PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend girls got off to a terrible start and with nothing to lose in the second half, put on a furious rally to nearly catch Cascade Christian in their West Central District 3 1A Girls Basketball Tournament opener.
The Redhawks ultimately fell in Saturday’s game 47-41, but coach Scott Wilson said the team showed a lot of determination in that second half. Port Townsend outscored Cascade Christian 30-15 in the second half and 21-8 in the fourth quarter.
“They just took it to them in the second half. It was too bad we were so far down,” Wilson said. “It showed the real heart and intensity of this team. They came out fighting like wolverines.”
Wilson said the girls got some good shots in the first half, but the ball simply wasn’t dropping for the Redhawks as they fell behind 32-11 at the half.
“In the first half, our team was pretty nervous,” Wilson said.
Coming out of the break, the Redhawks put on a furious full court press, forcing Cascade Christian into turnovers. Kaitlyn Meek scored all 18 of her points in the second half.
“She basically took over,” Wilson said.
Jaz Apker-Montoya scored 15 for the Redhawks, while Mackenzie Lake added six.
While the Redhawks’ season came to an end with a record of 10-9, Wilson said the future is bright for this team. The Redhawks graduate only Jenna Carson (who is becoming a U.S. Marine) and Amelia Breithaupt.
Cascade Christian 47, Port Townsend 41
Cascade Christ. 18 14 7 8 — 47
Port Townsend 4 7 9 21— 41
Cascade Chr. (47) — Downs 20, Lorenz 12, Shelton 6, Brodner 3, Teifke 4, Miller 2.
Port Townsend (41) — Meek 18, Apker-Montoya 15, Lake 6, Nielsen 2.
Port Angeles 42, Renton 32
TACOMA — The Roughriders sealed a trip to the state regional round with their second win in as many days over a higher-seeded South Puget Sound League foe.
Port Angeles (13-8) will play White River (21-2) on Thursday at 7:45 p.m. at Foss High School for a spot in the district championship, a largely ceremonial affair thanks to the introduction of the WIAA’s RPI ranking system which seeds qualified teams for state.
The Riders are likely locked in as the No. 15 seed to the 16-team state regional round Feb. 24-25.
Port Angeles held Eatonville to its second-lowest scoring output on the season in a 44-37 win on Friday, and limited the Indians to their third-lowest point total of the season at Foss on Saturday.
The Riders were forced to play two games in two days after the closure of the Hood Canal Bridge due to high winds Thursday pushed their district opener back 24 hours.
“In both games, back-to-back 24 hours, we were the most ready to go,” Port Angeles coach Michael Poindexter said.
The Riders pushed to a 17-2 lead after one quarter and led 27-8 at halftime against Renton.
“In the first half everybody played well offensively,” Poindexter said. “We ran our offense extremely well, taking good shots and making shots.”
The Indians rallied in the second half, pulling within single digits in the fourth quarter.
“We rebounded very well in the first half out of our zone,” Poindexter said.
“A lot of effort and a lot of movement. That fell apart in the second half, mostly due to fatigue. Playing the two games with a tighter rotation, not playing with as much depth, it took its toll.
The Riders were playing without senior starter Lauren Lunt, out due to illness.
Poindexter pointed to the play of point guards Mikkiah Brady and junior Gracie Long against Renton’s man-to-man pressure defense.
Brady scored six of her team-high 13 points in the second half, and she and Long hit crucial 3-point shots to give their squad momentum down the stretch.
“Brady played a great game,” Pointdexter said.
“She and Gracie Long did a great job handling Renton’s pressure.”
Long scored seven.
Nizhoni Wheeler added 11 points for Port Angeles.
Poindexter also praised the play of junior Brennan Gray.
“The unsung hero of the game for us was Brennan Gray,” Poindexter said.
“She played a ton of minutes and was extremely solid for us. She didn’t make errors, she rebounded well and played within herself.”
Port Angeles 42, Renton 32
Port Angeles 17 10 6 9— 42
Renton 2 6 16 8— 32
Port Angeles (42) — Brady 13, N. Wheeler 11, Long 7, C. Wheeler 7, Gray 2, Steinman 1, McGuffey 1.
Renton (32) — Tate 14, Benning 10, Thomas 6, Leonard 2.
Seattle Christian 52, Chimacum 22
SEATTLE — The Chimacum girls lost their second-round West Central District 3 1A Girls Basketball Tournament game to Seattle Christian 52-22, ending their season..
“Hats off to Seattle Christian, they are an excellent team. They would have been a tough opponent to take down but playing on back-to-back nights with no prep for a defense we haven’t seen all year … it just all proved to be more than we could overcome,” said coach Trevor Huntingford.
Chimacum ends its season with a 12-10 record.
“Our girls have been excellent this year as teammates to one another and showing a never-say-die attitude and that was the case in this game as well. Our seniors can walk off the court with their heads held high and be proud to say they where part of two postseason trips and the first winning season in about 10 years,” said Huntingford.
It was the final game for seniors Mechelle Nisbet, Alice Yaley and Shanya Nisbet.
“Alice, Shanya and Mechelle will be greatly missed and leave some big shoes to fill, but at the same time I am already excited to see where we go with our returnees which include 5 sophomores that all played big roles with our varsity this year,” Huntingford said.
“I couldn’t ask for anything more as a coach than what these young ladies gave this year and I am proud of all they accomplished on the court and as teammates and as a family.”
Seattle Christian 52, Chimacum 22
Chimacum 8 2 2 10 — 22
Seattle Christ. 15 21 13 3 — 52
Chimacum (22) — G. Yaley 4, Trafton 2, M. Nisbet 5, Dowling 5, S. Nisbet 4, Horner 2.
Seattle Christian (52) — Anderson 17, Ellis 13, Clark 8, Seibel 6, Ronish 4, May 2, Bates 2.
Boys Basketball Seattle Christian 72, Chimacum 42
CHIMACUM — The Cowboys lost their opening round West Central District 3 1A Boys Basketball Tournament game to Seattle Christian 72-42.
“It was a tough way to end the season last night, considering how well we’ve played at home. We knew it was going to be a challenge to match up against Seattle Christian. They have quite a few players with good height and that gave us problems in the paint,” said coach Justin Bento.
“Joseph Richey had his best game of the season and helped us keep pace at the beginning of the game. We just didn’t have an answer on defense, which is something that we’ve been able to count on this year,” Bento said.
Richey and Issac Purser led the Cowboys with 12 points each, while Aidan Hartnett scored nine. Seattle Christian’s Zac VanderLey scored 34.
Chimacum ended its season 4-5 in the Olympic League 1A Division and 4-14 overall.
It was the last game for seniors Dylan Glessing, Lane Dotson, Hartnett and Richey.
“I would like to thank all of the parents and fans that came out to support their Chimacum Cowboys this season. It was a pleasure to coach the team this year and I wish the class of 2017 the best of luck in their future endeavors,” Bento said.
Seattle Christian 72, Chimacum 42
Seattle Christ. 15 16 20 21 — 72
Chimacum 10 6 12 14 — 42
Seattle Christ. (72) — VanderLey 34, Saggau 18, Howell 13, Hohimer 4, Toy 3.
Chimacum (42) — Purser 12, Richey 12, Hartnett 9, Dickerson 4, Hundley 3, L. Dotson 2.
Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News Port Townsend’s Mackenzie Lake, right, fends off a Cascade Christian defender in Port Townsend’s playoff game Saturday.
