Three weeks into the season, the East Jefferson Rivals girls’ basketball team has seized third place in the Nisqually League, having trounced three of the four conference opponents they have played to date.

That’s a remarkable achievement, considering both the modest size and unusual youth of East Jefferson’s roster, and the toughness of their Nisqually League foes.

Between the Varsity and Junior Varsity squads, the Rivals have just 16 girls, most of them freshmen.

The team returns just three upperclassmen: post Abbie Liske, a Chimacum senior, and guards Kay Botkin and Juliette O’Hara, both Port Townsend juniors.

By combining players from Chimacum and Port Townsend, East Jefferson can (barely) muster the numbers to compete in the Nisqually League, a conference loaded with private schools on the I-5 corridor.

Those private schools typically punch above their numerical weight competitively, by recruiting scholarship athletes from across the state’s largest metropolitan area.

Last year, the RIvals held their own at 8-8 in Nisqually League play and advanced to the district playoffs, but graduated some dominant talent.

Few expected this year’s youthful roster to sustain that level of success.

Undaunted by the odds, the Rivals believed in themselves.

Before the season began, Botkin, the team’s starting point guard, proclaimed, “We’re aiming for greatness. We’re ready to leave everything on the court.”

East Jefferson opened conference play on Dec. 1 by hosting Klahowya, one of their few fellow public schools in Nisqually League.

The Rivals dominated the Eagles, 38-25.

East Jefferson stumbled at home the following week, defeated 47-32 by private school powerhouse Cascade Christian on Dec. 7.

In a valiant losing effort against a team loaded with bigger, stronger upperclassmen, Botkin sank four 3-pointers.

On Dec. 11, East Jefferson traveled to Seattle Christian, where the Rivals vanquished the Warriors, 40-23.

Penina Vailolo, a Chimacum sophomore, scored a whopping 16 points.

Back home on Friday, Dec. 15, the Rivals beat Life Christian, 43-30.

Vailolo and freshman guard Teri Wiley both posted double-doubles.

Vailolo scored 12 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, while Wiley scored 10 and grabbed 16 rebounds.

Wiley also led the Rivals with 6 steals.

Delighted by the players' commitment during the off-season, Rivals Head Coach Lorraine Rimson aims to continue developing the girls' awareness and instincts.

“My hope for this year is that more of the teamwork on offense and defense will feel automatic,” Rimson said. “We are actually already seeing some of that, and it is very exciting.”

Rimson’s goals for this season go beyond the game of basketball.

“I'd like to see each girl become more resilient and more confident about who they are, and about what they can achieve in all aspects of their lives,” Rimson said. “Yes, it's a big goal, but that's the beauty of competitive sports. It translates quite well to life.”