People who showed up last Friday night at the Vashon gym witnessed a game that was history in the making.

For the first time in many years — perhaps 20 — the girls Pirate basketball team defeated longtime rivals Eatonville Cruisers 59-57 in overtime.

The Cruisers pressed from the start; Vashon answered by breaking the press and, in a back-and-forth first quarter, the Pirates ended up trailing by 2.

“In the second quarter, we let things get a little bit away from us,” said Coach Henry Porter.

After the half, the Pirates came out and played a tenacious zone defense, forcing the Cruisers into turnovers and quick outside shots.

“We moved our feet and blocked out and rebounded well in the third,” he said.

The Pirates ended up outscoring Eatonville 19 to 6 to take a 5-point lead going into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Eatonville started dropping 3-pointers, hitting 3 of them and, with less than a minute to go, were up by 5.

With 30 seconds left, “the Pirates had to play smart and get lucky, and they did a little of both,” Porter said.

Costello threw up a 3 that rattled off the backboard and dropped in, bringing the Pirates within 2 points of the Cruisers.

With 15 seconds left, Eatonville committed a pushing foul. Chrissy Swope stepped up to the line and sank two free throws to tie the game 56-56.

With seven seconds on the clock, the Cruisers failed to get off a shot and the game went into overtime.

In overtime, both teams played tough defense.

Eatonville went to the line and hit one out of two, leading 57-56 with 10 seconds to go.

Vashon came down for one last shot. Kelly Costello put up a 3 that rolled off; freshman Charlotte Kehoe reached out her arms, keeping the ball alive.

She tipped it to Swope, who picked up the ball and dished it out to Zelda Porter. Porter shot a 3 in front of her own bench that hit nothing but the bottom of the net. The Pirate section erupted in cheers.

With three seconds left, Eatonville called a timeout.

The Cruisers’ last attempt failed when Vashon’s defense forced them into a turnover, giving the Pirates a 59-57 victory in overtime.

“The girls played defensively, as good as I have ever seen them play,” said Porter.

Previously, the Pirates beat the Trojans of Fife 49-41 at Fife on Dec. 9.

The Pirates started their league season against the Chimacum Cowboys last night, though results were not available at press time.

— This article was compiled with information from Coach Henry Porter.