PORT ANGELES — If not for a bad 10 minutes Saturday night, the Peninsula College women might be 5-0.
As it is, they are a stellar 4-1 after beating Highline 64-47 on Sunday in the Pirate Classic. The women got out to a 15-6 lead after the first quarter and led the whole way, getting up by as much as 23 points at one point in the fourth quarter.
Port Angeles’ Millie Long for the first time led the Pirates in scoring with 13. She also added seven boards, four assists and five steals in just 23 minutes for a solid all-around game.
Tatiana Kamae also had 13 points, five boards and five steals, while Ituau Tuisaula and Adam Kaganak each scored nine points.
The Pirates’ Sunday game was the last chance for local fans to see the team in 2021. They will return for league play Jan. 5.
Coach Alison Crumb said this team “has a lot of potential.”
“I think we’re really deep. We have a lot of players who can go out and make things happen. We have a lot of options if someone is having an off night,” Crumb said.
The only blemish on the record came in a game against Chemeketa Saturday night. The Pirates had the game in control heading into the fourth quarter, but Chemeketa blitzed them 27-8 in the fourth to win 68-61. Crumb said the team has to play better in the fourth quarter, especially at home.
“We will fix that,” Crumb said.
Unique blend
This year’s team has a unique blend of local and out-of-state talent. The team has five local players — Long (Port Angeles), Madison Cooke (Port Angeles), Hope Glasser (Sequim), Ruth Moss (Neah Bay) and Gina Brown (Port Townsend/Quilcene) — actively playing and another, Cheyenne Wheeler of Port Angeles, on the roster.
It also has five Alaskans (Amari Brown, Ariyanna Camacho-Villafuerte, Adam Kaganak, Ituau Tuisaula, Kayla Villamor), three Hawaiians (Keeli-Jade Smith, Tayvia Cabatbat and Tatiana Kamae) and two Utahns (Sophie Jensen and Tasiah Little).
“It’s the most local players I’ve ever had. It’s fun to have that connection with the players and the community,” Crumb said.
She also said it’s great to see the local players building friendships with players from such disparate parts of the country.
Crumb also said she has no doubt Long, a repeat league and all-Peninsula MVP for Roughriders, will succeed at the college level. Unlike the other players, she had to make a quick transition from the Pirates’ NWAC-champion and nationally No. 1-ranked women’s soccer team to the basketball team with less than a week’s break.
“Millie can transition to whatever she wants. She’s such a freak athlete. She’s so fast and so long and so competitive. You just don’t find a lot of players with her motor,” Crumb said.
Peninsula 64, Highline 47
High. 6 12 17 12 — 47
PC 15 18 12 19 — 64
Highline (47) — Lunday 19, Topp 8, Arai 8, Arneach 8, Sunny 4.
Peninsula (64) — Long 13, Kamae 13, Tuisaula 9, Kaganak 9, Cabatbat 7, Glasser 4, Cooke 4, Camacho-Villafuerte 3, Villamor 2.
