No.8 Wolves dump No.6 Tides

"It wouldn’t matter if the game was tiddly winks. South Kitsap and Gig Harbor high schools would insist on bragging rights in any contest.It just happened to be girls basketball last Friday at SK.The Wolves--10-2, 5-1 in the Narrows League and ranked No. 8 in the statewide Associated Press poll--utilized their depth and stingy defense to shut down the No.-6 Tides (10-1, 5-1 NL).The Wolves continue their league schedule this week against a pair of teams with sub-.500 records. They play tonight at 7:30 at Lincoln (1-5), then have a home game at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Wilson (2-4). SK and Gig Harbor were virtually equal in rebounding (38-34) and field goal percentage (35 percent to 32 percent). It was the Wolves’ defense, which forced the Tides into 20 turnovers, that made the difference.An obvious difference between last year’s SK team (third at state) and this year’s squad is the utilization of reserves. That strategy for coach Doug Green seems to pay off. While many teams become winded and tired, SK shows it has the same energy level from start to finish.“We had to make some adjustments but we had pressure on them the whole game,” Green said. “It was a fun game and the kids played hard.”Stamina for the full 32 minutes is something the team prides itself on, junior Nicole Eggebraten said.“It’s awesome,” she said. “Gig Harbor came in 10-0 with all the hype, and we took them down while still going strong.”Both teams played fairly even, though SK never trailed after Beth Ellis hit a three-pointer early in the first quarter to go up 9-6.The Wolves increased their lead to 30-22 in the third quarter before the Tides pulled within one point at 30-29.But free throws from Kristen Truax and Angela Sampson and a jumpshot from sophomore Rebekah Proctor pushed the lead to nine points.Then Ellis capped off the third quarter with a rare four-point play as time ran out. That gave SK a 44-31 lead.The SK defense only allowed Gig Harbor eight points in the final quarter. SK enjoyed a balanced scoring attack, with Ellis leading the way with 14 points. Truax added 12 points and Sampson contributed nine.Nine Wolves scored in a game in which Green used all 11 of his players.The showdown with Gig Harbor also proved to be a break-out game for Eggebraten. She came off the bench to score four points, but more importantly she muscled inside defensively to grab seven rebounds.A former starter, Eggebraten said she “just wanted to be in there and help the team. It’s nice getting rebounds. Angela and Truax do their jobs, but it felt nice to give them some help” on the boards.Sampson had 10 rebounds and Truax added eight rebounds to lead SK."

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