PORT ANGELES — The Peninsula College men’s and women’s basketball teams are wrapping up their home schedules tonight, and it turns out both games are huge for the Pirates.
The men have essentially an early playoff game, as they must beat Shoreline to qualify for the Northwest Athletic Conference tournament.
Meanwhile, the women, who already clinched a North Region championship, have a 39-game winning streak in the North Region and are looking to finish with a perfect 14-0 record in the North this season for the second straight year.
The men enter tonight’s game with a 7-6 record in the North (13-13 overall), coming off a critical 83-81 win at Everett on Saturday. Shoreline is 6-7, but has a tiebreaker over the Pirates with an 80-77 win over Peninsula on Jan. 29. Whoever wins takes fourth place in the North Region and qualifies for the NWAC.
“They have the tiebreaker. It’s win or go home,” said coach Bryce Jacobson. “We had a good practice yesterday, I think we’ll have a good practice today. Everyone on the team knows what’s at stake. We’re going to have to take care of business.
“It’s going to be a great night of basketball,” Jacobson said.
The women (13-0, 21-2) go up against a Shoreline team that is 2-10 in the North and 4-21 overall, so on paper. The women last lost in North Region play on Jan. 14, 2023. After starting that season 0-2 in the North, the women finished 12-2 in the region, then have won 27 straight over the past two seasons.
“For our sophomores, it means everything. They’ve never lost a region game,” said women’s coach Alison Crumb.
Crumb said it’s incredibly difficult to go undefeated in region because it requires consistency each game.
“It speaks to our mentality and consistency each and every night,” she said. “I’m super proud of this group.”
The women are also getting healthier entering the NWAC tournament, though they are still nursing injuries. Super-sub Alecsis Smith has returned after missing numerous games to injury. She scored 19 points in just 20 minutes against Everett this weekend in a 108-38 Peninsula victory. Shania Moananu was not able to play in that game as she is still dealing with a knee injury, but she was able to play 18 minutes last Wednesday.
Crumb said there will be a net-cutting ceremony after the game, win or lose and the Pirates should learn their seeding and NWAC opponent late tonight.
The men’s game is first and begins at 5 p.m. The women’s game begins at 7 p.m.
The NWAC tournament begins at Columbia Basin College in Pasco on March 5.
