Best Rainier Beach team ever? Vikings make their case with 3A state championship win
There was a point in the second half of the Class 3A state championship game when everyone in attendance probably should have just stopped and soaked it in for a moment. Facing fifth-seeded Edmonds-Woodway at the Tacoma Dome on Saturday night, Rainier Beach was out and running, knocking down shots left and right, moving the ball effortlessly and putting on a clinic.
If a youth coach were searching for tape to flip on and show a group of kids how to play basketball, Saturday night’s Beach game would be a fine example: intense, free-flowing and unselfish team basketball.
Rainier Beach cruised to a 68-48 win, the school’s 10th state title. It was a scintillating performance from a team that cemented itself as one of the best to ever play at the school — and there have been plenty of great ones over the years. The Vikings won their three tournament games at the Dome by an average margin of 19 points.
“We had to work hard for it,” guard Jaylen Petty said. “Nothing’s easy.”
Petty was the star of the show, pouring in 26 points and shooting over 50 percent from the field, adding three rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. His two-handed transition dunk in the fourth quarter was an exclamation point on his MVP-caliber game and tournament.
It’s been a full-circle journey for Petty, the TNT’s 2024 All-Area player of the year. He started his career at Rainier Beach before spending his sophomore and junior seasons at Auburn, then transferred back to Rainier Beach for his senior year.
Hoisting the trophy on Saturday was everything Petty envisioned when he returned to Beach.
“The fact that we came out here, just stayed together as a brotherhood, it means a lot to me,” Petty said.
Kaden Powers and Marques Ili-Meneese added 11 points apiece for the Vikings and Nyale Robinson scored nine. Defensively, Rainier Beach held Dartmouth commit Cmaeron Hiatt in check with 15 points.
“From the start,” Powers said of the team’s journey. “We’ve been practicing since before June. We got it. It’s exciting.”
Was this Rainier Beach’s best team ever? Bethea was non-commital, opting to let his players over the years settle that debate.
“Come by our gym one night this summer, let them argue and you’ll figure it out with them,” Bethea said, smiling. “They’ll all be in there arguing, that’s what they do every summer. They rank right up there. One of the most unselfish teams we’ve ever had.”
Petty and Powers, on the other hand, already had an opinion.
“I get to talk to my coaches and say my team was the best,” Powers said.
And Petty?
“Super team,” he said. “I think it’s the best team.”
This story was originally published March 8, 2025 at 7:24 PM with the headline "Best Rainier Beach team ever? Vikings make their case with 3A state championship win."
