Penguin Playbook 3/3

Theo Weller
Mar 5
3 min read

Boys Basketball

The Penguins talk things over in the huddle late in their state quarterfinal battle against Eastern.

After losing their last regular season game on February 3rd and narrowly missing the DCIAA playoffs, the boys didn’t have any games left on their schedule. However, a bid to the Class A District of Columbia State Athletic Association (DCSAA) tournament as the 7-seed kept their season alive.

After a full 3 weeks with no games, the Penguins faced off against the 2-seed, Eastern, in a fiery game on Capitol Hill. Despite losing by 31 points to Eastern in the regular season, the Penguins started hot, taking a 12-10 lead into the second quarter and only being down 21-20 going into the half. Walls went down by 8 late in the 3rd quarter but the Penguins fought back, going on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to 1 midway through the fourth quarter. Chidiire Nwokwu’s (‘25) defense forced a botched rebound by Eastern, giving Walls the ball down 51-48 with about 26 seconds left on the clock. The Penguins put up a solid three-point look off the inbound but the shot went off the backboard, off the rim, off the backboard again, off the rim again, off the backboard again and out. Eastern gained possession, all but sealing the game. The Penguins lost by a final score of 48-53.

Although Walls didn’t come out on top, they had a strong showing to end the season, as the Ramblers went on to win the whole tournament. Walls ended with an 11-13 record and a solid season, highlighted by wins against Bard, DC International School, and Model Secondary School for the Deaf. With a strong 2027 class of Jacob Lucia, Ellington Hunt, and Isaac Wallsten, the Penguins should build on this season’s success next year.

Girls Basketball

Ellie Olesh ('28) during a regular season game against Banneker.

A stellar girls regular season secured them the 5-seed in the DCIAA playoffs, matching them up against the 4-seed, Banneker. The Penguins, who lost badly to Banneker in the regular season, gave the Bulldogs a battle but ultimately lost on a heart-breaker, with Banneker hitting a 2-pointer for the win as time expired.

The girls still made the DCSAA Class A playoffs with good seeding though, ranked 4th. The Penguins played #13 DC International School in the first rounds. The Dragons gave Walls a momentary scare, but Walls was able to pull away for a 43-24 victory. The win put SWW into a quarterfinal matchup against #12 Ballou. The Penguins made easy work of the Knights, winning 49-29 to punch their ticket to the Class A state semifinals for the first time in team history. Unfortunately, that was where their historic season would end, losing to the eventual Class A champion Eastern Ramblers 56-29.

Nevertheless, the 17-6 season proved that the Penguins - who were struggling to gather enough players for a team just four years ago - are a real contender in both the DCIAA and DCSAA Class A. With underclassmen Nadia Kallmer (‘27), Adeline King (‘28), Ellie Olesh (‘28), and Liliana Dietz (‘28) all being in the team’s top 6 in minutes, the girls’ success doesn’t look to be going away any time soon.

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