Sports

Sports Beat: Tides remain unbeaten in boys basketball

The Gig Harbor (5-0, 3-0) boys basketball team remained unbeaten with a thrilling, 53-51 victory Dec. 12 over a tough Yelm Tornado squad that was full of competitive players fresh off the football field, where they played for the state championship a couple weeks ago.

In nature, tornados are often sudden, can be deadly and appear out of nowhere. That was the case in the Gig Harbor gym Tuesday night. The Tides enjoyed several double-digit leads in the third period and were cruising, only to watch Yelm suddenly bury six 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as its traveling fans roared. The last bomb pulled the Tornados to within one point at 50-49 with under 20 seconds to go.

As the Tides looked to get the ball inside to one of their dominant 6-foot, 8-inch post players, Michael Masini or Luke Allison, the Tornados’ defense tipped a pass. The ball bounced to a Yelm player who advanced it to a sprinting guard for a layup. Talk about a momentum swing. Suddenly the Tides were in trouble, down 51-50 with only 13 seconds left.

The Tides have tough players, too, who are used to winning and aren’t afraid of a big moment. Experienced coach Billy Landram knew that, so he chose to not call a timeout to let Yelm set its defense or apply full-court pressure which could have eaten up precious seconds.

Browne to the rescue

Gig Harbor quickly inbounded to Masini at halfcourt. He snapped a crosscourt pass to guard Cole Browne on the right wing. Browne up faked a defender, then put his head down and aggressively attacked the rim. He sank a running bank shot high off the glass through hard contact for the bucket and the foul as the Gig Harbor gym erupted.

With the score 52-51 and the fans in a frenzy, Yelm coach Dave Wasankari called timeout to ice Browne’s free throw attempt with seven seconds to go. But Browne stepped up to the line and calmly swished the foul shot for a 2-point lead.

A Yelm player drove for a difficult scoop shot in traffic that missed wildly as the buzzer sounded.

“With such a young team, Cole is forced to do a bit of everything for us,” Landram said of Browne. “He has been great at getting the ball to others while still being one of our top scorers. He has had six assists several games already and the game-winner was huge. We didn’t want to call a timeout because we trust his decision-making and wanted the ball in his hands in transition to make a play or make a good decision. He came through when it mattered most.”

Browne, who had 12 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals, said of his game-winning shot, “I knew I had to make a play. “Instinct kind of takes over in that situation. I wanted to go up and get the basket and not just hope for a foul call. After it went in, all I could think about was the free throw I had coming to me and getting one more stop on defense. After the game ended, it finally hit me, and it felt awesome.”

Twin towers come up big

Browne had plenty of help from the Tides’ twin towers, Masini and Allison. Masini led the team in scoring with 20 points and rebounding with 12, and added a couple of big rejections on defense. He was efficient shooting the ball in the paint and from mid-range while slicing through the defense for a pair of athletic finger rolls. He made 9 of 16 shots while also splashing a deep three that made Yelm coach Wasankari scratch his head before sitting back down on the bench.

“Masini is a great athlete who continues to get better each day,” Landram said. “His potential is limitless. He can go inside or step outside for the three and he’s good off the dribble as well.”

The Tides also got a physical game from Allison, who scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds while swatting away three Tornado shots. “

Allison has done a great job so far,” said Landram. “He has been very active and instrumental in our success.”

Allison was also instrumental the following night, Dec. 13, in Silverdale when he scored a career-high 25 points with eight boards and two blocks in a 51-39 victory over Central Kitsap. Both of the Tides’ bigs are fast for their size and can run the court.

With Masini grabbing nine rebounds, Allison was able to sprint downcourt in a decisive fourth quarter and gain post position. Meanwhile, Browne was running the show out front and penetrating to draw defenders on pick-and-roll plays before dropping one of his seven assists to Allison.

Landram has been calling for more pick-and-roll sets this year and it’s been the team’s most successful offensive strategy. In recent years, the Tides have been one of the best 3-point-shooting teams in the state, but this team is different. With the two bigs setting solid screens, the trio has proven difficult to defend. Allison made 12 of 14 shots from close range to tame the Cougars as the Tides remain undefeated.

Showdown coming up

Next up, Gig Harbor will play today, Dec. 15, in a Curtis High school tournament against either O’Dea or Saint George at 4 p.m. Then the Tides return home next Tuesday, Dec. 19, for a big South Sound Conference game versus Timberline.

Landram and the team hope fans show up with a full and loud gymnasium behind them as they face the always-talented Blazers at 7 p.m. for first place in the SSC.

Girls teams unbeaten in league

Both local girls teams have been stacking up early-season wins. Peninsula (4-1) and Gig Harbor (3-1) are both 3-0 in the SSC.

Both teams’ losses were against tough 4A opponents as Gig Harbor lost to Olympia, 64-52, on Dec. 2 and Peninsula was beaten soundly 76-39 on Dec. 9 by a Sumner program that is one of the state’s best.

Each team has huge games tonight, Dec. 15, against conference powers. Peninsula plays North Thurston at home at 7 p.m. The Rams are led by last year’s conference MVP, Soraya Ogaldez.

Heidelberg, Richardson leading Hawks

The Seahawks beat the Rams last year for the conference title and will be in a battle tonight to do it again. Peninsula is led in scoring by guard Kayla Heidelberg at nearly 19 points per game.

