KINGSTON — The Mornington Breakers traveled to Kingston to face one of the better girls basketball teams in the area Dec. 31. The Kingston Buccaneers, however, fell short of the expectation.
The Bucs’ varsity team is one of the best in the Olympic League, which is why the Australian-based Breakers made a stop in Kingston on their west coast tour.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t give them the run for their money we were supposed to,” Kingston head coach Gail Wicklein said.
The Breakers won the non-conference game 57-43.
It was the Breakers’ fourth game and fourth win of their international trip that they began Dec. 26. The club team hails from Mornington, Victoria, a seaside town south of Melbourne. Their tour includes nine games and three weeks on the West Coast.
The Bucs got off to a slow start. The Breakers were up 9-0 until Skyler Bakken shot a 3-pointer that got things moving for the Bucs.
The Breakers pulled away for a 21-9 lead early in the second quarter.
However, it was Bakken once again to get the momentum going. Bakken scored two 3-pointers.
Aileen Kaye scored 2 points to bring the score to 21-14. The Breakers increased their lead 32-14 by the end of the first half.
The second half was a different story for the Bucs. The Bucs held the Breakers to four points in the third quarter, while they scored nine.
Still down 36-24 in the fourth quarter, Bakken scored two consecutive 3-pointers.
A 3-pointer by Katelyn Carper put the Bucs at 36-33. Two more points for the Bucs put them one point from tying things up.
The Breakers were nervous at that point, Breakers 16-year-old forward Tiah Irons said.
“When they came back we got really scored,” she said. “They brought their intensity up.”
The Bucs were unable to take the lead. At 38 points, things slowed back down for the home team.
The Breakers increased their 40-38 lead to a 57-43 lead to finish the game.
Skyler Bakken led the Bucs with 24 points.
The Bucs fought to the end, Breakers head coach Glenn Wansbrough said.
“They were a team you couldn’t write off,” he said.
The Bucs (3-0, 5-2) host South Kitsap at 6 p.m., Jan. 3. They travel to Chimacum Jan. 6. They host Olympic Jan. 9.
