Ali Crumb named women's head coach

     PORT ANGELES – Port Angeles’ Alison Crumb was named Peninsula’s new head women’s basketball coach today, following the resignation of Julie Stewart on June 2.

     Crumb, a 2003 Port Angeles High School graduate, led the Pirates to the only Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges women’s conference championship in school history in 2005, playing for coach Stewart. She served as team captain that year and broke the school record for assists. She then went on to finish out her collegiate career at Western Oregon University, where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature.

   The former Roughrider and Pirate was reunited with coach Stewart as an assistant coach in 2008. She will take over the reigns as head coach, starting work immediately.  In addition to coaching, Crumb will also teach part-time at Peninsula.

   Stewart stepped down from the head coaching position for the second time in her career. She coached at Peninsula for two seasons, 2003-04 and 2004-05, and then came back for the 2008-09 season. She went 53-33 in her head coaching career at Peninsula, including two trips to the NWAACC basketball championships.

     “I was not expecting Julie to step down this year and am, of course, disappointed to be losing her,” Director of Athletics Rick Ross said, “but I’m also confident that Ali will continue to offer our program the same quality of character, work ethic and positive spirit that Julie represented. Ali was a natural leader as a player and, as point guard, a ‘coach on the court.’ I believe that her experience as a player both here, and at Western Oregon, in addition to learning the coaching ropes from Julie, have prepared her to continue our winning tradition.”

     Coach Crumb said she is very excited to have this opportunity and will continue to recruit the players coach Stewart was recruiting before she decided to step down.

     “I am very excited about taking on this wonderful opportunity to coach young women in the sport that I love with great passion,” coach Crumb said. “It is going to be a lot of work for everyone involved to build from the success that the Pirates had last season and there are going to be a lot of new faces attached to the program, which is difficult and exciting at the same time.”

     The 2008-09 Pirates graduated 10 sophomores, so coach Crumb will have her work cut out for her with a large freshman class. She said she plans to spend more time developing strength and speed, considering that freshman are usually behind sophomores in physical strength.

     “There will be a great focus in the weight room and in conditioning in an efffort to get our young players ready for college play,” she said. “The program I want to run will literally run! I like a fast pace game. In-your-face man-to-man defense and run the basketball, getting everyone involved from the 5 to the 1. Hopefully if we prepare physically and mentally we will have an exciting team to watch next fall. Again I am very excited about coaching these young women as it was not too long ago I was wearing their shoes on the same court. I'm hoping they have the same quality experience and success that I had."

Samantha Flett signs with Eastern Oregon

LaGRANDE, Ore. – Samantha Flett, who led the Peninsula Pirates to their best-ever finish at the NWAACC Basketball Championships earlier this spring, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play her junior and senior years at Eastern Oregon University. The outstanding guard out of the tiny town of Wellpinit, Washington, led the Pirates in scoring (15.9 points per game), steals (3.2), assists (3.8) and was among the leaders in the NWAACC in those categories as well. “We are excited about the addition of Samantha to our program,” said Mountaineer coach Anji Weissenfluh. “Sam will be a major impact player for us. She is a proven scorer, great defender, strong rebounder, and will fit in well with our up-tempo style of play. Sam has two years of college experience under her belt which will prove to be very valuable. We are very fortunate to get an outstanding student-athlete like Sam."

Pirate All-Stars shine in Sophomore game 
LAKEWOOD - Peninsula's "fantastic four" made a strong showing at the annual NWAACC Sophomore All-Star Game Sunday, where their North teammates played very tough against the heavily favored South before succumbing to an 87-67 setback in the second half. Brittany Bridges stepped out of her post position to bury 4 three-point field goals to finish with a double-double, 12 points and 10 rebounds. PC scoring sensation Samantha Flett took only 8 shots in the game and finished with 7 points, Brooke Helpenstell added 7 points and 8 rebounds and Krystal Tolliver contributed 4 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 assists in her final game in the black and gold.

