Star sophomore guard Davion Shareef-Dulaney grabs most of the headlines, but the winning recipe for the Lincoln basketball team — the secret sauce? It’s the bigs.
When Lincoln’s frontcourt duo of senior Kasey Williams and sophomore Justus Holt are playing aggressive, attacking basketball like they were in Lincoln’s 81-50 blowout win over Auburn Mountainview in the Class 3A District 3/4 championship game on Saturday evening, the Abes are a different beast altogether.
Or in the words of Williams?
“Damn near unstoppable,” he told The News Tribune after cutting down the net at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.
Lincoln jumped on Auburn Mountainview early and only grew more confident as the game wore on. Williams scored a game-high 18 points, Shareef-Dulaney scored 17 and Holt scored 15. That’s the type of balance that could lead to a run at the Tacoma Dome next month.
“We’ve come out a little slower (in some games this season) than we’re supposed to,” Williams said. “So I think it’s up to us to set the tone. We’ve just gotta come out and dominate and be more aggressive than the other bigs.”
Half: Lincoln 38, Auburn Mountainview 30
— Jon Manley (@manley_tnt) February 22, 2026
Lincoln forwards Justus Holt and Kasey Williams were very active, effective. The highlight this Davion Shareef-Dulaney dunk @tntpreps@thenewstribunepic.twitter.com/uI2vnv7cYN
Lincoln coach Ryan Rogers heaped praised onto his frontcourt after the win.
“Kasey is our workhorse,” Rogers said. “He’s a guy that does a lot of the little things that aren’t really on the stat sheet. He’s getting tips, getting rebounds, getting steals, doing all the little things that really make us run. His energy, his willingness to do all of those things is what really helps us win.”
Guard Kolven Posey scored a team-high 14 points for Auburn Mountainview and Markel Lowery added 11, but it was otherwise tough sledding, especially on the defensive end.
Lincoln advances to 17-6 with the win and is hitting its stride at the right time after an up-and-down regular season.
“I feel like we have all the momentum,” Holt said. “We can make a run at the Dome.”
Rogers said he feels the Abes have done enough to warrant a top eight seed from the seeding committee on Sunday, which would guarantee a trip to the Tacoma Dome after the state tournament regional round. More importantly, he’s happy to see his team realizing its potential and peaking at the right time.
“I feel like we’re starting to figure out what’s gonna make us successful and figure out that we can play with anybody and we’re ready to kind of prove that,” Rogers said.
3A GIRLS DISTRICT 3/4 CHAMPIONSHIP: NORTH THURSTON 61, ENUMCLAW 52
Enumclaw led reigning 3A District 3/4 champion North Thurston 38-26 at half, forcing North Thurston into bad shots and punishing the Rams on the other end of the floor.
There was no panic from senior guard Shayla Cordis and junior guard Sierra Cordis. Their message to their younger teammates at halftime: relax.
“I feel like it was just the nerves, freshmen coming on a big stage,” Shayla Cordis said. “It’s new to them, but it’s not new to us, so we’ve just got to kind of uplift them, starting with defense, just getting those easy buckets.”
North Thurston cranked up the defensive pressure in the second half and got out in transition, outscoring Enumclaw 35 to 14 in the second half en route to a 61-52 win and back-to-back district titles.
“Communicating,” Sierra Cordis said of the defensive shift in the second half. “That’s a big thing in our defense, so I wanna shoutout my teammate (freshman Jae Jay Cherry) for always bringing that energy on defense when she comes in.”
Shayla Cordis, a TNT All-Area selection last winter, poured in a game-high 32 points, most of which came at or near the rim, a combination of transition layups and beating defenders off the dribble in the halfcourt offense.
“I knew that early in the game, their help defense wasn’t really all the way there, so coming into the third and fourth quarter, I knew that I had to apply that pressure, get to the rim, get my buckets and so just being ready to attack, kick and even to pull up,” she said. “So just being strong in the paint and ready to finish those hard shots.”
Sierra Cordis added 11 points for the Rams. Enumclaw was paced by center Emma Holt’s 17 points. Guard Logan Girias added 16 and forward Ava Smith added 11 in the loss.
North Thurston moves to 20-5 on the season and with the district championship win, is all but assured a top eight seed in next week’s state tournament regional round, which means a guaranteed spot in the state tournament at the Tacoma Dome next month.