Community Sports

Sports Beat | Peninsula pulls away to win girls Fish Basket contest

Peninsula (8-5, 7-3) used a stifling defense and a 14-4 scoring run in the fourth quarter to pull away from visiting Gig Harbor (8-5, 6-4) and win 47-36 in the girls Fish Basket game on Wednesday, Jan. 15.

Senior guard Grace Richardson recorded a triple double for the Seahawks with 11 points, 14 assists and 17 rebounds. She added four blocks and four steals to ensure that the Seahawks defeated their crosstown rivals.

Richardson was honored before the game for scoring over 1,000 points in her career, during which her teams made two state tournament appearances.

Grace Richardson had a triple-double in Peninsula’s win. Photo by Bryce Carithers

Early turnovers

This game started out as many rivalry games do, with both teams as tight as the band’s drums. The teams combined for 20 turnovers in the first half.

Gig Harbor sophomore forward Willow Bonnici looked good early, pulling down some tough rebounds and draining a pull-up 3-pointer in the first quarter on her way to seven quick points.

The Tides concentrated on Richardson. They employed a 1-2-2 zone at times to slow her penetration and then switched to a man-to-man defense after her first pass. Second-year Tides coach Tim Olson’s strategy worked for the most part and the Tides led 8-6 after the first period.

The scoring opened up a bit in the second quarter. Junior Kaliyah Miller, Gig Harbor’s leading scorer, drained a top-of-the-key 3-pointer and Richardson hit a tough running bank shot. Bonnici scooped in a high bank shot and the Tides jumped out to a 15-8 lead in the second quarter.

First-year Penisula coach Nelson Garbutt called a timeout to settle his team down. When it comes to shooting, as John Wooden said, “be quick but don’t hurry.” The Seahawks were hurrying their shots.

After the time out, the Seahawks outscored the Tides 10-5. Richardson’s block and coast-to-coast layup brought the Seahawks to within 20-18 at halftime.

Seahawks pull away in fourth

Play was crisper in the second half. Richardson engaged in a duel with hard-nosed Gig Harbor guard Ashlyn Pierce, who scored 10 straight points on drives and putbacks, during a third quarter that ended with the score tied at 33.

A pair of Peninsula seniors dominated the fourth quarter. Richardson seemed to yank every rebound available, while Maci Miller exploded for eight of her game-high 17 points down the stretch. Miller is quick and appears to be able to run all day. Richardson repeatedly snapped passes to her and senior Katelyn Lea, who contributed six points and five rebounds.

Maci Miller had 17 points for Peninsula in her team’s 47-36 win over Gig Harbor. Photo by Bryce Carithers

Olson was impressed by Richardson’s floor game and is probably not very sad that she will graduate this year.

“She’s such a floor general and competitor,” the Gig Harbor coach said. “On the night she was celebrated for her scoring, it was her defense and other aspects of her game that were on full display.”

On the other side of the coaches box it is a different story. Garbutt may weld the gym doors shut to keep his star player at Peninsula. Instead, she will play her college ball for the University of Mary, an NCAA Division II school in North Dakota.

Garbutt still has her for a playoff run.

“I feel ecstatic for the girls, especially the seniors and freshmen to pull out a gritty win against our crosstown rival,” he said. “I wasn’t pleased with the lack of execution offensively but I will take it as my first win against GH as a head coach.”

Peninsula’s Grandorff stands out on the mat

Peninsula junior 150-pound wrestler Nehemiah Grandorff has amassed an impressive 24-6 record on the season.

Grandorff has lost just once to a wrestler from Washington state and was dominant on Jan. 17 against Capital, the current leaders of the Puget Sound League’s Nisqually Division.

Grandorff stood out on the Seahawk football team as an undersized defender who dished out more punishment than he took. Now he’s serving up even more punishment on the wrestling mat.

In his match against Capital, Grandorff took an early head butt to the jaw but didn’t flinch. Instead he delivered one of his own a few seconds later in a legal but sly way that let the Capital wrestler know that Grandorff was not an easy win.

Peninsula wrestler Nehemiah Grandorff. Photo by Dennis Browne

The Cougar opponent had an impressive physique and record. But he was quickly behind after Grandorff latched his arm around his waist and wouldn’t let go until he had a takedown. Once Grandorff had control he resembled a boa constrictor that capitalized on every mistake the Cougar made.

Grandorff was impressive with his brute strength and his foot speed that simply didn’t allow his opponent a moment of rest before the start of the third period. In that period the Seahawk showed his technical skills with a series of arm holds and legs locks that had the Cougar resembling a pretzel.

Grandorff won in a lopsided 14-4 major decision.

What makes him successful?

“I definitely feel like it’s my quickness,” he said. “I’ll get an opponent leaning and throw a fake in there and then go in for a take down. But my strength helps as well, I could use more work on the technical side but I’m trying to even it out.”

Gig Harbor’s McDermott 21-4 on the mat

Across town on the Gig Harbor mats, Liam McDermott is also mowing down opponents in the 144-pound weight class to the tune of a 21-4 record. McDermott qualified for the state tournament last year and is as tough as the day is long.

McDermott, like Grandorff, is super polite. They would be a formidable duo to meet one night in a dark alley as both are aggressive and highly skilled. Instead of walking together down an alley they are hoping to meet on the mat on Jan. 21 in the Peninsula versus Gig Harbor match.

That match possibility seems to be still up in the air but according to both wrestlers their teams are more than anxious to face each other to decide local supremacy and a possible PSL championship match between Grandorff and McDermott.

When asked about the possibilities of facing McDermott in a match Grandorff smiled and said: “When I drop to 144 pounds, I’m sure I’ll see him at league or state. He is tough, we have wrestled before at the club level several times and we always go at it, yes sir.”

Gig Harbor wrestler Liam McDermott. Photo by Dennis Browne