Fish Basket: Tides Girls Take Down Seahawks, 53-51 in OT

Peninsula Seahawks junior Grace Richardson hit a lay-up with no time remaining to send the annual Fish Basket game into overtime, but the Gig Harbor Tides scored five quick points in the extra session en route to a 53-51 win over their conference rival at Peninsula High School Jan. 10.

With the win, the Tides took sole possession of third place in the South Sound Conference, while the Seahawks dropped to fourth.

With the game tied 44-44, Seahawks guard Kaylia Heidelberg missed a three-pointer with seven seconds left in regulation and ended up fouling Tides guard Taylor Schwab on the ensuing rebound. Schwab hit both of her free throws, putting Gig Harbor up 46-44 with 4.9 seconds left. 

Seahawks coach Hannah Lekson drew up a play to get the ball to Heidelberg to take the last shot, but Richardson found an opening to drive all the way in for the buzzer-beater that bounced around the rim before falling in.

Heidelberg was fouled on a three-point attempt with her team down 52-48 and two seconds left in OT. She made her first two free throws and while trying to purposely miss her third to give her team another chance to score, she accidentally made it. That gave the ball back to the Tides and the Seahawks had to foul. Schwab made one of two free throws to finish the game.

The teams entered the fourth quarter tied 31-31, despite a sloppy first three quarters. The Seahawks and Tides were marred by giving up second-chance opportunities, missed open shots and senseless turnovers. The game was close throughout with no team leading by more than six points, after Schwab scored the first eight points of the game.

“We couldn’t buy a bucket,” said Lekson, in her second year leading the Seahawks. “We were missing shots our girls usually make without a problem.”

The game showcased three of the SSC’s top guards in Richardson, Heidelberg and Schwab. Heidelberg scored a team-high 26 points, including 20 in the second half and OT, and Richardson finished with 12. Schwab scored more than half of her team’s points, including the first 10 of the game for the Tides, and finished with 28. Kaliyah Miller scored nine for Gig Harbor.

With the loss the Seahawks’ hopes for winning back-to-back league titles is slim-to-none. Currently, North Thurston and Timberline are both undefeated and tied for first.

“I’m hoping we can get back up to second or third place if we take care of business the rest of the season, but we’ve got some work to do,” Lekson said.

Peninsula (6-4 overall, 4-3 SSC) returns to the court Jan. 12 to play at winless Central Kitsap, and have a non-conference home game on Jan. 15 against Woodinville. They have another shot at Gig Harbor (8-5, 4-2) Feb. 1.