On Saturday, February 24th the Seattle Prep girls’ basketball team headed up north to Shorewood HS where they faced off against Everett HS in the second round of the WIAA State tournament. Coach Elsner’s 20th-seeded Panther squad took the court against the 12th-seeded Seagulls of Everett with a trip to the Tacoma Dome on the line.
A playoff game of this magnitude meant a rowdy and loud environment all game long. “I loved the loud environment,” said junior forward Grace Renners ’25. “It helped my performance and gave me energy.”
As the first quarter got underway it was clear that Prep had a serious threat in Everett’s senior star guard Alana Washington. Washington posted 16 of Everett’s 23 first quarter points, leading them to a nine-point first quarter advantage. For the Panthers it was Cody Kohler ’24 leading the way out of the gate with eight points of her own.
After a couple of threes to start the second quarter, Prep found themselves within just two points of Everett. From here on out this game was nothing but close.
Prep’s second quarter play was highlighted by solid defense from Elsa Castro ’25, good ball movement, and an inbound to a Renners layup with just two seconds left in the half. Despite a strong all-around Panther effort, Everett maintained the lead, going into the break ahead 34-31.
Castro said the team was feeling good going into the locker room: “We knew that we were still in it. We were matched evenly, and we knew what we had to do to control the tempo of the game,” she said. Renners felt the same: “The vibe at halftime was really good. We felt like we had a good second quarter and were ready for the second half.”
Renners came out hot to start the third quarter, nailing a couple of threes and forcing an early Everett timeout. After a Castro three and key charge, the girls took their biggest lead of the game, 42-37. But after consecutive Everett buckets, Prep fell back behind with just over a minute to go. Kohler and Renners kept the girls close in the final minute before Everett took a 48-46 lead with a layup at the buzzer.
The fourth quarter began with back-to-back steals from Kylin Kinchen ’27, however, Everett’s defense kept Prep in check on the offensive end. Moffitt ’24 led the Prep fourth quarter offense, nailing three shots to keep Prep within striking distance. The rest of the game was a back-and-forth battle in which Prep was never able to regain the lead, despite tying the game with just over four minutes to go. Clutch Everett free throws ultimately sealed the deal, and Prep fell 64-60.
Renners led Prep with 16 points, followed by Castro with 13, Kohler with 12, and Moffitt with 9. For Everett it was their two stars who led the way, combining for 47 of their team’s 64 points.
Sadly, this game marked the end of the girls’ playoff run. While they fell short, Renners felt they accomplished a lot this year: “It would have been awesome to go farther but I’m really satisfied with our season as a whole. I think that we played really well as a team,” she said. Castro agreed: “I’m super proud of how far we went and [I’m] proud of the group for never letting up and striving to continue our season, even when others counted us out.”
This battle of a game sure put a remarkable cap on a what was a tremendous season.
