Peninsula College’s Alison Crumb was named North Division Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year and Madison Pilster was named Most Valuable Player and seven other Pirates were honored as All-Conference selections were announced in early March by the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges.
Crumb, in her fifth year as head coach for Peninsula, was named North Division Coach of the Year following her team’s first conference championship since Crumb was a Pirate herself in 2005.
“In just five years, Ali has established herself as one of the top women’s basketball coaches in the NWAC,” said Athletic Director Rick Ross. “She has worked very hard and she didn’t cut any corners. She is a tremendous coach, her players love and respect her, and we couldn’t be more proud of her achievement.”
The Port Angeles product admitted that the award is special to her.
“This award means a lot,” Crumb said, “because it shows growth in a program that I care a lot about.”
Following her graduation from Western Oregon University, she spent one year as an assistant coach and then was promoted to head coach in 2009.
“I had no idea what I was doing, and over the years, and with a lot of help, the program has become a championship contending program and that is important to me,” Crumb said.
“What is most important to me, however, is the ability to achieve this award with this group of women. We all care a lot for each other and they are as happy for me as I am for them.”
Pilster, Fenumiai, Smith, Laster earn women’s honors
Pilster, a sophomore from Blackfoot, Idaho, was the seventh leading scorer in the NWAC this year, leading the Pirates with a 16.6 average.
“Madison is very deserving of this award,” Crumb said. “I said so earlier in the season and I still believe it to be true, I’m just glad that other coaches in the league agree with me. She defends hard, is aggressive, she can score inside and out, and she is a tough competitor.”
Pilster produced good numbers for a team that is loaded with scorers. The Pirates were fourth in the NWAC in scoring this year with a 75 point per game average.
“She is the league’s second leading scorer in over 100 less minutes than the leading scorer and is just a huge reason why we won the league title,” Crumb said. “She was Second Team All-League last year and earning MVP just proves how hard she has worked and how much she has improved.”
Pilster also was named to the North Division All-Defensive Team.
“She is a player who guards all positions and does it very well,” Crumb said. “The energy she puts out on the defensive end should restrict her offense, but it doesn’t. She uses defense as a way to gain confidence and show her toughness.”
Also earning honors this year for the Peninsula women were Gabi Fenumiai, Imani Smith and Zhara Laster.
Fenumiai, a sophomore from Juneau, Alaska, is the seventh top rebounder in the NWAC with 212 and the all-time leading rebounder in Peninsula College women’s basketball history. She also averaged 10.6 points per game. She was named to the North Division’s First Team.
“She is a force under the basket and is playing better defense right now than I have ever seen her play,” Crumb said. “She is physical, she rebounds hard and she is athletic. I think her presence inside opens up our guard play and teams just have to figure out how to defend it. If she is in a one on one match up down low, I pick Gabi every time. Not to mention she is a vocal leader for us as well as a great teammate. She deserves to be named as the best post in our league.”
Smith, a freshman from Ontario, Calif., plays the point guard position for the Pirates and was named to the North Division Second Team.
“Imani is a natural athlete,” Crumb said. “She is quick and aggressive and sets the tone in the way we play the game. We run the ball fast and play pressure defense. This doesn’t happen without Imani Smith. She has helped create this identity for us and I’m glad she was rewarded for her ability to dictate the tone of the game. We are lucky to have her back next year and will hopefully have her named higher in all-star balloting as a sophomore.”
Laster, a freshman from St. Mary’s County, Md., whose family now lives in Port Angeles, also is a big part of Peninsula’s success this year and joins Pilster on the North Division’s All-Defensive Team.
“Zhara is probably the best all-around athlete I have seen here in a long time,” Crumb said. “She gets steals, loose balls, rebounds, and these are things that are flat out disruptive. She also shares with Madi in the responsibility of guarding the best players on the team. She reads passing lanes well and anticipates very well. Zhara is our glue kid who just is after every ball. I am very happy she is rewarded with this award and it is very much well deserved.”
Pilster, Schmillen, Nemelka earn All-Academic honors
The Pirates also had three sophomores named to the NWAC All-Academic Team, in Pilster, Miranda Schmillen and Whitney Nemelka.
“Basketball can only take you so far and for those three to handle all the pressures we put on them, and the time commitment of playing basketball, and still achieve such high academic success is a true testament to their work ethic and character,” Crumb said.
“They each have the ability to prioritize and accomplish multiple tasks and have been great leaders for our freshmen who need to understand the value of academics. I’m very proud of their accomplishments on and off the court. Their work ethic will get them far in life, not just in basketball.”
Callaghan, Dixon earn men’s honors
Pirate freshmen guards Ryley Callaghan and Deonte Dixon were named to the North Division Second Team.
“Both Deonte and Ryley are so fun to coach, because they want to be coached and enjoy competing,” head coach Mitch Freeman said. “They both have a bright future and our supporters have a lot to look forward to.”
Callaghan, of Port Orchard, averaged 17.9 points per game, 14th best in the NWAC, from his point guard position.
“When we needed someone to step up and make a play, Ryley was always ready,” Freeman said. “He is like an extension of the coach on the floor and knows how to win.”
Dixon, of Bremerton, averaged 16.7 points per game and is arguably the most athletic player on the Pirate roster.
“There is so much that Deonte has been through this year and I can’t express how happy I am for him to be rewarded with All-Conference honors,” Freeman said. “He worked extremely hard to get to where he is today. He is one of the most explosive players in the conference with the ability to create his own shot when he needs to.”
