Wahkiakum boys to state, Naselle falls short

The state playoff picture is falling into place, and Wahkiakum boys basketball has danced through the district gauntlet to earn a first-round matchup in the Washington 2025 1B Boys State Basketball tournament.

Wahkiakum basketball

After losing to Willapa Valley in the District 4 1B Boys Basketball Tournament semifinals on Monday, Feb. 17, the Mules battled their way through the backdoor bracket to advance to state as the third-place team in the district. Despite the loss to Willapa Valley, the Mules finished districts in fine fashion.

Wahkiakum beat Taholah 69-60 on Wednesday, Feb. 19, to punch their ticket to state and then got a chance for revenge when they played Columbia Adventist in a seeding matchup on Saturday, Feb. 22. When the Mules met the Kodiaks in the regular season, they lost both games, including a 15-point defeat on Tuesday, Jan. 7. Wahkiakum showed what difference a month and a half can make, taking down Columbia Adventist 57-49 to enter the last leg of their season with consecutive wins.

Wahkiakum will next take the court on Friday, Feb. 28, in the first round of the state tournament against either the Wilbur-Creston-Keller Wildcats or Summit Classical Christian School Archers. The Wildcats and Archers played each other in an opening-round matchup on Tuesday, Feb. 25, but the results of the game were not available at the time of press. The winner will advance to play Wahkiakum in round two. The Mules have yet to play Wilbur-Creston-Keller, but Wahkiakum did lose to Summit Classical Christian School 72-55 in their lone meeting this season on Saturday, Dec. 21.

No matter who they play on Feb. 28, Wahkiakum will hope to extend their season to the "round of 12" to be played on Wednesday, Mar. 5.

Unfortunately for Wahkiakum's girls basketball, the team fell short of the state playoffs by just a six-point margin. After beating Naselle in the opening round of the tournament, the Mules took a tough 67-41 loss to Taholah on Tuesday, Feb. 18, to send them into the consolation bracket.

Their season on the line, the Mules gave it everything they had against Mary M. Knight with a trip to state up for grabs. Ultimately, it would be the Owls who would take home the win, beating the Mules 56-50 on Thursday, Feb. 20.

Naselle Basketball

For Naselle, both the boys and girls basketball seasons came to an end at districts, with both teams finding themselves on the wrong side of the double-elimination format.

After losing to Wahkiakum in the opening round, the Comets took care of business on Monday, Feb. 17 against Oakville 71-51 to keep their season alive, but the decisive game of their season came just a few days later.

Playing at Raymond High School on Wednesday, Feb. 19, the Comets needed to take down Columbia Adventist to earn a state berth and rematch with Wahkiakum. It wasn't meant to be, though, as the Kodiaks jumped ahead to a 20-13 lead heading into the second quarter and never looked back. Columbia Adventist would push the lead beyond 20 in the third quarter to finish 74-58, ending Naselle's season.

The tournament followed a very similar trajectory for the girls. The first round also featured a loss to Wahkiakum, followed by a win to keep their season alive. Naselle beat Columbia Adventist 53-43 on Tuesday, Feb. 18 to set up a matchup with Willapa Valley with a chance to make state. The game ended in a heartbreaking loss, as Naselle was defeated by the Vikings 44-39 to see their season come to an end.

Despite not making the state tournament, the boy and girls leave their respective seasons with something of which to be proud, as both teams finished the season above .500, each coming within just one result of competing at the highest level. The boys finished the season with a record of 12-11, while the girls ended the year with a record of 12-9.