The Herald’s 2023-24 Girls Basketball Player of the Year: Alana Washington

It was only a matter of time before Alana Washington would follow in her cousin’s footsteps and play under the Tacoma Dome lights at the Hardwood Classic.

Washington’s cousin? Former Snohomish point guard Maya DuChesne, who helped the Panthers to a district title and three state trophies before graduating in 2019.

“I always would go and watch my cousin … at the Tacoma Dome because she made it like three years in a row. And I just remember thinking like, ‘Those are real girls. I’m going to be there. I’m going to be a high school player one day,’” Washington said. “But it really hit me this year, like I am one of those girls playing at the Tacoma Dome, and there’s probably little girls looking up to us now. And I’m just thinking like, ‘That’s us. Everett is here.’”

After a standout senior season and spectacular play during the postseason, Washington has another thing in common with her cousin. She’s The Herald’s Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

Washington is noticeable when she steps onto the court wearing her No. 12 jersey. She stands out not only because she’s a 6-foot-1 guard and has a twin sister, Mae, who’s also six feet tall, but because she flips the switch on her demeanor as soon as she steps on the court. Alana, who can usually be seen smiling and displaying her bubbly personality off the court, turns into a fierce competitor as soon as she steps on the hardwood.

Alana entered this season with the same mindset she had all her other years while on the Everett girls basketball team — win and have fun. But being it was her senior year and the team had just graduated a handful of seniors after making a historic appearance at the Class 3A Hardwood Classic in 2023, it was her time to take charge and continue the momentum.

The Everett girls basketball team advanced to the state round of 12 and reached the Tacoma Dome last year for the first time since 1996, and Alana finished the season averaging 12 points, six rebounds and two steals per game.

Not only did Everett return to the Tacoma Dome and round of 12 this year, it advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in 41 years, and it brought home a sixth-place trophy. Alana finished this season averaging 23 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals per game, nearly doubling her points per game from her junior season.

Alana’s last few games of the season were memorable for her own basketball career and the program she played for. She scored 32 points to help Everett past Meadowdale in a winner-to-state, loser-out District 1 consolation game and 33 points against Seattle Prep during the state regional round to advance Everett to the Hardwood Classic. She made the game-winning layup with two seconds remaining to oust fourth-seeded Auburn in the round of 12, and she registered 37 points against North Thurston in the loser-out consolation game to propel Everett to a state trophy.

“My play my senior year, I was kind of surprised,” Alana said. “I didn’t really have it in my mind like, ‘I’m going to try to go out and drop like 20 (points).’ I was just taking it one game at a time. And I literally remember thinking after almost every game like, ‘I can’t believe I just did that?’ … I was just super, super proud of the team, and that we were able to come together and place sixth.”

But earning a state trophy was no easy task this season for the Seagulls. Plagued with injuries, Everett constantly adjusted its lineup. At one period in the season, only six varsity players were healthy to play.

Seagulls senior point guard Mylie Wugumgeg suffered a leg injury in early January and also experienced medical issues that sidelined her for most of the district tournament and all the team’s state games.

Mae dislocated her shoulder against Monroe in late-January for the second time since summer AAU ball. She was absent for Everett’s next five games, which included district tournament matchups against Edmonds-Woodway, Lynnwood and Shorecrest. Mae returned to the lineup and scored 21 points in Everett’s victory over Meadowdale but dislocated her shoulder again versus Auburn and against North Thurston at state. She did not play in the fourth/sixth-place game against Arlington.

“The first couple games, it hindered me just because I was concerned. I felt bad, like those are crucial games, and we obviously need her,” Alana said about her sister missing from the lineup. “But it also did allow me to push harder and obviously rely on my teammates more because I do tend to look sometimes only to Mae during the game. It did bring us together in that way, but it also somewhat hindered myself and the team just because we were obviously losing a body and a crucial part of our team.”

Third-year head coach Darrell McNeal said Mae’s absence forced Alana and the other team members to mesh in a different fashion.

“It was basically coaching them one quarter, one possession at a time, getting them to learn how to play together and rely on each other even more so than having other people learn how to take on some other roles,” McNeal said. “(Missing Wugumgeg and Mae) caused a little stress at times. However, it made other girls step up and put other girls in a position on the floor gaining the experience, improving on their confidence.

“In the end, it was great because when we got to the state tournament, we were still banged up, and when we played in that last game on Saturday, we only lost by five, (and) that’s with Mylie and Mae out,” McNeal continued. “So the other girls were familiar and comfortable, and they knew their roles and they were able to step up and do well.”

Both Alana and Mae continue their basketball journeys at Arizona Christian University next school year and look to use their experiences from the challenging Wesco 3A/2A league in the Golden State Athletic Conference.

“People counted us out when our point guard went down and when we lost Mae for a little bit. … People didn’t think my girls would rise to the occasion,” McNeal said. “With Alana leading the way, along with everyone else getting in line and doing their part and playing their role, we were able to have a successful run. … It didn’t matter who was on the floor, it didn’t matter who we were going to go against, these girls always showed up to play.”