Glacier Peak boys basketball bounces back, Meadowdale girls fall

Published 1:38 am Thursday, March 5, 2026

TACOMA — Glacier Peak boys basketball needed to get its swagger back.

After starting the season 21-0, Glacier Peak dropped its last two games entering its 4A State Round of 12 matchup against Woodinville at the Tacoma Dome on Wednesday. With both losses coming in playoff games — one in the district semifinals, the other in the state opening round — Glacier Peak had one more chance to right the ship.

Coach Brian Hunter was not concerned following his team’s 45-41 loss to Gonzaga Prep on Saturday, which cost his team an automatic spot in the quarterfinals. Glacier Peak had no problem going the long way, especially against a team they had defeated just two weeks earlier, 49-34 in the District 1/2 4A quarterfinals on Feb. 17.

“We got through that Wednesday game and been to the state semis the last two years. So this is not new to us,” Hunter told the Herald after the loss to Gonzaga Prep on Saturday. “It just means you’re down (in Tacoma) for another day.”

Things did not appear that simple at first, as they missed their first four attempts from the field. However, a block from junior Zachary Albright prevented Woodinville from taking a two-possession lead, and junior Edison Kan knocked down a corner 3 to get Glacier Peak on the board with less than five minutes left in the first quarter.

The No. 4 seed Grizzlies (22-2) would make three of their next four shots, including two from behind the arc, to pull ahead en route to a 57-38 win against the No. 13 seed Falcons (19-8).

Once Kan hit the first shot, it unlocked the rest of the roster. Senior Paulos Mulugeta hit the next 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 6-5, then later scored on a putback layup to put the Grizzlies ahead 11-7 with 2:38 left in the quarter. Mulugeta finished as the team’s leading scorer with 20 points and four 3-pointers.

“It just takes one shot to change the impact of the game,” Mulugeta said. “And that shot in particular just brought energy from the starters to the bench. From that moment, I knew everybody was ready. I knew that from that moment that the whole game we would play hard, make plays and that’s what we did.”

Glacier Peak closed the first quarter on a 9-1 run to go up 15-8, but a 6-0 solo run from Luke Unruh (20 points) cut it to 15-14 early in the second quarter. That’s where Albright stepped up, scoring two straight baskets to give the Grizzlies some breathing room at 19-14 before pulling down a defensive rebound and assisting Mulugeta for a 3-pointer to complete a 7-0 run.

Another 3 from Mulugeta extended the lead to 26-17 with 2:15 left in the half, which Glacier Peak finished shooting nearly 50 percent from the field (9-for-19, 47.4%) and 5-for-10 from 3-point land compared to Woodinville’s 36.4% from the field and 20% clip from 3, but the Falcons managed to bring it back within two points by the first minute of the third quarter.

In response, Glacier Peak stuck to its bread-and-butter, with senior Reed Nagel excelling in a facilitator role by feeding Albright in the paint throughout the third quarter to build the lead back up to 34-27 with 3:50 left.

“When (Albright’s) making shots, it makes it easier for me and (Kan) and (Mulugeta),” Nagel said. “It opens up the floor, so just being able to have him down there and just hit shots, it’s huge for us.”

Added Mulugeta: “(Albright’s) one of the biggest impacts on our team. He’s our best rebounder. He’s our best inside presence, and just having him on the team changes the whole dynamic of our offense.”

After Unruh cut it to 38-32 with a 3-pointer just outside two minutes left in the frame, it was Nagel’s turn to flex his scoring muscles. After he was fouled near half court with eight seconds left, the 6-foot-1 guard took the inbound pass and drove for a reverse layup. Playing until the clock hit zero, Nagel intercepted Woodinville’s inbound and chucked up a 3-pointer from the corner as time expired.

Bang.

With five points in eight seconds, Nagel extended Glacier Peak’s lead to 43-32 entering the final frame.

“We wanted to get a quick bucket on our inbound play, so ran that. Luckily, that converted,” Nagel said. “And I just think it was just a heads-up play (for the steal and 3-pointer), not relaxing. So just being able to get that and hit the shot was pretty exciting, and I think that was a momentum-changer, for sure.

“It got everyone hyped, and I think it really helped us just come out with energy in the fourth and shut them down.”

Indeed, even with eight minutes left to play, it did not take long for the game to feel over. Nagel and Mulugeta each drilled a 3-pointer to make it 51-36 before the fourth was half over. Mulugeta reached 20 points on a layup with about 1:17 left, and Albright put the exclamation point on his 17-point effort with a dunk in the final minute to seal the 57-38 win.

The Grizzlies advance to the quarterfinals against No. 3 Lake Washington, which beat them on a buzzer-beater in the District 1/2 4A semifinals on Feb. 19 to hand them their first loss of the season. With a chance at redemption — and an opportunity to reach the state semifinals for the third-straight year — Glacier Peak feels ready after shaking off its skid with a dominant Round of 12 win.

“We’ve been here multiple times, been here the past two years,” Mulugeta said. “We’ve ended third place (twice). We’re always looking for more. So this year we’re like, ‘We can’t let it end here. We got to keep going.’ So it’s just what we seek for in the future, that’s what it was. Just that motivation.”

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Meadowdale girls fall to Evergreen in Round of 12

For over 10 minutes, Meadowdale girls basketball couldn’t buy a shot.

After taking a 21-17 lead with five minutes left in the first half against Evergreen in the 3A State Round of 12, Meadowdale did not make another field goal until there was 2:27 left in the third quarter.

In that span, Evergreen had taken a 31-25 lead. Not ideal, but far from disastrous for coach Benson Sims’ squad. All they needed was a couple of shots to finally break their way.

All they needed was 23 seconds.

After senior Mia Brockmeyer broke the drought with a much-needed 3-pointer to cut it to 31-28 at 2:27, she scored a putback layup on the next possession. On the ensuing Evergreen inbound, junior Lexi Zardis stole the ball and drew a foul under the rim. She knocked down one of two free throws to tie it 31-31 with 2:04 left in the quarter.

“Trying to dial in and stay to our stuff,” Sims said about the end of the third. “One, we got to play both sides of the ball. Sometimes when the shots are not falling like you want (them) to, you’ve got to stop on defense. I think that was probably the thing they did all night, was they were attacking early. So you just got to hold.”

Despite Meadowdale seizing momentum, Evergreen surged back with 12-0 run into the fourth quarter, which included eight straight points off of turnovers in the first two minutes of the final frame.

The lack of ball security came back to bite the No. 15 seed Mavericks (16-11), as they fell 53-37 to the No. 7 seed Plainsmen (21-5). Brockmeyer led the team with 14 points to close her high school career, and Zardis added 13.

After starting out hot from behind the arc to go up 14-8 in the first quarter, the shots stopped falling as sophomore Courtney Neal (15 points) led Evergreen to the quarterfinals.

“Protecting possessions was a huge deal that worked against us,” Sims said. “That and not really finding a rhythm in the second half. I think we had a little more flow in the first.”

Meadowdale reached the Round of 12 in each of Sims’ first two seasons at the helm. After exceeding expectations as the 15th seed and with every key contributor besides Brockmeyer set to return next season, he believes the program is moving in the right direction.

“It’s all a building block, like a part of the process,” Sims said. “One thing is that they know that they can do it, and they know the work that it takes and they’re willing to do it. So I know this isn’t the outcome that they wanted, but I’ll tell you this, it was definitely well-achieved by even getting here (as the No. 15 seed). They’re a bunch of fighters, they’re ambitious. … They’ll be looking to do it again.”