PT boys, Chimacum girls secure traveling trophies

Rivalry games split between schools

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Port Townsend senior Cole Crawford scored 10 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers, and the Redhawks pulled away from the Chimacum Cowboys on Jan. 8 to win the Widge Black trophy.

Port Townsend (7-4, 2-1 Class 1A Olympic League) defeated Chimacum 66-37, its second victory over the Cowboys boys basketball season. The winner of the season series between the schools earns the trophy.

“Widge Black did a tremendous amount for the youth and adults of Jefferson County,” Port Townsend coach Tom Webster said.

Black coached recreational leagues for kids as well as men’s leagues in both Port Townsend and Chimacum, Webster said.

While the Redhawks eventually broke the game open, Chimacum kept the game close in the first half and trailed 30-26 at the break.

Cowboys junior Henry Brebberman hit two 3-pointers in the first half and finished with eight points, and senior Jonah Diehl also had eight points.

Chimacum senior Cole Dotson opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer from the right wing to pull the Cowboys within 30-29, but Port Townsend roared into action with a 17-4 run for the rest of the quarter.

Crawford scored on a drive to the basket midway through the period, and senior Nico Winegar finished at the rim for a 38-31 lead after senior Kuba Krol notched a steal. Senior Kavi Baabahar added a basket on an out-of-bounds play, and the lead grew to 11 when senior Jaden Watkins was fouled as he made a layup.

Krol, an exchange student from Poland, hit a 3 that just beat the buzzer at the end of the third for a 47-33 lead.

“Chimacum hung in with us for a long time,” Webster said. “We had to coach and play our butts off to survive.”

Winegar finished with 10 points and 16 rebounds, and Watkins tallied 10 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

Watkins left the game midway through the fourth after he went down hard on a drive to the basket. Webster said he received a scratch on his face but would be OK.

Redhawks junior Noa Montoya contributed seven points and 10 rebounds, and Krol had four steals and three assists to go along with eight points.

Webster reflected on the Black family and its ties to local history. Tim Black retired after 38 years of coaching; Karlena retired after a career as the longtime attendance secretary at Port Townsend High School; Laurie is currently the director of payroll and human resources for the Port Townsend School District; and Lois, the family matriarch, was a former PTHS attendance secretary and an icon at Don’s Pharmacy.

“We are truly thankful to be a part of this great tradition,” Webster said.

Girls basketball

Chimacum 45,

Port Townsend 24

While the Cowboys’ shots weren’t dropping in the first half, their defensive pressure was enough to force turnovers on Jan. 8, and Chimacum limited Port Townsend to just one second-quarter point as they captured the Jenelle Perillo traveling trophy.

“The defense as been the key to everything we’ve ever done here,” Chimacum coach Trevor Huntingford said.

Chimacum sophomore Mia McNair scored a game-high 16 points and senior Grace Yaley added 10 for the Cowboys (7-5, 4-0 Class 1A Olympic League). Sophomore Gina Brown led Port Townsend with seven points, and junior Izzy Hammett had six.

“We know each other very, very well,” Huntingford said of the Chimacum’s Jefferson County rivals. “(The Redhawks) are changing some things, and they’re improved since the last time we saw them.”

Port Townsend played even with Chimacum in the third quarter, highlighted by 3-pointers from freshman guards Aurin Asbell and Savanna Hoffmann. The Redhawks closed the period on an 8-4 run.

But Chimacum poured on the defensive pressure in the fourth. Senior Jada Trafton hit a jumper early in the quarter and scored on a fast break later in the period, and Yaley followed a putback with a nice move in the post with less than a minute to play.

Huntingford praised junior Diamond Young for her time on the court and singled out senior Clara Noble for her work on the offensive glass in the first half.

Port Townsend coach Cameron Botkin said the Redhawks have been working on settling into an offensive rhythm, trying to avoid turnovers and looking to pass out of double teams.

“At one point, we didn’t have a true point guard out there,” Botkin said. “Izzy, true to her leadership, stepped up and was our 6-foot point guard for a while.”

Earning the traveling trophy meant a lot to Chimacum, whose players passed it around and kissed it after the game.

Perillo was a Chimacum student who developed a rare form of cancer in 2000 during her junior year, Port Townsend athletic director Lysa Falge said. She overcame significant odds to appear in one more basketball game before she had additional treatment.

The trophy was named for Perillo after she passed away the following year, Falge said.