Community Sports

Peninsula girls basketball: Seahawks 5-0 under new coach

The Peninsula High girls basketball team has swarmed its opponents on defense and attacked the rim on offense, allowing the Seahawks to sprint out to a 5-0 start for new head coach Hannah Lekson.

Lekson begins her head coaching career in a familiar place. A 2011 Peninsula grad, she played basketball, soccer and ran track for the Seahawks. She was also Peninsula’s assistant coach for four years before being elevated to head coach after Mike Schick resigned last summer.

New coach’s background

Lekson has always been involved in athletics and has a deep affection for basketball.

Two weeks into her junior basketball season at Peninsula, she tore her ACL. She thought her chances of playing college basketball might be over until a Yakima Valley Community College coach reached out.

Peninsula’s Brooke Zimmerman drives against Spanaway Lake. Bryce Carithers

She played at YVCC for two years, then two more at the University of Puget Sound. Both programs were extremely successful and both of Lekson’s college coaches subsequently moved on to the NCAA Division I level.

As the varsity assistant coach for the Peninsula girls team, Lekson helped develop many of the players on this year’s team. Her coaching philosophy starts on the defensive end.

“To me, defense is and always will be the most important part of basketball,” she said. “If you cannot stop a team from scoring, it doesn’t matter how many points you score. You have to get stops to win.”

Another point of emphasis for Lekson is team culture.

“The culture of the team and entire program has to be extremely strong in order to be successful,” she said. “Having a close-knit program that is inclusive of players, parents/guardians, coaches, and community, where all are striving for the same common goal, is powerful. ‘We’ doesn’t just mean the players. They need support and all of those roles are essential to our success.”

Point guard Daisy Peay scores for Peninsula. Bryce Carithers

Unbeaten so far

The Seahawks have found success so far. They are 5-0 and have won games with a suffocating defense and a willingness to share the ball on offense.

Peninsula has beaten Spanaway Lake, Bainbridge, Central Kitsap, Capital and Olympia by an average of more than 20 points. They apply constant ball pressure with their quick guards. When not playing man-to-man defense, Lekson opts for a 1-2-2 trapping zone  that has created multiple turnovers leading to fast-break baskets.

On offense, the Seahawks rely on the talented Grace Richardson to penetrate the lane and find shooters like Kaylia Heidelberg and Brooke Zimmerman. Both can fill it up from long range and are not just stand-still shooters.

Zimmerman leads the team in scoring at 21.3 points and rebounding at 9.7 per game. Heidelberg is second in scoring at 15.3 points per game. Richardson leads the team in assists at 6.3 per game and is second in rebounding at 8.7 per game.

Richardson had the play of the night against Bainbridge on Dec. 3 when she threw a left-handed, no-look, behind-the-back pass to a cutter for a layup that brought the home crowd to its feet.

Peninsula has some talented complimentary players as well and should challenge for the South Sound Conference title. Lekson took the time to give a brief description of her starters from this year’s team.

Kaylia Heidelberg averages over 15 points a game for Peninsula. Bryce Carithers

Key players

Brooke Zimmerman | senior captain

Lekson: “She is an outstanding leader on and off the court. She has been our leading scorer for our first three games. Strong presence everywhere on the court.”

Kaylia Heidelberg | junior captain

Lekson: “Another great leader on our team. Strong shooter but a great inside game, too.”

Sophie Casello | senior captain

Lekson: “She’s a great leader and a strong defensive presence.”

Grace Richardson | sophomore

Lekson: “She is our point guard and has amazing court awareness. She pushes the ball and controls the tempo of the game. She controls the court and she’s great at attacking the hoop.”

Daisy Peay | junior

Lekson: “She is an extremely strong defensive player and has worked hard to improve her offensive game and it shows. She is quick and is a great addition to our team as she moved to Gig Harbor from South Kitsap.”

Peninsula also has a physical presence in two young players. Sophomore Kitana King has shown aggressiveness defending the post and chasing down offensive rebounds. Freshman Samantha Karjala, who was a big factor on the Peninsula volleyball team that finished fifth at the Class 3A state tournament, can really leap. She averages 8.0 rebounds per game, third on the team.

The squad is rounded out by 5’6” playmaking guard Ashley Edmonds and 6’0” junior Audrey Walker, who provides solid rebounding and rim protection against penetrating guards.

Lekson’s assistant coaches are Kait Stoltenberg, Nelson Garbutt and Tommy Felton.

Schedule

• Wednesday, Dec. 14: vs. Yelm, 7 p.m.
• Friday, Dec. 16: at North Thurston, 7 p.m.
• Saturday, Dec. 17: at Port Angeles, 7 p.m.
• Wednesday, Jan. 4: vs. River Ridge, 7 p.m.
• Friday, Jan. 6: at Timberline, 7 p.m.
• Saturday, Jan. 7: vs. West Seattle, 2 p.m.
• Wednesday, Jan. 11: at Gig Harbor, 7 p.m.
• Friday, Jan. 13: vs. Central Kitsap, 7 p.m.
• Monday, Jan. 16: vs. Rodgers, 7 p.m.
• Wednesday, Jan. 18: at Capital, 7 p.m.
• Friday, Jan. 20: at Yelm, 7 p.m.
• Wednesday, Jan. 25: vs. North Thurston, 7 p.m.
• Friday, Jan. 27: at River Ridge, 7 p.m.
• Tuesday, Jan. 31: vs. Timberline, 7 p.m.
• Thursday, Feb. 2: vs. Gig Harbor, 7 p.m.

Peninsula’s Sophie Casello prepares to shoot a free throw. Bryce Carithers