Snohomish girls basketball knocks off Stanwood in OT classic

Published 1:38 am Friday, March 6, 2026

TACOMA — Sienna Capelli and Ken Roberts had nearly the full length of the court between them at the Tacoma Dome on Thursday as a Stanwood player drove to the basket with the score tied 30-30 and time running out in the Girls 3A State quarterfinals, yet both Snohomish player and coach thought the same thing.

This game is over.

“My heart definitely stopped,” Capelli said. “My breath was just being held. I was like, ‘Oh please just don’t make this layup,’ because she makes most of her layups. So I was like, ‘Oh, man. This might be the game loss.’”

As for Roberts, more definitively: “As soon as she turned (toward the hoop), I went, ‘We just lost.’”

Snohomish had blown its assignment. Roberts ordered his players to foul anyone with their back to the basket with so little time and three fouls to give, but instead a Spartan spun away from her defender on the inbound play and get a clear run to the hoop.

The ball went off the glass and down as the buzzer sounded, but instead of falling into the net, it bounced off the front of rim and out. Overtime.

Suddenly, the No. 2 seed Panthers (20-6) had new life, and after quickly regrouping, they managed to make just a couple of more shots than the No. 9 seed Spartans (21-6) down the stretch to secure a 41-36 win and advance to the semifinals, where they return for the second time in three years.

The Panthers have won 18 games in a row, including three against Stanwood. That familiarity between the league rivals made for a tightly contested battle, as each side knew the other’s tendencies well.

“It was definitely nice that we’ve played them twice before,” Snohomish junior Lola Rotondo said. “They’re a little bit easier to scout and everything. But definitely rebounding is always important for us, and especially against a team like that that’s very physical. It’s really important to get those extra possessions and stuff, and I think our defense is really good as well.”

Rotondo played a crucial role in the post at both ends with 12 rebounds (five offensive), four steals and four blocks, but it was Capelli that elevated the entire team. The senior scored nine points in overtime to finish with 30 on the night. On top of that, Capelli assisted each of her teammates’ combined three made field goals to have a hand in 37 of her team’s 41 points, and she had 10 rebounds, three steals and three blocks to stuff the stat sheet even further.

Perhaps no assist was more crucial than the last, which occurred with about 30 seconds left in overtime. Capelli attacked the lane as she had all night, except instead of taking it to the hoop, she dished it out left to sophomore Grace Gunnerson, who swished the catch-and-shoot jumper to extend Snohomish’s lead to 39-34.

“I knew throughout the game, when I would attack, there would be one person on me,” Capelli said. “But then they’d kind of (send in help defenders) a lot, and then I’d have two people (defending me). So I just saw (Gunnerson) in the corner where I was like, ‘Okay, she’s open. I know she’s going to shoot the shot, so I’ll give it to her.’ And that’s the good thing about my team, I just trust my teammates. I know they’re going to shoot it.”

Stella Berrett led the way for the Spartans with 13 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. The senior post found her rhythm offensively in the fourth quarter when most of the players on both sides struggled to shoot. Snohomish shot 32% of the field — just 11.5% if you took away Capelli’s shots (13-for-24, 54.2%) — while Stanwood shot 27.3%. Each side converted only one 3-pointer, combining to go 2-for-24 from behind the arc.

“It wasn’t the prettiest game. I said at halftime, ‘I thought we had set girls’ basketball back about 30 years,’” Roberts said with a wry smile. “But the kids did gut it out and finished.”

While some of the shot execution left more to be desired for both teams, a large part of it was caused by their defensive efforts. Even after coming out on the losing end, the first thing Stanwood coach Dustin Swanson remarked was how great the game was.

“A couple more (things) break their way, and they earned it,” Swanson said. “They played great, and I thought our girls battled and played really well with the things we had in front of us. It was an awesome high school basketball game, and really proud of my team and happy to be a part of that.”

The first quarter set the tone for the rest of the game, as each side mustered just six points through eight minutes. Capelli denied a pass to Berrett in the post to create a turnover, and she scored a layup on the other end to tie it 6-6 with 24 seconds left in the frame.

Junior Lizzie Allyn put the Panthers in front 9-6 with a second-chance 3-pointer about 5:30 before halftime, and Capelli scored four more points to make it a 13-9 halftime lead. The shooting woes continued into the second half, as neither team made a field goal until Berrett cut it to 15-12 with about 3:26 left in the third.

Snohomish led 18-14 two minutes before the fourth until Stanwood senior Presley Harris swished a 3 from the top of the key as she was fouled, and the guard knocked down the free throw to complete the four-point play and tie it 18-18 with 1:16 left in the quarter. A putback layup from sophomore Dorothy Berrett put the Spartans ahead 20-19 going into the fourth.

“We were trying to get it done on the defensive end,” Rotondo said. “They were scoring a lot (to close the third quarter), so we definitely tried to emphasize that.”

Capelli and Stella Berrett traded shots throughout the final quarter, neither team able to pull ahead by more than three points. Berrett put Stanwood ahead 30-28 with a shot off the glass with 2:47 left, but Rotondo answered with a jump shot to tie it.

In a single possession in the final minute, Snohomish secured four offensive rebounds, and senior Kendall Hammer dove for a ball that Stanwood tipped into the back court to maintain possession and ultimately run the clock down for a final shot with 8.7 seconds left. However, the Panthers turned the ball over on the inbound, which set Stanwood up with the potential game-winning look that just barely missed.

Given a final opportunity to extend the season, Capelli and Snohomish did not waste it.

“I think all the kids thought we had just lost a game, basically, and finally just loosened up and played,” Roberts said. “We were tight all game, and part of it is Stanwood knows us. They did a good job. … They had some seniors that definitely didn’t want to go home, and (Capelli) didn’t want to go home either.”

The Spartans will have a chance to earn a spot in Saturday’s fourth-place game with a consolation matchup against No. 12 White River on Friday. Meanwhile, the Panthers will face No. 6 seed Eastside Catholic in the semifinals on Friday.

“It’s definitely big for us,” Capelli said. “Especially and me and (Hammer), because we’re both seniors, I think it makes it even more big. But I’m excited. I’m super excited. I’ve never been able to experience this, so I’m super excited.”