CHIMACUM — Playing the passing lanes to collect nearly six steals per game, posting 15 points each night and being one of the most coachable athletes on the North Olympic Peninsula paid off for Chimacum senior Mechelle Nisbet.
Nisbet led the Olympic League 1A Division in points (15) and steals (5.9 per game) as the Cowboys advanced to the postseason and finished with a winning record (11-10) for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
Rivals respected Nisbet’s game, too.
Port Townsend head coach Scott Wilson described Nisbet “as our toughest single opponent. A very tough defender who blocked or deflected more passes in close-in defense than should be legal.”
Nisbet was selected as the Olympic League 1A MVP by league coaches, and she’s also the All-Peninsula Girls Basketball MVP as determined by area coaches and the sports staff of the Peninsula Daily News.
Chimacum head coach Trevor Huntingford coached her through all four years of her varsity basketball career.
“She’s always had a good sense of urgency,” Huntingford said. “She was one of those that heard me as a freshman when I said ‘These four years will fly by faster than you could ever imagine.’
“And this year she brought another level of intensity, and I thought she was an improved leader, a better verbal leader this year. She knew it was kind of her time to shine and not take a backseat.”
Huntingford said that translated into Nisbet taking more shots offensively, shots she may have passed on in past seasons.
“She was great at understanding her role as a team leader and being more comfortable,” Huntingford said.
“If it feels like the right shot, the right play, then you need to make it.”
Nisbet agreed, but added that she wanted to serve as a role model for her teammates.
“I wanted to make sure that everything I did was right, and that the team could look up to me in what to do and how to do it,” she said.
“I was focused on putting out 100 percent of my effort and to not regret anything that I do for my senior year. I always want to make myself better,so that means paying attention in practice, getting everything down right. And I want to win when the games start.”
Defensively, Huntingford said she’s been a stalwart since being trusted with a starting spot as a freshman.
“I’ve thought she was our best defender since she was a freshman and my opinion never changed,” he said.
“She understands whatever kind of defense we want to use. I can’t think of somebody that can go all game like she can. She is one of those special kind of kids that you never have to prod to go harder, she’s always in that fifth gear.”
Nisbet spent much of her time at the top of the Cowboys’ 1-3-1 zone defense.
“My role was to make sure the ball stays on one side of the court and to get into traps and cover the top of the key and make sure the ball doesn’t get in there,” she said.
“I’m always watching the ball and watching the opponents eyes, looking where she was passing the ball and if I saw it I would go for it.
“It gives you a burst of adrenaline and energy to get a steal and dribble down the court [toward the basket].”
Huntingford pointed to two memorable games: a late-season win at Klahowya and 28-point night from Nisbet in a loss to Port Townsend.
The Cowboys struggled in a senior-night matchup against the Eagles and found themselves trailing by three late.
“We really needed a stop, we had to make a play. We take a timeout and I tell the girls we have been here several times, we just have to keep attacking. And I looked at her in particular and could see complete fire in her eyes and I could tell we would pull it out.
“I came out of timeout and [assistant] Mike Dowling said to me, ‘Mechelle is going to make a play. and I agreed because I could see that look in her eyes. And of course, she did. She made a steal, got a layup and we went on to win.
“She had a couple of those throughout the year, where you could just see it in her eyes that she was going to make a play, make something happen.
“And the first time we played PT, Mechelle went for 28 points and was kind of a one-man show. She was able to put a lot of points on the board because of her defense.”
Nisbet said achieving her team’s goal of making it to the postseason and getting a win over district rival Vashon in the team’s third meeting of the season was her favorite moment from her senior season.
“I guess in the past 10 years Chimacum hasn’t won a girls playoff game,” Nisbet said.
“So to be able to get a win was big. This was the first time in a long time and having a winning record was a nice way to end it.”
Huntingford said beyond the points and steals, Nisbet’s departure (she wants to play college softball with her twin sister Shanya), would leave an impact.
“Her quiet leadership is what I think we will miss more than anything,” he said.
“Her understanding of the game, her passion to play and her work ethic. The example that she displays will be difficult for somebody to pick up the slack, but they’ve had a good role model. She’s been exceptional. It didn’t matter if she scored eight or 28, she didn’t care what she had in the book, just what was on the scoreboard.”
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
#5 Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News Chimacum’s Mechelle Nisbet, left, looks to pass while defended by Port Townsend’s Kaitlyn Meek. Nisbet has been voted the All-Peninsula Girls Basketball MVP by coaches and the sports staff of the Peninsula Daily News.
