PORT TOWNSEND — Port Townsend rallied from a three-point halftime deficit to knock off rival Chimacum 39-34 in an Olympic League 1A Division girls basketball game at Bruce Blevins Gymnasium on Monday night.
The Redhawks held back a late Cowboys push to close out the contest.
“We were able to apply some pressure in the fourth quarter, Izzy Hammett fouled out for them, and our late full-court pressure that did seem to frazzle them got us back in range,” Chimacum coach Trevor Huntingford said.
“They hit a couple of key shots on drive and kickouts, a couple of 15-footers by Aurin Asbell to hold us off.”
Huntingford was proud of his team for hanging tough.
“If you would have told me that a team with five freshman and no seniors wouldn’t be able to compete, I would have said I understand where people are coming from,” Huntingford said.
“It kind of proves that you can never expect what is going to happen. It was another classic PT-Chimacum game. Our girls competed hard and made it hard for them to get the win.
“That’s the first time most of them have experienced the energy of a game like that, our crowd was a little quiet the first game. And for the most part they all really rose to it.”
Huntingford was also pleased with his team’s defensive effort.
“Defensively, the kids worked,” Huntingford said. “Amiyah Fisher played her best-ever high game with five boards, four steals and two blocks. She got her hands on a lot of loose balls and did a great job covering their posts.”
Port Townsend coach Lorraine Rimson said it wasn’t the prettiest game.
“It was not a pretty win, but my girls were smiling when they realized they won back the [Janelle Perillo Memorial] Trophy,” she said.
Rimson said Maddy Harris was also hurt in the game when she took a hard fall. On Tuesday, she was diagnosed with a likely contusion and she should be able to play again in a week, Rimson said.
Chimacum’s Katie Clark led all scorers with 18 points. Izzy Hammett led Port Townsend with 10 points and Mackenzie Lake had nine.
“Katie has been our primary scorer and it was clear in the second half they weren’t going to let her get the ball,” Huntingford said. “They went on a couple of little runs at the start and end of the third to take the lead.”
Chimacum (0-4, 7-7) hosts Crosspoint tonight.
Chimacum gets another crack at Port Townsend as the Redhawks (2-2, 5-10) visit Chimacum on Friday.
Port Townsend 39, Chimacum 34
Chimacum 2 14 4 14— 34
Port Townsend 8 5 15 11— 39
Chimacum (34) — Clark 18, Vandeberg 8, Nordberg 8, Eldridge, Thibeault, Nagy, Anderson, Crawford, Amos, Fisher
Port Townsend (39) — Hammett 10, Lake 9, Brown 8, Johnston 6, Asbell 4, Fountain 2, Ballard, Harris.
Chimacum’s Michael Baccus, (34), faces the Port Townsend defense during a game Monday in Port Townsend. Port Townsend players include Devin Harriss (44), Aiden Petta (4), Noa Montoya (14) and Lonnie Kenney (5). Also in on the play is Chimacum’s Brayden Yingling (10). (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Boys Basketball
Port Townsend 79, Chimacum 40
PORT TOWNSEND — Redhawks’ senior Noa Montoya exploded for 38 points, half of Port Townsend’s total in the Quimper Quarrel rivalry victory over the Cowboys.
“He had five 3s in the first half, he hit all his free throws and made some layups. He also had 10 rebounds and three steals,” Redhawks coach Tom Webster said.
“They played us man the whole game and we were able to run our man sets and he got a lot of good looks at the hoop.”
Webster said Skyler Zabransky posted a double-double.
Zabransky had 15 points, 13 rebounds and three steals.
“That was his second good game in a row,” Webster said.
Lonnie Kenney had 14 points for the Redhawks.
“Lonnie had four 3s and he had eight assists and only one turnover,” Webster said. “Lonnie ran the offense well, so that was encouraging.”
Webster also said Riley Yackulic played well after hitting two 3s and totaling five assists.
Webster said Port Townsend sank 12 3s against Chimacum after hitting 10 treys against Coupeville on Saturday.
“It’s going in sometimes,” Webster said.
Hunter Cerna led the Cowboys with 15 points.
“Hunter had a nice game for them,” Webster said. “He’s a good player.”
PT tribute to Kobe
The Redhawks took a page from recent on-court NBA tributes to Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash with eight others, including his daughter Gianna, on Sunday.
Webster grew up in California and is a lifelong Lakers fan, but he said the idea came from his team.
“Our kids wanted to do it,” Webster said. “We won the opening tip and we all got in the backcourt and got an 8-second backcourt violation for Kobe. [Bryant wore the number 8 in his early seasons in the NBA before switching to 24]. We announced we were going to do it over the public address.”
Port Townsend (2-2, 4-11) hosts Bremerton tonight in a nonleague game.
Chimacum (0-4, 1-14) hosts Crosspoint tonight in a nonleague contest.
The two rivals will meet for the third and final time this season in Chimacum on Friday night.
Port Townsend 79, Chimacum 40
Chimacum 13 12 11 4— 40
Port Townsend 24 25 15 15— 79
Chimacum (40) — Cerna 15, Seville 11, Carstensen 6, Clark 6, Martin 2.
Port Townsend (79) — Montoya 38, Zabransky 15, Kenney 14, Yaculic 6, Harris 4, Petta 2.