“She has been playing great defense and knocking down shots offensively,” Coach Hannah Lekson said of the senior.

The Seahawks also have guard Grace Richardson, who averages 15.4 points and 11.4 rebounds.

Lekson’s team does need more rebounding besides Richardson, who the Rams will look to box out. Forward Irene Segura has been effective, Heidelberg will scrap, too, but Lekson might also need 5-foot, 11-inch reserve center Audrey Walker to step up.

“Grace Richardson has been controlling the court offensively and grabbing huge rebounds for us. We just need to get the entire team rebounding now,” Lekson said.

Schwab filling it up for Tides

The Gig Harbor girls also want to claim supremacy as they go on the road to battle Timberline in Lacey tonight for a 7 p.m. showdown of conference unbeatens.

Tides coach Tim Olson has watched guard Taylor Schwab fill it up. An excellent free throw shooter and 3-point threat with a quick crossover, she is averaging 22.2 points per game. She had a head-turning, 11-steal game against River Ridge. The senior has had to carry the offense early in the season.

Schwab scored 25 points against Olympia but took 32 shots to get them. Her younger teammates were content early in the year to pass rather than look to shoot. When an offense is one-dimensional, it becomes predictable and easier to defend. Since the Olympia game, the younger players have become more comfortable and offensive-minded.

One of those players who is shooting more is freshman power forward Willow Bonnici, who finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds against Central Kitsap.

“Willow’s inside scoring, offensive rebounding and toughness in the key has been a difference maker,” said Olson.

Sophomore guard Kaliyah Miller has also been more aggressive offensively, scoring 11 points versus Yelm and 13 points against River Ridge.

Olson summarized the play of his team, saying, “The ball movement and passing has been effective. Guards Miller and Alex Ferrier have been playing well on both ends of the court, Ashlyn Pearce has been impressive in our transition attack and Finley Wyman has been a tough rebounder for us as well.”

Peninsula boys off to 2-1 league start

The Peninsula boys team shook off a couple early-season losses and knocked off a couple conference opponents with their 58-41 win over Central Kitsap on Dec. 6 and 52-47 victory over Capital on Dec. 8.

Both of those teams are 0-3 in conference play, but the Seahawks can only play who is on their schedule. Seahawk Coach Sean Muilenburg expects his team to give maximum defensive intensity every night. So far they have, holding SSC opponents to 47 points per game.

Give the Seahawks credit for battling to a 2-1 conference mark without last year’s leading scorer Isiah Brown, who transferred, and the services of Will Whiteley-Ross, who has missed time as he recovers from a knee injury that looks like it will require load maintenance restraints.

Peninsula’s leading scorer has been forward Issac Schultz-Tate, who is averaging 12.5 points per game and is using his athleticism to get to the hoop. He is springy and plays with intensity. Sophomore guard Troy Arnold has had some explosive plays and been consistently effective on offense, averaging 12 points.

The leading rebounder is a surprise, with 5-foot, 11-inch guard Gavin Sheets pulling down 23 rebounds in three league games to prove that it’s not always the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog that matters.

The Seahawks will be on the road tonight, Dec. 15, at 7 p.m. at North Thurston. The Rams are undefeated in league along with Gig Harbor and Timberline and should provide a challenge.

But if Peninsula can win this key contest, it would put itself in fine shape with only a winnable game versus River Ridge left on the schedule before the holiday break.

Rivals heading for swimming clash

A big boys swimming showdown between undefeated rivals Gig Harbor and Peninsula will take place a month from now, on Jan. 18. First-year Seahawks coach Athena Pattersen said the Peninsula team has “set out to achieve things that have yet to be done at the school so far.”

The Peninsula school record in the medley relay is what coach Pattersen is referring to, as last year’s team was 2.7 seconds off the Seahawk record.

“This year we are locked in and determined to break that record.” she said. “The depth of talent we have on the team will help us get there. We wouldn’t have those medley relay goals without our sprinter extraordinaire Jonah Bergerson, breaststroker Tyler Givot and butterflier Ethan Berard.”

Pattersen’s hopes for the record were increased when the star goalie from the water polo team, Dylan Bassler, a 6-foot, 5-inch long-armed athlete, showed up for the first day of swimming practice and laid down some impressive freestyle times. The coach also was careful to remind that junior Aidan Miller is also very fast and in contention for the fourth spot on the relay team as he was an important part of their 4 x 100 state relay last year.

Either way, competition breeds success and Pattersen is excited to host the Tides next month and will be working hard over the holiday break to prepare. Gig Harbor will be bringing some studs with them as well. Sophomore Aidan Hammer won two state championships last year at the 3A state meet. Coach Mike Kelly has many more talented swimmers as well.

Tides win dance competition

Finally, the competitive cheer and fall dance season is upon us for both local schools. We will be peaking into the Seahawk schedule next week, but the Tides have made some changes to the former state champion H2Whoa dance team by including more categories that the ladies will be competing in.

“While we were historically a hip-hop team, we competed in the Pom category for the first time in our history at the first competition of the dance season on Nov. 11 at Tumwater High School,” said Tides Coach Tifny Eicher. “Not only did H2Whoa take first place in the Pom category, but we earned the highest overall score of the entire competition.”

Upcoming events will see the Tides participate in Pom, hip-hop and jazz, with an eye toward the state championships in all three categories in March.

Look for wrestling team previews next week.