Four PC women earn post season honors 
PORT ANGELES - Samantha Flett and Brooke Helpenstell were named to the 2009 North Division First Team, as announced by the NWAACC. Teammates Brittany Bridges and Krystal Tolliver will join them to play for the North at the annual NWAACC Sophomore All-Star Games on Sunday. The North will play the South at 11 a.m. at the Pierce College Fort Steilacoom gym. Pierce College is planning to produce a live video stream of the game at www.pierce.ctc.edu/athletics. The North All-Stars are: First Team: Keri Arendse, Skagit Valley; Brittney Finkbonner, Whatcom; Samantha Flett, Peninsula; Brooke Helpenstell, Peninsula; Sherika Puckett, Seattle. Second Team: Keena Hopkins, Everett; Ashley Housden, Everett; Alyssa Koller, Skagit Valley; Amy Rochowiak, Bellevue; Tiffany Tyler, Whatcom. Most Valuable Player: Brittany Janz, Skagit Valley. Coach of the Year: Steve Epperson, Skagit Valley. In Sunday’s NWAACC Basketball Championship trophy round, Lane stopped Skagit Valley 81-54 to win the women’s championship, Umpquah was third, Walla Walla fourth and Mt. Hood fifth.

Top 12 finish for Pirates at NWAACC Tournament 
KENNEWICK - The sophomore-dominated Peninsula Pirates didn't win an NWAACC championship this year, but they did make a little history, posting the third most wins ever and becoming the first women's team in school history to win a game at the NWAACC Tournament. The Pirates (19-11, 13-3) were knocked out of post season play in a tough 69-56 loss to Centralia, the top-seeded team in the West Division. Port Angeles' Brook Helpenstell poured in 19 points and pulled down 7 rebounds in her final game as a Pirate, Brittany Bridges, a 5-11 post out of Las Vegas, buried five 3-pointers to finish with 15 in her last game in black and gold, and Samantha Flett, a guard from a tiny high school in Wellpinit, Washington, who was ranked in the NWAACC's top six in three categories (scoring, steals and assists) scored 13 in the final game of her magnificant career at Peninsula. It was an emotional time for those three sophs, as well as Kaylee Baumstark, Ayla Brown, Damaris Craig, Tina Knight, Alyssa Greene, Krystal Tolliver and Britney Yamane, who represented the college well all season. Look for many of those young ladies to play on at the next level and look for coach Julie Stewart to recruit a team that will join this year's freshmen at the NWAACC finals in 2010.

Pirates get first-ever post-season win 
KENNEWICK - Peninsula College has sent a women's basketball team to the NWAACC Championships four times, but Friday's 86-55 route of South Puget Sound marks the first tournament win in school history. The Pirates avenged a previous loss to the Clippers and, in doing so, stayed alive in the consolaton bracket. Freshman Dena Houser scored a career-high 22 points, sinking three of five from 3-point range, to lead the Pirates. Samantha Flett added 16 points and 7 rebounds, Brittany Bridges also had a hot hand with 14 points and 8 rebounds, Britney Yamane contributed 11 points and 4 assists, Damaris Craig scored 9 points and added 6 rebounds with some quality minutes off the bench and Krystal Tolliver added 7 rebounds, 4 assists and a bunch of stuff they don't have stats for. It was the team's most impressive and productive offensive effort of the season. The Pirates move on to play Centralia at 10 a.m. Saturday. 

4th-ranked Clackamas stops Pirates in opener
KENNEWICK - The Pirates and 4th-ranked Clackamas Cougars traded leads throughout the first half of Thursday's NWAACC Championship Tournament opener, only to succumb late in the game for a 65-51 loss. It was a four-point game with four minutes to play when the Pirates fouled out two starters. Samantha Flett led the Pirates with 17 point and 8 rebounds and Brooke Helpenstell added 13 points and 12 rebounds against a very strong, trapping Cougar defense.

Pirates rock Edmonds, set for NWAACC Tourney 
PORT ANGELES - Peninsula's sophomore-dominated women's basketball team blew out Edmonds 63-37 Saturday to finish their regular season with a 13-3 conference record and 18-9 overall mark, their best showing in four years. The Pirates, who finished second to Skagit Valley, will open play at the 2009 NWAACC Basketball Championships at the Toyota Center in Kennewick at noon, Thursday, March 5 against Clackamas. Against Edmonds, the Pirates got off to a slow start, but when they shifted into high gear, they were too much for the Tritons. Dena Houser led a balanced Pirate attack with 12 points and 5 steals. Samantha Flett added 8 points, 7 assists, 4 steals and 11 rebounds, Brooke Helpenstell had 8 points and 8 rebounds, Britney Yamane chipped in 8 points and Krystal Tolliver added 7 points and 8 rebounds. In all, 10 of the 13 Pirates scored in the game - and it was the final home appearance for 10 sophomores: Kaylee Baumstark, Ayla Brown, Brittany Bridges, Damaris Craig, Samantha Flett, Alyssa Greene, Brooke Helpenstell, Tina Knight, Krystal Tolliver and Britney Yamane.