Gig Harbor girls eliminated by Snohomish

The season came to an end for the Gig Harbor High School girls basketball team on Saturday against Snohomish.

The Tides fell to the Panthers, 53-40, in the regional round of the Class 4A state tournament.

“It was pretty close, we battled pretty hard,” said Gig Harbor coach Megan Murray. “I don’t think the score does us justice to how well we played. I’m just really proud of how the girls played and stuck to the game plan.”

The Tides finish the season with a 15-9 overall record. Before the season started, one of the team’s goals was to make it to the state tournament. After winning its first two district games, the Tides checked that goal off the list.

“I’m extremely proud,” Murray said. “It was a realistic goal for us at the start of the season. There were plenty of reminders during the regular season, if we’re a state-caliber team, there’s an expectation of how practices and games should go. They held themselves to a high standard, knowing it was a day to day grind.”

It was Gig Harbor’s youth which impressed against Snohomish on Saturday. Sophomore Maddie Willett had 15 points, and freshman Brynna Maxwell chipped in 15 also, coming off the bench. Murray said Maxwell started to come into her own midway through the season.

“Consistently, after our winter break,” Murray said of Maxwell. “It was getting used to the day in and day out practices, grind for two hours and the speed and physicality of the game. She really came around after the first half of the season. She is one of my hardest workers. She’s got a humongous passion for basketball. She’s a competitor and she’s willing to do whatever it takes.”

The program has steadily improved under Murray. In her first season, the Tides were one game away from the state tournament. This season, while Gig Harbor fell short of reaching the Tacoma Dome, the Tides reached the regional round.

“This team bonded really well on and off the floor,” Murray said. “It’s extremely important that all the girls get along and buy into everybody’s strengths and what every individual can bring. Once they do that, your team will be successful. We expected to play together and on any given night, several girls stepped up for us. It just makes up for someone that’s having an off night or something. Everybody has a strength, I was very pleased with the way all of them played.”

With the emergence of young talent this season, Murray is optimistic about the team’s future.

“Just as far as the way our program has grown, the C-team and JV did awesome,” Murray said. “It’s just a process. Now that there’s a couple years under the girls’ belts, I definitely see a bright future continuing to build.”

This story was originally published March 2, 2016 at 12:05 PM with the headline "Gig Harbor girls eliminated by Snohomish."