NEAH BAY — A deep and youthful Neah Bay girls basketball squad that rolled its way to a 23-4 record and a sixth-place finish at the Class 1B state tournament last season has added some promising freshmen, welcomed a contributor back from injury and will look to improve upon last season’s trip to the state semifinals.
Neah Bay native Tina Grimes-Brown, a former Red Devils standout who graduated in 1992, takes over as head coach for Tony McCaulley.
She inherits a team that is full of talented athletes capable of making a deep postseason run.
“They love to share the ball,” Grimes-Brown said. “Sometimes I have to tell them shoot the ball, why are you not shooting? They are passing up shots they should be taking, but that comes with confidence.”
Sophomores Laila Greene, Courtney Swan, Ruth Moss and Patience Swan started as freshmen last season, and classmates Shilaly Woodruff, Jazzlyn Yallup-Cooley and Audrey Pilatti all saw varsity playing time.
Greene was great all year but excelled in the postseason, and is a relentless defender with the ability to score buckets in transition and get hot quickly with great range from long distance.
She’s also likely to assume a big leadership role with the Red Devils.
“Laila is a positive, positive player and person,” Grimes-Brown said. “She’s always encouraging her teammates and building them up.”
Courtney Swan is a pure scorer who can rebound well and plays solid defense.
“Courtney is just a natural,” Grimes-Brown said. “She gets on court and she’s so smooth. It almost seems effortless.”
Patience Swan shoots, rebounds and plays taller than her 5-foot-8 height.
Moss is the next in a long line of Neah Bay standouts, the younger sister of Cierra and Cherish (and more). She can drain shots, rebounds well and has already shown a flair for sharing the basketball.
That’s important for a team that lost dynamic point guard Gina McCaulley to graduation. McCaulley now plays hoops for the Peninsula College women.
Her departure brought about the biggest question for Neah Bay: who would step up to be the primary ball handler and get things going offensively?
That’s still a work in progress, Grimes-Brown said.
“We are still figuring that out,” she said. “They are so young, but they all can play, they all can do that [handle the ball]. [Against Forks] I had Ruth Moss bring the ball up and distribute because she sees the floor really well and she can shoot.”
Junior forward Cei’J Gagnon returns from an injury that cost her her sophomore season. Gagnon was a starter as a freshman on the Red Devils state tournament team in 2016-17.
And Grimes-Brown said freshmen Oceanna Aguirre and Shaiyann Cummins also will contribute this season, calling them and Woodruff her “secret weapons.”
Neah Bay doesn’t have a ton of height, its tallest players (Swan, Moss, Aguirre and Cummins) are all 5-foot-8. But Grimes-Brown said she’s “not too worried” about being outrebounded.
“They all box out well,” Grimes-Brown said. “I think we will be just fine.”
The Red Devils have a tough schedule to prep for the playoffs with games against Sequim, Forks and La Conner.
Neah Bay also will jump up five classifications to play Class 4A Auburn in Port Townsend’s Crush in the Slush Holiday Tournament later this month.
Neah Bay Red Devils
Coach: Tina Grimes-Brown (first season)
• Last season: 23-4, North Olympic League champions, Tri-District Tournament champions, 6th at Class 1B State Tournament.
•Returners: Laila Greene (So., G, 5-5); Courtney Swan (So., G, 5-6); Cei’J Gagnon (Jr., F, 5-6); Patience Swan (So., F, 5-8); Ruth Moss (So., F, 5-8); Jazzlyn Yallup-Cooley (So., G, 5-3); Shilaily Woodruff (So, G, 5-5); Mia Lovik (So., F, 5-7).
•Varsity Newcomers: Oceanna Aguirre (Fr., 5-8); Paris Horejsi (Fr., G, 5-5); Shaiyann Cummins (Fr., 5-8)
