Community Sports

Sports Beat | Gig Harbor girls basketball wins ninth consecutive game

The Gig Harbor girls basketball team has won nine in a row and climbed to No. 7 in the WIAA Class 3A RPI rankings after a 70-52 drubbing of Silas on Jan. 29.

The Tides defeated the Rams at home with pressure defense and a near-triple double from senior guard Kaliyah Miller, who had 14 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.

Junior forward Willow Bonnici collected 16 rebounds and nine points while senior guard Ashlyn Peirce contributed 12 points, four assists and four rebounds for Gig Harbor (14-3, 11-2 Puget Sound League). Freshmen Jalaay Miller and Khloe Squance had 10 points each.

Gig Harbor plays at Bellarmine (12-5, 10-3) on Jan. 30 with the regular-season Narrows Division championship on the line. The Tides won the previous game between the two teams, 57-45 on Dec. 3.

Jaalay Miller of Gig Harbor during a game earlier this season. Photo by Vincent Starr

Tides coach Michelle Hackett said that “whoever wins this game may be playing against (Nisqually Division champion) North Thurston next Saturday for the PSL league championship.”

In the final games of the regular season next week, Gig Harbor plays Central Kitsap and Mount Tahoma — who have a combined conference record of 3-21.

Puget Sound League Narrows Division girls basketball standings as of Jan. 30.

Gig Harbor boys in good position for postseason

The Gig Harbor boys basketball team earned a pivotal 77-61 victory over the Silas Rams on Jan. 28 behind 24 points from senior center Michael Masini.

The win helped the Tides (12-5, 10-3) take sole possession of third place in the Narrows Division with three games left to play in the regular season.

Michael Masini of Gig Harbor dunks during a game earlier this season. Photo by Vincent Starr

Silas came into the contest tied with Gig Harbor at 8-4 in conference play. Gig Harbor handled the Rams’ full-court pressure and made 11 of 13 free throws in the fourth quarter to close out the win.

Three seniors provided scoring punch for the Tides. Ty Buchanan had 18 points, Jack Brown provided 12 and Quentin Bockhorn added eight. Junior Max Schwab also had eight points against the Rams.

Gig Harbor hosts Bellarmine (16-2, 13-0) at 7 p.m. Jan. 30. The Lions are No. 2 in the WIAA Class 3A RPI rankings and have already secured the regular-season Narrows Division title. The Tides hope to hand them their first league loss.

So what does Gig Harbor need to do to win?

“Run them off the three point line, rebound the ball well and handle their physical defense,” coach Billy Landram said.

Puget Sound League Narrows Division boys basketball standings as of Jan. 30.

Seahawks lose to division bottom-feeders

The Peninsula boys basketball team lost back-to-back games to the Nisqually Division’s two worst teams within the last week. North Thurston and Capital had a combined conference record of 2-22 before both beat the Seahawks.

Peninsula (5-12, 3-10 PSL) managed to beat a good Lakes team earlier this year, and coach Sean Muilenburg’s postseason hopes were high with eight seniors on the roster. But losses to North Thurston (61-53 on Jan. 26) and Capital (65-56 on Jan. 28) put the Seahawks’ postseason hopes in jeopardy.

Peninsula needs to win at least one of the next three games to secure fourth place in the Nisqually Division and a spot in the conference tournament. But the Seahawks play the three teams ahead of them in the division standings: at River Ridge on Jan. 30, vs. Timberline on Feb. 2 and at Lakes on Feb. 4.

Puget Sound League Nisqually Division boys basketball standings as of Jan. 30.

Peninsula girls cling to conference tourney position

The Peninsula girls basketball team is hanging tough in the difficult Nisqually Division with a one-game lead over Timberline for a spot in the conference tournament.

The Seahawks (7-10, 5-8) used a swarming defense to earn a 63-16 victory over Capital at home on Jan. 28.

The suffocating Peninsula defense didn’t allow Capital to score more than five points in any quarter and forced multiple turnovers that led to transition buckets.

Capital managed 44 points in a Dec. 17 loss to Peninsula, but Peninsula coach Nelson Garbutt’s defense was on another level this time.

Puget Sound League Nisqually Division girls basketball standings as of Jan. 30.

Senior Beverly Dover led the Seahawks with 17 points while freshman Emi HansonSmith had 12 rebounds, six points and five assists. HansonSmith averages 11.9 rebounds per game. Freshman standout Leah Gunn added 10 points.

Peninsula hosts River Ridge at 7 p.m. Jan. 30 before taking on Timberline and Lakes next week to close out regular season play.

