Few teams at the state basketball tournament can nearly mount two big comebacks on back-to-back days.
But few teams have the closeness and cohesion of the Seton Catholic boys.
Thursday, the Cougars nearly erased a 21-point second-half deficit, losing 61-59 at the buzzer to Zillah in the Class 1A quarterfinals at the Yakima SunDome.
That came one day after Seton Catholic extended their stay in Yakima by erasing a 17-point third-quarter deficit to beat Cashmere 68-61 in the Round of 12.
The bonds between Seton Catholic’s starters go well beyond last year, when all five also started on the sixth-place team that earned the first state trophy in program history.
Senior starters Rico George, Brady Angelo, Lance Lee and Mason Glassmire have built connections that, in many cases, predate their time at Seton Catholic.
“It’s a different level of trust,” George said. “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 the program elevate over the past two years since Donald Wilson took over as head coach. His son, sophomore Kaiden Wilson, has won back-to-back Trico League MVPs.
Against Zillah, Wilson scored 11 of his team-high 25 points in the final four minutes, including Seton’s last eight points. That included a game-tying shot with just under a minute to play and two free throws to tie the game 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 said. “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.”
While the sting of Thursday’s loss won’t soon fade, Donald Wilson predicted it wouldn’t put a damper on his team’s enjoyment of reaching the final 12 in Yakima for a second consecutive year.
“By the time we get on the bus the music will probably be happening,” he said. “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 girls make long-awaited dome debut
Playing at the Yakima SunDome on Thursday was a long time coming for the Seton Catholic girls basketball team.
After the Cougars suffered season-ending defeats each of the last two seasons in the Class 1A state opening round, the Cougars made their dome debut in the 1A quarterfinals, falling to Annie Wright 48-39.
The result snapped a 17-game win streak and dropped the Cougars to the consolation side of the bracket. But they didn’t take the moment for granted, 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 said. “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.”
Last weekend’s win over Zillah in the state opening round guaranteed the No. 6 seed Cougars would play multiple games in Yakima. For a team that often talks about its strong bond, that also meant spending extra time together off the court between games.
“It’s been incredible,” Seymer said. “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 played Naches Valley in the fourth-place semifinals Friday morning with the winner advancing to Saturday’s trophy round.
“It’s been an incredible ride,” Seton Catholic coach Phil Kent said. “These girls have worked so hard. They’ve deserved it. They’ve wanted to get here from the beginning.”
— Will Denner
Familiar foes meet again
For the second time in three weeks, it’s a double-dose of Camas vs. Auburn.
After the Camas boys and girls basketball teams dropped their 4A quarterfinal games Thursday, each took on Auburn in Friday’s consolation games.
Two weeks ago, Camas and Auburn boys and girls basketball teams met in the bi-district title games. Auburn won both contests.
The Camas boys faced even more familiarity in their 44-42 overtime loss to Glacier Peak on Thursday.
It’s the second straight season Camas and Glacier Peak met at the Tacoma Dome. The Grizzlies ended Camas’ season in the Round-of-12 in 2024.
