PHS Girls Basketball Faces Life After Grace Richardson

I threw them into the fire.”

For the first time in four years, the Peninsula Seahawks girls basketball team will take the court without Grace Richardson, and that may be their greatest opportunity yet.

Richardson’s graduation left a scoring gap that will be hard to ignore. She is now a freshman at the University of Mary in North Dakota, an NCAA Division II school.

The all-league guard and 1,000-point scorer carried much of the offense during last season’s 12-10 campaign, often setting the pace and the standard for the rest of the roster. Now, a younger group must learn how to fill that void together.

“It’s definitely different,” said second-year head coach Nelson Garbutt. “Grace was our leader and voice on the floor. We relied on her, but this season is about finding that leadership in other ways and learning how to make everyone a threat.” 

Garbutt’s plan is simple but not easy: defense, depth, and collective effort. The Seahawks will open the year with a road-heavy stretch — seven of their first eight games are away from home — a schedule imbalance that will test their chemistry as much as their conditioning.

“I threw them into the fire,” Garbutt said, adding that even incoming freshmen saw varsity time. “There wasn’t a lot of winning, just a lot of teaching, a lot of coaching, and a lot of learning. But that’s what we needed. It gave these girls a taste of what it is to play at that level.”

Without Richardson’s leadership, Garbutt watched younger players step into roles that last season might have seemed out of reach. Sophomores Paige Jones and Izzy Michaels, along with Gracie Robinson, who all saw varsity minutes last season as freshmen, are part of the group he expects to make the biggest jump.

“Gracie was kind of hesitant at first,” Garbutt said. “Now she’s finally understanding that she can play at this level. The confidence grew a lot this summer.”

He also highlighted Jones as a potential defensive anchor. “She’s fast, and she’s physical,” he said. “I’m expecting her to be big for us this year, especially on the defensive end.”

In all, the Seahawks’ new look reflects a deliberate move away from isolation play. Garbutt plans to rely on a motion-style offense to get everyone involved.

“We’re going to have to move the ball and generate offense by attacking the defense,” he said. “We can’t let (opponent) defenses get set. It’s going to be continuous motion where the ball moves and doesn’t stick like it did last year.”

Another key to Peninsula’s new approach will be finding leadership by committee. The returning players, Garbutt said, are learning that respect is earned not by status, but through effort.

“Before, there was such a big skill gap with Grace, and for some of the others, that respect was kind of demanded,” he said. “Now it’s being earned through actions and consistency.”

Even with injuries to returning upperclassmen like Julia Warfield, who re-tore her knee this fall, Garbutt said he’s already seeing growth in how players carry themselves. He points to junior Olivia Furer as one example.

“She’s making eye contact, asking thoughtful questions, and responding,” Garbutt said. “That’s growth heading in the right direction.”

The Seahawks will have to find their rhythm quickly. They open the season Dec. 2 at Stadium High School, followed by another road test Dec. 5 at Lincoln, before finally returning home Dec. 9 to face Silas in their lone home game for December. In all, seven of Peninsula’s first eight games are on the road — a stretch that will test a young team still finding its identity.

Garbutt knows the league won’t wait for anyone to catch up. Defending champion North Thurston remains the favorite, while Bellarmine and Gig Harbor return with deep rosters. The Seahawks’ annual rivalry Fish Basket matchup at Gig Harbor High School Jan. 15 will be another key measuring stick for how far this group has come.

“I think it’s going to be pretty even this year,” Garbutt said. “A lot of teams are trying to generate points the same way we are: through defense and effort. It’s going to come down to who can handle the pressure and react best in those moments.”

For the Seahawks, that means moving on from Grace Richardson and moving forward together.

“We may not have that one dominant player anymore, but we’ve got a group that’s hungry. And that’s a great place to start.”