GH flag football advances to districts

The Gig Harbor girls flag football team earned a berth into the District 3 tournament with an 8-7 double overtime win over River Ridge in a Puget Sound League playoff game on Jan. 23 at Lincoln Bowl.

The Tides open district play against Capital at Mount Tahoma High School at 4 p.m. Jan. 30.

The Tides and River Ridge were tied at 7 at the end of regulation on Jan. 23.

Gig Harbor couldn’t score on its first overtime drive, but Brianna Ramirez’s interception forced a second OT. The Tides stuffed River Ridge at the goal line on the Hawks’ first possession of OT No. 2.

Maddie Harding of Gig Harbor throws a pass to a teammate during a recent practice. Photo by Dennis Browne

Gig Harbor then drove the field and got the winning point with a trick play: center Haeli Nuuhiwa-Alob cross-hiked to running back Emmalee Snell before slanting over the goal line to catch a quick pass from Snell that put the Tides in the district tournament.

The Tides will face a familiar opponent in the first round of district play. Gig Harbor defeated Capital 21-7 on Jan. 21.

Gig Harbor junior quarterback Maddie Harding, who has a lacrosse background, flashed the ability to throw deep with tight spirals at a recent practice and has been a key player in the Tides’ run to districts.

Asked about the pressure of playing quarterback in the postseason, Harding said: “Well, what helps me is that I didn’t come in swinging to be quarterback. My teammates chose me so I know that they have faith in me and that we have a great team, with great coaches.”

Tides sophomore cornerback Lauren Keck said her team is ready for Capital. “I’m really excited, I think we have a very good chance. We have the ability to beat anyone in this league, we just have to play our game,” Keck said.

Wrestling postseason approaches

Lakes upset the Peninsula (6-1) girls wrestling team, 42-36, in a dual meet on Jan. 21. Peninsula had been ranked No. 1 in the state.

Girls individual winners in the dual meet for Peninsula against Lakes included Georgina Johnson, Allison Otto, Justus Johnson, Lyla Klingler, Bailey Parker and Lindsey Shipp.

The Seahawks now head to Kelso for the inaugural State Duals tournament, organized by Washington State Wrestling Coaches Association. Peninsula is seeded third.

“This is a pretty exciting moment for wrestling in general in Washington state as our coaches association is putting on this inaugural event for all classifications,” said Seahawks coach Gary Griffin.

Bailey Parker of Peninsula has already won two state championships and will seek a third this winter. Photo courtesy of Peninsula High wrestling

The Seahawk boys wrestling team (5-2) had a successful season as well, but settled for third in the Nisqually Division after a 37-27 loss to Lincoln on Jan. 21. North Thurston claimed the division crown with a 7-0 record.

Seahawks standouts include Nehemiah Grandorff (28-5), Bryce Tillman (26-10), Tyler Sievers (23-9) and freshman Johann Powers (17-11).

Standouts for the boys team for Gig Harbor include Juan Mateo, 27-3 at 106 pounds, Hayden Fernandez (25-10) and Cyrus Maya (23-9).

Ellanor Nimrick is 32-6 wrestling in the 110-pound girls division.

“Ella and Juan are high-level competitors this year and both will be vying for state titles,” Gig Harbor coach Blake Moser said.

The top wrestlers from Peninsula and Gig Harbor will compete at next week’s Puget Sound League championships, scheduled for Feb. 6 and 7 at Silas High School in Tacoma.

Peninsula’s Ramones wins league bowling title

Janelle Ramones of Peninsula won the Puget Sound League bowling championship at All Star Lanes in Silverdale on Jan. 23. Her three-game total of 552 was six pins better than Paige Eggert of River Ridge.

Ramones finished the first 10 frames with a score of 190 before falling back a bit with a 170 in the second game. She laid down a 192 in the third game to earn the victory.

Janelle Ramones of Peninsula won the Puget Sound League bowling championship. Photo courtesy of Veronica Foley

She is the second Seahawk to win a league title in as many years after Ashley Richards won the championship in 2025.

Ramones’ individual win also pushed the Seahawks to a team district tournament appearance. Peninsula knocked down 2,777 pins to place third overall. Allison Angeles finished 11th and Angelina Brambila finished 18th.

The Tides’ bowling season ended with their seventh place finish at league championships. Senior Kim Bornt advanced to districts after she bowled a 506, good for fifth place.

Bornt will be trying to reach the state tournament for a second year in a row at the district tournament, set to begin at 8:45 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 31, at Bowlero in Lakewood.