Community Sports

Sports Beat | Gig Harbor boys, girls secure district playoff berths

The Gig Harbor boys basketball team secured a spot in the upcoming district playoffs thanks to their 62-52 road victory over North Thurston on Thursday, Feb. 6. Michael Masini poured in a game-high 25 points to lead the Tides (13-9, 9-7).

The Rams are the defending conference champions and a win on their court is never easy. The Tides did it with solid defense and a double dose of the 6-foot-8 Masini, who dominated the paint with a variety of inside pivots, drop steps and slashing drives to the basket.

Senior guard Cole Browne led the Tides early, attacking the hoop for buckets and drawing fouls at the rim. He scored eight first-quarter points as the Tides took a five-point lead.

With the win over North Thurston, Cole Browne became Gig Harbor’s all-time leader in wins for the boys basketball program. Photo by Christi Adams

3-pointers open things up

North Thurston responded by packing the paint with defenders. That opened up the perimeter for junior Quentin Bockhorn, who swished a couple of deep 3-pointers in the second quarter. He played a solid floor game and finished with three 3-pointers for the game.

Tides junior reserve guard Jack Brown also knocked down a couple of long bombs in the second quarter to give Masini room to work.

Gig Harbor got solid defensive contributions from guard DJ Darling, whose athleticism made life difficult for the Rams. Even if Darling gets juked initially, his recovery speed is next level. He consistently comes up with steals by knowing how to anticipate opponents’ passes and displays plenty of hustle.

Another key contributor was 6-foot-7 senior Colin Nelson, who provided quality minutes as a rim protector, rebounder and interior defender.

When he plays alongside Masini, the Tides become a much tougher team to drive and score on. Nelson has learned to wall up defensively instead of slashing down, which often resulted in fouls during the early season.

But this game belonged to Masini, who had Rams coach Mike Conner shaking his head and searching for ways to slow him down. The junior has serious athleticism with quick feet, soft hands and has become more physical lately especially when battling for low-post position.

Key shot

But Masini isn’t just a low post threat. He also showed a nice face-up game. His biggest shot of the night was a 3-pointer while the Tides clung to a five-point lead with under three minutes to go in the fourth quarter. As the shot clock dwindled, Masini stepped into a big trey that splashed the net, sending the Tides fans to their feet and the Rams to a loser-out game.

Along with Masini’s 25 points the Tides got 10 points each from Browne, Bockhorn and Ty Buchanan as well as another solid effort from backup point guard Troy Arnold, who is coming on late in the season.

Browne rarely came off the court and led the Tides with six assists. The senior, who now has the most career victories in Gig Harbor’s basketball history, will be making his fourth straight appearance in the playoffs and is looking for his third state tournament appearance.

DJ Darling of Gig Harbor during a game earlier this year. Darling has been a versatile player for the Tides. Photo by Christi Adams

Seeding game Saturday

The district playoffs begin next week, but first the Tides play a seeding game at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, against Silas at the University of Puget Sound.

That game will conclude the Tides’ participation in the inaugural Puget Sound League conference tournament. It has been a welcome upgrade from the old South Sound Conference, which lacked a postseason tournament.

Gig Harbor girls win rematch vs. Peninsula

The Gig Harbor Tides girls basketball team won their Puget Sound League tournament opener at home against Peninsula, 50-30, on Feb. 4.

The Tides (13-10, 10-8) lost to the Seahawks (12-9, 11-7) 47-36 on Jan. 15 at Peninsula, but put it all together on Tuesday with a home victory that secured a district playoff spot for Gig Harbor.

This game looked like it would be another Grace Richardson double feature. The Peninsula senior — who had a rare triple-double (double-digit points, rebounds and assists) in the last game between these two teams — scored eight of the Seahawks’ first 10 points Tuesday as her team took a 10-3 lead. When Richardson wasn’t scoring, she was responsible for the assist. She also had three early rebounds and two steals.

Richardson’s early offense caused new Tides head coach Dan Dizon to take a time out to regroup. He put guard Ashlyn Peirce on Richardson for a few minutes before letting 6-foot-2 Beverly Dover have a turn as well. The strategy worked. Richardson was forced to pass and then had to go to the bench with two early fouls.

Four key Tides

The Tide offense took off from there. Four players had excellent four-minute spurts to take command of the game.

First it was Willow Bonnici’s turn. The sophomore forward, who averages 10 points and 10 rebounds per game, helped turn a 14-7 deficit into a lead. She scored a series of interior buckets, a couple of free throws and a pull-up three that Kelsey Plum would appreciate to close the gap to 19-16.

Willow Bonnici of Gig Harbor in a game last year. Bonnici scored 16 points with 11 rebounds in the win over Peninsula. Photo by Christi Adams

The Tides took the lead with point guard Peirce throwing crisp dimes all over the court. Dover took one of those passes and hit a pull-up jumper from seven feet to give the the Tides the lead and then swished a baseline jumper to give the Tides a 22-19 advantage at halftime.

Richardson went back to work when the second half opened. She made a silky Euro-step layin, then she grabbed a defensive rebound and assisted on a bucket that gave the Seahawks the lead again at 23-22.

But Gig Harbor guard Kaliyah Miller scored six points in the quarter as the Tides opened a 27-23 lead.

Big fourth quarter

From there, the Tides blew the game open.

Dover, a junior, shined for the Tides in the fourth quarter. She buried two corner 3-pointers to stretch the lead and added a pull-up jumper in the fourth quarter to complete her best outing versus the Seahawks.

Finally, senior forward Finley Wyman took over down the stretch. She intercepted a pass intended for Richardson and scored on a layup. Then she made a back door cut, caught a bullet pass from Pierce and completed a three-point play.

Wyman was the glue for the Tides with nine rebounds, four steals and five points in the game. She contributed in all facets and wore a satisfied smile walking off her home court, for what could be the last time, with a 50-30 win over her cross town rivals.

Bonnici led the Tides with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Dover finished with 12 points, Miller had 11 points and Peirce had five assists while helping hold Richardson to 15 points.

Finley Wyman of Gig Harbor during a game last season. Wyman grabbed nine rebounds in the 50-30 win over Peninsula. Photo by Christi Adams

Gig Harbor lost to North Thurston, 86-40, in their next game on Feb. 6. Almost every other Washington high school team also would have lost to the Rams, who may be the Class 3A champions at the end of the year. The Tides play Lincoln at 4:45 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, at UPS for district seeding.

The Seahawks play Lakes for a district tournament berth at 9:45 a.m. Saturday at UPS.