholic (4-6, 4-0) took sole possession of first place in the Trico League with the win while handing the Bruins (6-3, 3-1) their first league loss.

The Cougars have found different ways to win against the likes of Fort Vancouver, La Center, Castle Rock and Columbia-White Salmon, but each of them have one thing in common — they’ve been decided by an average of 32 points.

Seton Catholic did the majority of its damage in the paint with three players — Seymer, Maddock and Whitehouse — who stand taller than 6 feet against an undersized Columbia-White Salmon team. The Cougars made just four 3-pointers, but have capable outside shooters led by Lee and Remy Jenniges, plus a host of glue players who do the little things, namely, defense and rebounding.

“It’s been a focal point this year to get our posts involved because we do have length, we have three girls that are 6 feet tall, and then we have a lot of shooters,” Seton Catholic coach Phil Kent said. “So, if we can establish an inside-out game, that’s gonna make it harder for people to scout us, guard us and eventually it’s gonna allow us to start shooting better.”

The majority of the team’s upperclassmen were freshmen and sophomores two seasons ago when Seton Catholic won a share of its first Trico League title and reached the Class 1A state opening round in 2023, then replicated those accomplishments last year.

Suffice to say, expectations remain the same, if not higher, in 2025. To prepare themselves, the Cougars played through a grueling non-league schedule in the opening weeks of the season, including small-school powers Adna and Annie Wright, Jesuit, an Oregon 6A program, and most recently, defending Washington 4A state champion Camas.

Despite going 0-6 in those games, Seton Catholic players and coaches agreed the games gave them valuable experience they wouldn’t otherwise see in the Trico League.

“Once we get out of league, into districts and, hopefully, into state, it’ll be good preparation, like, that’s how we want to play,” Seymer said. “It’s just good to show what we need to work on when we get out of all this.”

SETON CATHOLIC 54, COLUMBIA-WHITE SALMON 28

COLUMBIA-WHITE SALMON — McKena Carlock 2, Halle Kock 2, Madison Russum 0, Sara Miller 7, Kiera Bucher 2, Joella Posini 8, Claira Camacho 0, Jacquelin Huerta 0, Taniah Barajas 2. Totals 12 (1) 3-9 28.

SETON CATHOLIC — Madison Lee 20, Kingsley Williams 0, CJ Moore 2, Reese Devereux 0, Silvia Pujol 0, Remy Jenniges 5, Tegan Figueroa 2, Tiffany Sheldon 2, Adyson Maddock 5, Emma Whitehouse 4, Hailey Hammerstrom 2, Riley Seymer 12. Totals 22 (4) 6-8 54.

Columbia-WS               8             5             3             12—28

Seton Catholic            17          6             18          13—54