EDMONDS — Archbishop Murphy girls basketball turned a five-point halftime lead into a 21-point margin entering the fourth quarter of a key road matchup against Edmonds-Woodway on Tuesday, but the home side pushed back.
Freshman Zaniyah Jones and senior Finley Wichers, Edmonds-Woodway’s leading scorers, alternated baskets to help whittle the deficit down to 65-53 with around four minutes left. However, completing a comeback against an Archbishop Murphy side that played lockdown defense all game would be a long shot.
And stopping Brooke Blachly on the other end of the floor would be an even longer one.
The Archbishop Murphy senior swished four 3-pointers in the final four minutes of the game, finishing with 45 points and nine treys to keep the Wildcats (13-4, 9-0 league) ahead for the 77-60 win against the Warriors (13-2, 6-2 league). The victory put Archbishop Murphy in prime position to win Wesco South 3A/2A, knocking second-place Edmonds-Woodway down to two league losses with four games left in the regular season.
“We just want to continue the path we’re on right now,” Blachly said. “We want to continue to stay undefeated in league and we want to bring that to districts. Obviously those games are going to get tough. District championship, if we make it there, is going to be tough. And I think we just need to keep rolling with what we have. Keep using the momentum we’re building, and just take that with us for the rest of the season.”
Archbishop Murphy’s Celine Wright makes a layup during the game against Edmonds-Woodway on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Juniors Celine Wright (13 points, seven rebounds, three blocks) and Ashley Fletcher (12 points, six rebounds) made big plays at both ends of the court to supplement the Wildcats, but Blachly’s scoring ability took the team to another level. After scoring 22 points in the first half, the 5-foot-8 guard scored all 17 of Archbishop Murphy’s points in the fourth quarter, connecting from deep at a rate that would demoralize any opponent. Or comfort any teammate.
“It calms everybody down,” Wright said about Blachly’s late-game scoring, which drew a laugh from coach Ebany Herd. “I feel like when Brooke’s hitting, we’re all like, ‘Okay, okay, we’re good.’”
Jones (16 points, 11 rebounds), Wichers (14 points) and freshmen Amara Leckie (12 points) and Amelia Faber (10 points) all reached double-figures for Edmonds-Woodway, which showed progress on Tuesday after losing the first matchup 72-40 on Dec. 16. The Warriors’ only two losses so far this season are against Archbishop Murphy.
“Basketball’s a game of runs, and we knew that (Blachly) is capable of scoring like that,” Warriors coach Quinn Manning said. “They went on a run, and we just didn’t respond quite how I hoped, but this was certainly a different game and tenor than the first time we played them. … I think this game is helpful for us to see what it’s like to play a really top-notch basketball team and take some lumps.”
Edmonds-Woodway’s Zaniyah Jones drives to the hoop during the game against Archbishop Murphy on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
The game started out even, with Edmonds-Woodway missing their shots from behind the arc, but remaining in the mix after taking advantage of a couple Wildcat turnovers, including an attempt to prevent the ball from going out behind their own baseline turning into an open layup for Leckie, who picked up the loose ball underneath the basket and tied it 8-8 with around 3:25 left in the first quarter.
Wicher put the Warriors ahead 12-8 by banking in a 3-pointer a minute later, but Blachly responded on the next possession with a 3 of her own to put it back within one. Wright hit a fadeaway jumper with just over a minute left to put Archbishop Murphy ahead 15-14, and after the Wildcats forced a shot clock violation at the other end, Blachly knocked down another 3 to make it 18-14. The Warriors cut it to 18-16 entering the second quarter with a driving layup from freshman Sloane Franks.
The Wildcats started to pull ahead in the second, due in large part to second-chance points from offensive rebounds. Junior Kani Cham pulled down an offensive board and kicked it out to Blachly for a 3 less than a minute into the frame before Wright hit a 3 from the top of the key to finish off a passing sequence between Blachly and senior Kayla Hookfin. Cham completed the run by rebounding her own shot twice before sending the ball back out to Blachly for another 3-pointer, extending the lead to 29-19 with around six minutes left in the half.
“We preach that a lot. Second-chance opportunities are huge,” Herd said. “We always want to make sure we have more possessions at the end of the game than what they end up with.”
Edmonds-Woodway quickly reeled things back in with a layup from Franks and a 3-pointer from Leckie to put it back within five points, which ended up being the difference entering the second half as Archbishop Murphy carried a 37-32 lead, but the visitors tightened up on defense entering the third quarter, pressing deep into the Warriors’ side while also drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line.
Fletcher scored eight of the Wildcats’ first 10 points of the half, consistently getting looks under the hoop to spark a 12-4 run in the first three minutes of the third. After Fletcher put Archbishop Murphy ahead 47-36, Blachly stole the ensuing inbound pass and scored an easy bucket to extend the lead to 13, leading Manning to call a timeout with 4:54 left in the quarter.
“We knew that we had to pressure them,” Blachly said. “And we knew we had to build a lead, and we knew we could as soon as we got rolling. So I think as soon as we applied that pressure to them and we were more aware of our assignments, we got those easy buckets.”
Archbishop Murphy’s Brooke Blachly takes a three-point shot during the game against Edmonds-Woodway on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
The Wildcats continued to press, hardly allowing clean looks for the Warriors, whose shots were rarely falling whenever they could get them up. Cham extended the lead to 57-36 with a putback layup following another Edmonds-Woodway turnover, and Archbishop Murphy entered the fourth leading 60-39, allowing just seven points in the third. Wright labeled communication as the biggest key to the team’s success defensively.
“When we don’t communicate, that’s when they get the easy stuff,” Wright said. “It’s just go with communication, and that’s building our energy and getting stops.”
From there, Blachly took over to put the game to bed, and put the Wildcats in the driver’s seat heading towards the postseason. Despite all but locking up the league title, Herd is still looking for her group to bring consistent play in all four quarters.
“Right now, we’re kind of playing in bits and pieces and spurts,” Herd said. “We play one really good quarter and then one quarter, we’re kind of like going through the motions. We’re trying to put four quarters together, because when we do that, we’re really unstoppable. Tonight, we did not necessarily play four quarters, but the quarters that we did play well, they really mattered, and they counted for us.”
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