South Kitsap High School girls basketball rebounding under first-year coach Anthony Lewis

Anthony Lewis hasn't been in Port Orchard long, but the 26-year-old head coach is already making an impact with South Kitsap's girls basketball team.

The Wolves stretched their winning streak to four games Thursday with a 50-40 home win against Puyallup. South Kitsap (6-5, 2-4 in the South Puget Sound League 4A) has already won twice as many games as it did last season, when the team finished 3-14.

Lewis, a first-year coach, doesn't see any reason why the Wolves can't succeed.

"I tell them every day, the potential in that locker room is amazing," said Lewis, who replaced former coach CJ Scott, now an assistant on the team. "It's on them, they are deciding their fate. It's a great team."

A native of California, Lewis said he was finishing up his Master's degree studies last year while keeping his eyes and ears open for potential coaching jobs. A friend of Lewis, one with a relative in South Kitsap School District, told him about the open girls basketball coaching position. He applied for the job and the early returns are positive.

"He's got a lot of heart," South Kitsap senior Aly Loudermilk said. "He pushes us a lot more than we've ever had here."

South Kitsap's last winning season came in 2015-16, when the Wolves finished 12-10 in the final year of the Narrows League 4A. The team's best finish since joining the South Puget Sound League 4A came in 2019-20 when the Wolves went 8-12.

Against Puyallup, the Wolves showed they're a team that can find more than one way to win. With top scorer/rebounder Grace Degarimore (3 points) limited due to foul trouble and Puyallup's size, other players stepped up. Junior Kyle Hoisington led the Wolves in scoring with 11 points off the bench, while Loudermilk added 8 points, 5 assists, 4 steals and senior Breanna Viergutz added 7 points. Eight of South Kitsap's nine players who saw minutes scored in the game.

Leading by 11 points at halftime, South Kitsap saw Puyallup trim its deficit to 35-31 midway through the third quarter before the Wolves used their speed advantage to generate points off turnovers to regain their double-digit advantage.

"They responded great," Lewis said, expressing satisfaction that South Kitsap had contributions from each player. "We need a little bit from everybody. They do a good job of being ready when their number is called."

Viergutz believes this season's team is hungry to show it can win consistently and she's happy Lewis is leading the way.

"We have a new coach that wants us for it, too," Viergutz said. "We have that motivation."

Crosspoint's Halle Kuske earns WIAA honor

Crosspoint junior Halle Kuske was one of 12 students from around the state to earn Washington Interscholastic Activities Association player of the week honors on Thursday.

Kuske averaged 17 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals during the Warriors' three games at the Mount Vernon Christian Holiday Hoops tournament in December. Crosspoint (4-4 overall) leads the Sea-Tac League 1B standings with a 4-0 mark.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: South Kitsap girls basketball rebounding under Anthony Lewis