PT girls’ basketball unseats league-dominating Coupeville

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The Port Townsend High School girls’ basketball team defied recent historic precedent by defeating Coupeville 39-26 on Jan. 26.

“For three years, the Coupeville Wolves girls’ basketball team dominated the 1A Olympic League, going undefeated and locking down first place going into the playoffs,” PT coach Scott Wilson said. “Not this year.”

Wilson credited the PT Redhawks with working through “early jitters” to beat the Wolves. This game marked the third time the teams have met in league action this year, of which the Redhawks have won two games.

Their Jan. 26 win also kept the Redhawks alone in first place in the 1A Olympic League, with a 5-2 record, at least until PT’s Jan. 30 game against Chimacum, whose team had a 4-3 record as of Jan. 29.

The Jan. 30 Port Townsend–Chimacum game was played after press deadline, but each team had won a game prior to that Tuesday’s matchup.

After its loss to Port Townsend, Coupeville was left tied for second place, also 4-3. Chimacum and Coupeville are slated at face off at Coupeville Feb. 3, the same day that Port Townsend plays its final home game, and celebrates its Senior Night, against Klahowya. Junior varsity is scheduled to play 5:45 p.m., and varsity at 7:15 p.m.

“The Coupeville game against PT was the story of two halves,” Wilson said.

Coupeville jumped to an early 9-1 lead in the first period, hitting a pair of threes, while Wilson admitted the Redhawks “could not connect with the basket,” except for a single free throw.

While the PT squad was held to 7 points in the first half, the Redhawks’ defense was, in Wilson’s estimation, “fierce” in both halves, holding Coupeville to 12 points in the first half and 14 in the second.

“We played together much better in the second half,” Wilson said. “Kaitlyn Meek hit another gear, Izzy Hammett took over near the basket, and Jaz Apker-Montoya made her return felt.”

Apker-Montoya had missed a couple of days of play after sustaining a concussion.

Port Townsend got its first lead halfway through the third period.

Combining fast breaks with outside shooting, Meek would hit 14 of her game-high 19 points in the second half, while Hammett hit all 10 of her points during that stretch, and Apker-Montoya contributed 6 of her 7 points.

The Redhawks outscored Coupeville 15-4 in the third period, and 32-14 for the half.

“Kaitlyn was a cyclone on defense, but we had cyclones everywhere,” Wilson said. “Cece Nielsen drew the toughest defensive assignment, taking on the Wolves’ Lindsey Roberts and holding her to 7 points. Apker-Montoya, Mackenzie Lake and Hammett all had outstanding defensive games, and they weren’t alone. It was a team effort.”

The team nabbed 12 steals and 6 blocks or deflections.

Meek and Hammett finished with 10 rebounds each.