Story and photos by Tracy Burrows
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Both Chief Sealth International High School basketball teams played must-win district-tournament games at home Tuesday night.

After the CSIHS girls’ basketball team’s tough loss to Foster High School in the opening round of the tournament, head coach Mario Martinez decided to play up-tempo ball from the initial possession of their game. The Seahawks deployed a full-court man-to-man press the entire first half and wreaked havoc on their opponent, the Lindbergh Eagles (Renton). Sealth forced multiple turnovers and kept Lindbergh from setting up their offense.

Lindbergh tried to stop Sealth’s Alysse Bland (above), but she had little problem shaking off defenders. Sealth’s smothering team defense, along with a couple of key three pointers from Bethel Bisrat and Keimani Proctor-Mills’ dynamic rebounding helped the Seahawks build a 29-20 lead at the half.

At the start of the second half, Sealth started racking up fouls that gave Lindbergh bonus free throws with over 3 minutes left in the third quarter. The free throws kept Lindbergh in the game as they cut Sealth’s lead to three heading into the 4th quarter. But Bland continued driving and scoring.

Presley Williams (above) drained two timely 3-pointers and the team iced the win 50-37. After the game, Coach Martinez was proud of the determination of the team. “If we keep playing with intensity and energy, we can make it through to the State tournament.” Next up for the Sealth girls is an away game at Cedarcrest High School in Duvall on Thursday at 7:00 pm.

Now to the boys’ game:

After a heartbreaking 69-68 loss to Renton High School on Saturday. the Sealth boys’ team played a must-win game in Tuesday night’s Class 2 District Tournament game against the Evergreen Wolverines from White Center.

After head coach Ja’Lyn Combs made an early adjustment to address Evergreen’s defensive press, the outcome of the game was never really in doubt. The Sealth boys combined outside shooting with effective inside play and led by a score of 32-24 at the half.

The Seahawks went on a quick run to start the 2nd half by forcing turnovers and making quick fast-break points. Sealth players repeatedly beat defenders to the basket and Chase Valdez (above) poured in buckets from the outside. By the end of the game, the Evergreen defense was worn down as the Seahawks notched an 83-57 win.

Chase Valdez led the team with 19 points and Taj Washington (above) contributed 13. The team moves on to play an away game on Thursday night at either Foster or Lindbergh.