Phil Kent the athletic director did no favors for Phil Kent the basketball coach when building Seton Catholic’s girls basketball schedule.
Kent, the school’s AD who also took over as the Cougars’ head girls basketball coach this season, scheduled non-league games that pitted the Cougars against the likes of small-school powers Rainier, Adna, Annie Wright, Oregon Class 6A school Jesuit, and most recently, defending Washington 4A champion Camas.
Despite going 0-6 in those games during the opening weeks of the season, Seton Catholic’s tough schedule was all by design, Kent said.
The idea sprouted when Kent was in Yakima to see Seton Catholic’s boys basketball team play in last year’s Class 1A state tournament. Seton’s girls’ team had reached the 1A state opening round that year and in 2023, but twice fell one win short of reaching the Yakima Valley SunDome.
While watching nearly all of the 1A girls games during that week in Yakima, Kent knew the Cougars needed to be challenged more.
“That’s the one thing I realized is, wow, we’ve got to start playing a lot of speed, we’ve got to start playing a lot of physicality, we’ve got to start playing teams that really function at a high level,” Kent said.
“We still have Jesuit on our non-league schedule (Jan. 25), so we could end up going 0-7 in non-league (and) we knew that. But we knew we were going to get better as a result.”
Seton Catholic players agreed those games were exactly what they needed. The Cougars are 5-0 to start Trico League play prior to Monday’s game against Stevenson.
“I think it was good to just push us and show us what we need to work on,” said Seton Catholic junior point guard Madison Lee, the team’s leading scorer. “It kind of highlighted some of our weaknesses and we’re just working on them (in) league.”
Seton is aiming to capture its third consecutive Trico League title after winning their first in program history in 2023 and repeating last year under former head coach Joe Potter, who resigned following the end of the 2024 season.
“Being early in the season, we’re still learning (with) a new coaching staff,” Kent said. “Coach Potter did an amazing job of preparing these girls, and now we’re just trying to build on that.”
Latest Lees wrestler earns title
There’s a long line of Lees who have been winning wrestlers at Washougal.
Garrett Lees is the latest. The junior won the 190-pound title at the Ron Baze Alumni Invitational on Saturday in Hoquiam.
Lees pinned Tumwater senior Cash Short in the first period to earn his fourth pin of the tournament and improve to 25-1 this season.
The Lees family has state champion pedigree with Tanner Lees winning a title in 2018 after sister Abby Lees was a two-time champ in 2015 and 2017.
Washougal will be among 17 area teams competing in this weekend’s Clark County Invitational at Heritage High School.