PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend girls came back time and again at their Crush in the Slush opener against a small, speedy Wahluke team, but in the end, 29 points from the Warriors’ Jacky Hildalgo was too much to overcome.
The Redhawk girls lost their Friday game 51-47, but coach Scott Wilson thought his team did well, battling from behind all game and dealing with Wahluke’s speed.
“We played these guys last year, they’re a good team,” Wilson said. “[Port Townsend] hung in really well with them. We were running with them most of the game. We also like to speed up the pace.”
“They’re a good 1A team, we’re a good 1A team,” said Wilson. He said playing teams like Wahluke is good for Port Townsend before the girls enter Olympic League 1A play.
Wahluke jumped out to a 7-2 lead and the Redhawk girls were behind nearly the entire game, though they tied it three times at 23-23, 31-31 and 33-33. At one point, it appeared Port Townsend had finally taken a lead, but a sure basket on a fast break was called off for traveling.
What really hurt the Redhawks is every time they rallied and caught up with the Warriors, Hildalgo would either hit a big shot or lead a fast break and set up a teammate with a basket. She hit a pair of 3-pointers in the second half to help the Warriors pull back ahead after the Redhawks had climbed back into the game.
Her last one was a killer. Jaz Apker-Montoya scored five straight points to cut a nine-point Wahluke lead down to 46-42 with four minutes left. Hildalgo quickly responded with a trey to push the lead back up to seven.
Port Townsend scored the final four points in the last minute, but the Redhawks simply ran out of time to make up the deficit.
Kaitlyn Meek had a good game with 16 points while Montoya had nine. Izzy Hammett and Cece Nielsen each scored six.
Port Townsend (0-0, 3-5) played La Conner after press deadline Saturday evening. The Redhawks begin Olympic League 1A play at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Klahowya.
Wahluke 51, Port Townsend 47
Wahluke 14 9 15 13 — 51
PT 10 9 14 14 — 47
Wahluke (51) — Hildalgo 29, Barajas 10, Holiday 10, Baragan 2.
Port Townsend (47) — Meek 16, Apker-Montoya 9, Hammett 6, Nielsen 6, Tracer 3, Lake 2, King 2, Fountain 1
Port Angeles girls at Mark Morris Tournament
LONGVIEW — The Port Angeles girls split a pair of games at the Mark Morris Tournament, losing to Puyallup 50-37 on Friday after beating Mark Morris 51-48 on Thursday.
Against Puyallup, Roughriders coach Michael Poindexter said the Riders gave up too many offensive rebounds, handing Puyallup too many second-chance points.
“Puyallup played good defense throughout the game, both with perimeter pressure and contesting of our shots inside,” Poindexter said. The Riders were also hurt by shooting just 6 of 22 from the free-throw line.
He said Madison Cooke play a solid all-around game. She led the Riders with nine points.
Against Mark Morris, the Riders countered their opponents size with a transition game coming off of steals.
Cheyenne Wheeler scored seven of her 11 points in the fourth and played effective defensive, according to Poindexter. Meanwhile, Emilia Long also led the team with 11 with a steal and lay-in in the fourth quarter and Gracie Long had a key offensive rebound and putback late.
All four teams at the tournament finished 1-1.
Port Angeles (2-1, 6-3) next plays at home at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday against Bremerton.
Friday’s Game
Port Angeles 51, Mark Morris 48
PA 7 19 11 14 — 51
Morris 11 17 9 11 — 48
Port Angeles (51) — Wheeler 11, E. Long 11, Brady 8, Cooke 5, Politika 5, G. Long 3, Wenzl 2, Wood 2, Edwards 2, Gray, Olsen.
Mark Morris (48) — Bartleson 15, Mosier 13, Troy 8, Makaiwi 5, Bennett 4, Burns 3.
Saturday’s Game
Puyallup 50, Port Angeles 37
PA 11 7 8 11 — 37
Puyallup 8 13 19 8 — 50
Port Angeles (37) — Cooke 9, E. Long 7, Wood 7, Wheeler 6, G. Long 5, Wenzl 2, Politika 1, Brady, Gray, Steinman, Olsen, Edwards
Puyallup (50) — Jeffers 12, Chilcott 9, Taylor 8, Hagen 8, Messineo 4, Marvin 4, Ellingson 3, Edmonds 2.
Forks at Holiday at the Hyak
OCEAN SHORES — Playing without one of their top players, the Forks girls kept up their winning ways sweeping two games at the Holiday at the Hyak Tournament at North Beach High School.
The Spartans held off a Tenino rally to win 33-32 on Thursday and had a much easier time of it Friday, beating North Beach 43-22.
Forks played without Rian Peters and Bailee Kratzer, who are both out with sprained ankles.
“We have a next girl up mentality,” said coach David Hurn.
Hurn said the Tenino game wasn’t the Spartans’ best. Forks had a lead of 22-12 in the fourth, but only scored 11 points in the second half to let Tenino back in the game.
“We struggled to make some shots and didn’t block out very well,” Hurn said. “I was a little disappointed, but it was a win.”
Chloe Leverington led the team with 21 points, while Jayden Olson had seven.
The Spartans got out big against North Beach and this time didn’t let them back in the game, giving up just one point in the fourth quarter. Iesha Johnson led the Spartans with 14 points, while Leverington had 12 and Olson 11.
With players hurt, Hurn said Forks got a chance to play a lot of bench players and that Olson did a great job with the team short-handed.
Forks has had a hugely successful pre-league run so far, going 8-2 on the season and up to No. 16 in the RPI rankings. The Spartans will have a huge home test at 7 p.m. Tuesday, going up against 11-0 Elma (No. 8 in RPI) on Tuesday.
Forks 43, North Beach 22
Forks 14 16 8 5 — 43
NB 7 7 7 1 — 22
Forks (43) — Johnson 14, Leverington 12, Olson 11, Rowley 4, Kilmer 2.
Forks 33, Tenino 32
Forks 8 14 5 6 — 33
Tenino 4 8 8 12 — 32
Forks (33) — Leverington 21, Olson 7, Rowley 5.
Port Townsend’s Kaitlyn Meek drives around Wahluke’s Jackie Hidalgo during the first match-up of the Crush in the Slush at Port Townsend High School on Friday. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
