Peninsula’s Tati Kamae (2) brings the ball up against Pierce College’s Tyra Brown (23) Sunday. Kamae had 18 points and a school-record 14 steals in a 63-41 win. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)

Peninsula’s Tati Kamae (2) brings the ball up against Pierce College’s Tyra Brown (23) Sunday. Kamae had 18 points and a school-record 14 steals in a 63-41 win. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Peninsula crushes Pierce behind Kamae’s 14 steals

PORT ANGELES — Tati Kamae didn’t just set a Peninsula College women’s basketball record Sunday. She shattered it.

By the third quarter.

Kamae had 14 steals in the Pirates’ 63-41 victory over Pierce, giving Peninsula a three-game sweep in its home NWAC crossover tournament.

Peninsula, which began the season ranked No. 1 in the NWAC, has now won eight straight after losing the first two games of the year with some of the Pirates’ players missing.

That steals record had stood since 2000.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Coach Alison Crumb said it’s great to see Kamae performing so well since she has been a big part of the Pirates program since before the pandemic. She also had 18 points Sunday for a double-double.

“She’s a three-year kid. She’s the only COVID kid to stay for three years,” Crumb said.

Kamae also had a fantastic game Friday against Mount Hood, scoring the final nine points of that game as the Pirates came from behind — they were down 23-8 at one point — to win. She finished that game with 26 points and averaged 19.3 points a game over the three-game tournament. One of the reasons she had to step up this weekend is one of the Pirates’ top weapons, Ituau Tuisaula, has been out with a knee injury.

Crumb said Tuisaula “tweaked” her knee. She said it doesn’t appear to be a serious injury, but she felt it was safe to hold her out until January.

“She said she was good to go and felt fine, but I didn’t want to risk it. It was a blessing in disguise. It was a good opportunity to see people step up,” Crumb said.

Millie Long also filled up the scorebook, though she struggled with her shooting. She had 17 points, seven rebounds and seven steals as the Pirates totaled 25 steals.

Peninsula allowed just 15 points in the second half. Pierce got off only 20 shots in the second half, making three.

While Long’s stat line is impressive, she did something even more impressive Friday, nearly getting an extremely rare quadruple-double against Mount Hood. She had 21 points, 10 rebounds, eight steals and seven assists.

“I’ve haven’t seen anyone like her before, she’s so much fun to watch,” Crumb said. “Even if she does something stupid, it’s OK, because she just did five amazing things before that.”

Adam Kaganak also had 12 points for the Pirates.

Tuisaula was named the NWAC Player of the Week for Dec. 5-11 after a 21-point, 19-rebound and a 26-point, 10-rebound game that week. She is averaging 17.6 points and 12.4 rebounds a game this season.

The Pirates (8-2) are off for three weeks as they recover from their nagging injuries. Jenilee Donovan was also out this weekend with a sprained ankle and Long has been playing with a sore ankle. Peninsula will begin North Division play Jan. 11. The Pirates are hoping that one of their top transfers, Chasity Selden, will be able to play when league play begins.

NOTE: The women were ranked No. 3 in the latest NWAC poll, but that was before this weekend. The Peninsula College men, who are 11-1 and swept three games this weekend in Eugene, Ore., including a 114-50 win over Centralia, are ranked No. 3 in the men’s poll.

Peninsula 63, Pierce 41

Pierce 16 10 6 9 — 41

PC 15 18 17 13 — 63

Pierce (41) — Romain 13, Brooks 12, Luna 12, Carter 4.

Peninsula (63) — Kamae 18, Long 17, Kaganak 12, Moss 5, Marini 5, Brown 4, Hopson 2.

More in Sports

Port Angeles' Matthew Miller heads the ball at Wally Sigmar Field on Tuesday as Sequim's Joshua Alcaraz (2) and Preston Kurtze are in on the play. Miller scored two goals in a 2-1 victory. (Jay Cline/for Peninsula Daily News)
PREP SOCCER: Roughriders outlast Wolves in entertaining battle

In an entertaining and physical battle between Olympic Peninsula… Continue reading

BASEBALL: Roughriders rally back past rival Sequim in 7-4 triumph

Back-to-back doubles by Kody Williams and Jordan Shumway, the latter… Continue reading

Photo by Dylan Wilhelm, Daily Chronicle/
Sequim's Jericho Julmist goes up for a shot on March 5 against Mark Morris in the 2A State Tournament. He led the Wolves with 28 points.
ALL-PENINSULA MVP: Jericho Julmist, clutch performer with more to prove

It’s hard to believe that Sequim’s Jericho Julmist barely even… Continue reading

Port Angeles’ Faerin Tait picked up three top-10 at the Arnie Young Invitational track meet this weekend, including a fifth-place finish in the 100 hurdles. She had already posted the fourth-best time in the state in the 100 hurdles.
Devyn Dearinger, Sequim baseball.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Devyn Dearinger, Sequim baseball

Sequim’s Devyn Dearinger had a game to remember on March 26 against… Continue reading

The Port Scandalous Scandals, in black, battled Tacoma Dockyard this weekend in Sequim with the visitors narrowly winning 158-132. (Emily Mathiessen/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
ROLLER DERBY: Port Scandalous Scandals’ second bout narrows point gap

The Port Scandalous Roller Derby team the Scandals held their second bout… Continue reading