The Vashon girls basketball team opened Nisqually League play with a come-from-behind win over the Cedar Park Christian Eagles on Tuesday, Dec. 4.

The Pirates jumped out to an early lead off a quick bucket from freshman Annika Hille, but the Eagles rode a hot second quarter to take a 4-point advantage at the half, 16-12. The third quarter was played to a draw and the Pirates opened the final quarter trailing, 25-21.

Down 2 points with time running low, a 3-point dagger from Siena Janetty with 52 seconds on the clock gave the Pirates a 1-point lead, which they held on their way to a 32-31 win.

The Pirate offense was sparked by their wings. Janetty scored 14 points, while Anya Quig tallied 13. Taegen Lynch added 3 points, and Hille’s 2 points rounded out the scoring.

The Pirates played the Seattle Christian Warriors on Friday in their second league contest. Vashon took early control and held a 19-14 lead at the half. The Warriors rallied in the third quarter to take a 1-point advantage, 24-23. The Pirates had multiple chances to even the score in the last two minutes of the game, but could not get a shot to drop in an eventual loss, 32-29.

Janetty again paced the Pirate scorers with 13 points, aided by Quig (10) and Lynch (4).  Kate Atwell and Ally Clevenger added a free throw apiece, accounting for the rest of the scoring.

On Saturday Vashon played a non-league game against Port Townsend. The Pirates struggled to score early and were looking at a 13-point deficit at halftime, 20-7. Vashon slowly closed the gap in the second half, pulling to within 2 points in the final minutes, 25-23. Port Townsend ultimately pulled away to a 30-23 win — all 5 points coming from the stripe — as Vashon was forced to foul in order to get the ball back.

Janetty again came through for Vashon with 13 points. Quig (4), Lynch (3), Kai’li Scheer (2) and Atwell (1) paced the remaining scoring.

After the game, coach Henry Porter said the team was playing great defensively.

“Our younger players are really coming along, and as they continue to get more comfortable with the pace of play, I think we will see continued improvement on offense,” he said.

The Pirates next game will be at home on Friday against number four-ranked Cascade Christian.

—Gary Means is the assistant coach of the Vashon girls basketball team.