EVERETT — Peninsula College women’s basketball coach Alison Crumb was left with a sizeable dilemma in the low post after the graduation of Gabi Fenumiai last June.
Fenumiai was one of the stars of the Northwest Athletic Conference champion Pirates in 2014-15, averaging 11.2 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
The school’s all-time leading rebounder, Fenumiai was voted to the North Region’s All-Region First Team last year and now plays for The Evergreen State College.
But Crumb has reloaded the Pirates, which advanced to Saturday’s NWAC semifinals with a 70-67 win against Umpqua on Thursday, with a trio of athletic post players that fit the team’s desire to defend and push the tempo offensively.
They are: Jenise McKnight, a hot-shooting 5-foot-11 forward with a knack for finding teammates with creative passes; Daijhan Cooks, an undersized 5-foot-9 forward unafraid to mix it up with larger players on the glass; and Tai Thomas, another 5-foot-11 forward who can shoot a high percentage and defends well in the paint.
Collectively, the new players averaged 16.6 points and 11 rebounds this season, capably replacing Fenumiai.
Thomas, however, suffered a stress fracture in her foot and is out for the rest of the season.
That means McKnight and Cooks are seeing more time together out on the floor for Peninsula.
It’s working for the Pirates so far, according to Crumb.
“What we have now is players who can do a little bit of everything,” Crumb said.
“Maybe they can’t do one thing as great as Gabi did, but they can both run the floor, both can handle the ball and make great passes and guard the perimeter and do those things that maybe we didn’t have as a strength in the past.
“And both are playing really controlled right now and aren’t making the mistakes they made earlier in the year. They are playing like seasoned veterans and getting more and more confident.
“Both of them are playing some of the best basketball I have seen.”
Peninsula sophomore Zhara Laster also enjoys playing with the pair.
“I like the mobility they bring, and the ability to push the ball with them on the floor, it makes us stronger,” Laster said.
Cooks and McKnight are both from Las Vegas, and played against each other in high school.
“She’s still the same person,” McKnight said of Cooks.
“She’s really aggressive, she works hard in the post, she gets in front of people.
“The only difference I see is she is much more composed on the court.”
Cooks appreciates her teammate’s abilities as well.
“I like her court vision, her shot, her ability to get the ball and make a move,” Cooks said.
“We are starting to connect more as we play. We are out there together a lot more since Tai’s injury, and we play together and try to think alike.”
Cooks downplayed any talk of a high school rivalry, but Crumb said there have been some feisty moments in practice.
“They go after each other in practice, and there’s been a couple of time where I’ve had to say, ‘Whoa, settle down.’”
Cooks said the practice scraps are a positive for the Pirates.
“It helps us,” Cooks said.
“That’s how practice has to be. Coming from Vegas, that’s what practice is like all day, challenging each other.”
The duo bring those emotions to games, where they are two of Peninsula’s more demonstrative players, providing a healthy dose of confidence and bravado to the Pirates’ roster.
“They are tough,” Crumb said.
“They are going to let you know about it when they make a play. They aren’t afraid to bump shoulders with people, to show emotion, and to create a spark that way.
“And our team feeds off of that, and it frustrates the other team.”
Crumb’s just fine with the outbursts of emotion, saying it helps balance out the more reserved personalities on the team like Laster and Cierra and Cherish Moss.
“It’s good to have that silent steady hand like Z [Laster], and then to have those edgy, chippy players,” Crumb said.
“There’s a lot more personality, a lot more outgoing celebrating, and as a long as we are still respecting the game and our opponents, I’m going to let them have that because they play better when they are in their comfort zone.”
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-452-2345, ext. 57050 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
