Although postseason basketball is over, several seniors were able to shine one final time on the court March 14 at the West Sound Senior High School All-Star Games.
“I thought we were done at Silas,” Elsa Cajune said. “Being able to have one last game, I’m so grateful for it. It was so much fun.”
Bainbridge’s Ghadir Ramadan and Cajune represented the Spartans and Team Puget Sound. “It started off a little rocky but we lived up to our name,” Cajune said.
Ramadan and Cajune did not expect to play another game after losing at Silas in the state playoffs. However, they did not pass up the opportunity to play with each other again. “That was the most fun game I have ever played,” Cajune said. “I love playing with Ghadir.”
Ramadan said, “It was fun but felt weird because we were playing with teams we always played against. It was fun to get to know the other players.”
The girls kicked off the event with a skills and three-point competition. Central Kitsap’s Jada Kopp won while Sahara Soufi completed the Cougar sweep as the three-point champion. “We wanted to be known for being a good team, and we showed that tonight,” Soufi said.
Central Kitsap was also represented by Ella Baumgartner and Sophie Driskell. “It was great representing Central Kitsap because we had such a great season,” Driskell said. “It was fun to make it to where we were at the end of the season then come here and win the skills, three-point competition and the game.”
The Cougars were responsible for 21 of Team Puget Sound’s 47 points. South Kitsap’s Aly Loudermilk was the only Wolves’ player represented in both games. She finished with seven points.
North Kitsap was represented by Sophia Baugh and Jade Sunnenberg. “I missed our last game of the season so I was happy I could play with Jade one more time and seal the deal with the win,” Baugh said.
Despite having limited minutes, the Viking girls made their family, teammates and community proud. “It’s an honor because we have a great group of girls at our school so I’m glad we were able to represent our school,” Sunnenberg said.
The Team Cascade girls team fell to the Puget Sound squad 47-46. On their roster were Bremerton’s Brookelyn Hartford, Promise Bell and Tulip Carter. In addition, they had Olympic’s Mailli Bode, Kylee Murphy and Angelina Godinez-Gonzalez.
On the boys side, Central Kitsap’s Payton Davis beat Bainbridge’s Cooper Benjamin and Kingston’s Dakota Standley for the three-point title. Sequim’s Vince Carrioza won the skills competition.
Davis was joined alongside teammate DJ Williams. Benjamin had Breno Oguri, and Standley played alongside teammates Noah Walter and Cash Hubbard.
Bremerton was represented by Sam Tucker and Trevon Pietz, while Olympic had Jaden, Tristan Bluitt and Malakai Quinene. Team Cascade, consisting of Olympic and Bremerton players, won 76-63.