Entering the 2023-24 season with just one returning starter on young team lacking any sense of thorough varsity basketball experience, not may figured the Montesano Bulldogs would be where they were on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.
But when all was decided, it was once again the Bulldogs raising the 1A District 4 trophy as Montesano won an unprecedented fourth-straight district championship with a 41-36 victory over Seton Catholic.
“It was a total team effort,” Monte head coach Mansfield said after guiding his team to its fourth district title in four years at the helm of the program. “We’re so young and I never said anything about no Monte team has ever won four straight. They didn’t know until afterward and that’s a huge accomplishment, especially for this group with just one starter back. I couldn’t be more proud.”
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano’s Jillie Dalan (24) is guarded by Seton Catholic’s Riley Seymer (55) and Hailey Hammerstrom during the Bulldogs’ 41-36 victory in the 1A District 4 championship game on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.
The Bulldogs (15-9 overall) started the game with a 9-0 run sparked by the play of freshman point guard Tieander Olson, who assisted on a jumper by sophomore forward Jillie Dalan followed by an Olson steal and subsequent layup.
Olson then buried a 3-pointer and assisted Dalan for another bucket to put Monte up 9-0 halfway through the first quarter.
But Seton Catholic (18-5) responded with an 8-0 run of its own and eventually tied the game at 10-10 on a pair of free throws by sophomore guard Madison Lee with a minute left in the period.
The two teams traded blows as the lead changed hands three times through the first five minutes of the second quarter. Monte regained the lead at 18-17 on a Dalan jumper with 2:52 to play in the first half.
Olson followed with a bucket off an assist from sophomore guard Josie Forster and then scored on a drive and layup to put the Bulldogs up 22-17 with just under two minutes left in the second quarter.
After Cougars sophomore center Riley Seymer trimmed Monte’s lead to 22-19 with a pair of free throws, Dalan scored on a free-throw line jump shot at the buzzer to stake the Bulldogs to a 24-19 halftime lead.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano point guard Tieander Olson (2) dribbles while defended by Seton Catholic’s Remy Jenniges during the Bulldogs’ 41-36 victory in the 1A District 4 championship game on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.
Monte’s offense went ice cold in the third quarter, scoring just three points on a field goal from sophomore forward Lex Stanfield and a Dalan free throw.
But the Bulldogs defense held the lead, allowing just six points as Monte took a slim 27-25 advantage into the final period of play.
Tied at 31-all halfway through the fourth quarter, Monte took the lead when Stanfield buried a three from the elbow, but Seton Catholic’s Tiffany Sheldon hit a baseline jumper on the other end as Monte held a 34-33 lead.
With 2:37 to play, Dalan scored and was fouled to put Monte up 37-33, but the Cougars’ Remy Jenniges splashed in a three on the ensuing possession to trim the Bulldogs lead to 37-36 with 1:25 left in the game.
After Forster hit 1-of-2 free throws to put the Bulldogs up 38-36 with 1:15 to play, Monte’s defense clamped down to force a shot-clock violation with 41 seconds left.
Then the young Bulldogs showed some championship experience down the stretch.
Looking to get the ball inside to Dalan, who was being fronted by the 6-foot-1 Seymer, Olson dribbled into the corner and drew a double-team, kicking the ball out to Stanfield at the elbow.
Stanfield looked into Dalan, who was trying to get open, but spotted Forster cutting to the basket through the backside.
Without hesitation, Stanfield whipped a diagonal pass to Forster, who caught it and scored her first field goal of the game to give Monte a much-needed cushion at 40-36 with 22 seconds to play.
Immediately after, Seton Catholic threw the ball out of bounds on the inbound play, turning the ball over to Monte and all but sealing the Cougars’ fate.
“I saw (Stanfield) look at me and I was like, ‘Oh no,’ and then she passed it to me and I shot it and it went in,” Forster said of her clutch conversion, admitting to some nerves as the play developed. “I was excited (it went in).”
“That was a great pass,” Olson said of Stanfield’s assist. “I was so happy. It was a clutch shot for us. … Josie (Forster) rocked for us tonight.”
“(Forster) doesn’t look to shoot much, but she’s got more confident as the year has gone on,” Mansfield said. “She just went right up and hit that.”
Monte missed four straight free throws down the stretch before Dalan sank 1-of-2, grabbing the long rebound after a miss to run out the clock and start the Bulldogs’ victory celebration.
Monte was led by Dalan, who scored a game-high 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting (41%) to go along with nine rebounds and a pair of blocks.
Olson added 11 points on an efficient 5-of-7 shooting (71%) and had nine rebounds, six assists, four steals and two blocks for the Bulldogs.
Monte went 17 of 45 from the field as a team (37%) and hit just 5-of-18 free throws (28%).
Seton Catholic hit 13-of-50 shots (24%) and was led by Seymer and Jennings with nine points apiece.
The Bulldogs outrebounded the Cougars 36-22 – 16 of Monte’s boards on the offensive glass – and committed 24 turnovers to Seton Catholic’s 22 in a game with scant offensive productivity.
“Our defense did a great job,” Mansfield said. “We locked them down pretty well. Even though we weren’t scoring, we didn’t let them score and go on a run.”
Monte’s win represents the fourth consecutive district championship, a feat no other program in the school’s history has been able to accomplish.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano sophomore Josie Forster cuts down the net after the Bulldogs defeated Seton Catholic 41-36 in the 1A District 4 championship game on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.
“It means so much, with this team especially,” Dalan said. “With everyone being so young and so new, with how inexperienced we are getting this far in the season, I think we really just pulled it together and it’s so exciting.”
“We were hyped, we were very hyped,” Forster said of Monte’s postgame locker-room celebration.
“It was crazy. It was great,” said Olson, one of the 1A Evergreen League’s bright up-and-coming stars. “I think that’s my best locker room after a game. That was really fun.”
“It was different today,” said Dalan, the lone returning starter from last year’s championship squad. “None of them have ever experienced this and it was just so exciting.”
The Bulldogs enter the 1A State Tournament Regional Round as the No. 11 seed and will face No. 14 Cascade Christian at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Tumwater High School.
Seton Catholic 10 9 6 11 – 36
Montesano 10 14 3 14 – 41
Scoring: Seton Catholic – Seymer 9, Jennings 9, Mancuso 7, Lee 6, Sheldon 4, Hammerstrom 1. Montesano – Dalan 17, Olson 11, Stanfield 9, Forster 3, Jones 1.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD The Montesano Bulldogs pose with the 1A District 4 championship trophy after defeating Seton Catholic 41-36 on Saturday at Hoquiam High School. The Bulldogs won the title for the fourth-straight season.
