PORT ANGELES — It was a long, slow climb uphill, but in the end, the Port Angeles girls basketball team dominated the fourth quarter with its press defense, eking out a hard-fought 43-36 win over North Kitsap.
That score is misleading as North Kitsap got off to a fast start in the first quarter and led virtually the entire game. The Roughriders briefly had a 1-0 lead in the first minute of the game and then didn’t regain the lead until there was 3:45 left in the game. The Vikings led for 26 to 27 minutes of the game.
The Riders came that close to losing their first Olympic League game. With the victory, they improved to 10-0 in league with a big game coming up against a red-hot Sequim squad Friday.
Coach Michael Poindexter was relieved with the win.
“That was not was we had hoped for,” he said.
The Vikings got three straight 3-pointers from Jasmine Sunnenberg in the first quarter and jumped out to a 13-5 lead.
“We didn’t close out well on those shots,” Poindexter said. “We didn’t play well in zone. Our 2-3 and 1-3-1 were the least effective they’ve been all year.”
North Kitsap built up its lead to 23-13 late in the second quarter and Port Angeles looked like it was going to go into the half down by double digits and in big trouble against the underdog Vikings.
That was when Mikkhia Stevens came to the rescue. Stevens, a reserve player who doesn’t get to shoot a lot, knocked in a big 3-pointer. The ball rattled in and out of the basket, bounced off the backboard and went in. Moments later, Stevens took another 3-pointer and the second one hit nothing but net. Suddenly, the Riders were right back in the game at 23-19.
After the game, Stevens said, “Honestly, I don’t remember a lot about” either shot.
“[But] it felt really good to contribute especially since I’m not usually one of the high scorers,” she said.
Stevens’ two huge buckets swung the momentum back to Port Angeles. The Riders hung close the rest of the game with the Vikings never getting up again by more than six points. At the same time, Port Angeles couldn’t quite catch the Vikings. The Riders tied once or twice, but each time, the Vikings quickly regained the lead.
Finally, Lindsay Smith took over the game with an incredible second half. Smith had zero points at halftime, but she scored 12 points in the second half, grabbed six rebounds, dished out four assists, had three blocked shots (including one in the final couple of minutes of the game) and had 10 steals. She hit six free throws in the second half to help seal the win.
The Riders also went to a press defense for much of the fourth quarter, which gave the Vikings all kinds of trouble. North Kitsap had 15 turnovers in the second half to Port Angeles’ five.
“The press won the game for us,” Poindexter said.
After the Riders forced a shot clock violation with under four minutes left, down 33-32, Port Angeles finally finished climbing that hill when Morgan Politika hit a shot to give Port Angeles a 34-33 lead with 3:45 left. It was a lead the Riders would never give up.
After allowing just 13 points in the second half, this was the ninth Olympic League game this year in which the Riders gave up 36 or fewer points.
Politika, who had a solid all-around game, finished with 11 points and Teanna Clark eight.
Port Angeles (10-0, 12-5) next travels to Sequim (8-3, 9-5) to face the third-place Wolves at 5:15 p.m. Friday. In their first meeting this year, the Riders were able to hold off a Wolves comeback to win 44-22.
Port Angeles 43, North Kitsap 36
NK 13 10 8 5 — 36
PA 5 14 11 13 — 43
Port Angeles (43) — Smith 12, Politika 11, Clark 8, Stevens 6, Doherty 3, Manson 2, Bourland 1.
Sequim 66, Olympic 50
SEQUIM — The Sequim Wolves got off to a fast start against Olympic, getting big games from Gracie Chartraw, Jordyn Julmist and Rilynn Whitehead, going on to win 66-50.
The Wolves scored 25 points in the first quarter and had a 41-22 lead by halftime.
Chartraw had 33 points, eight assists and eight steals. Julmist had 14 points and six rebounds.
“Again, she played great defense on [Olympic’s] best player,” said coach Joclin Julmist. “This was a good win because we have a few players who are not feeling well right now.”
Whitehead had her best game of the year, shooting 3-for-6 from 3-point range and scoring 11 points. Hailey Wagner had 10 rebounds and Kaiya Robinson five points and four steals.
Sequim next hosts Port Angeles at 5:15 p.m. Friday.
Sequim 66, Olympic 50
Seq. 25 16 13 12 — 66
Oly. 13 9 9 19 — 50
Sequim (66) — Chartraw 33, Julmist 14, Whitehead 11, Robinson 5, Hagner 3.
Quilcene 48, Puget Sound Adv. 6
QUILCENE — The Quilcene girls basketball team got off to an 11-0 start in the first quarter and never looked back in a 48-6 win over Puget Sound Adventist.
Six different Rangers scored at least six points in the balanced attack, led by eighth-grader Lila Anderson with 11 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. It was her second double-double of the season.
“Lila continues to get better by the game. She is fouling much less, starting to stay on her feet, and she has developed a nice little jump hook. Our coaching staff continues to be excited about her progress,” said coach Mark Thompson.
Cora Canterbury had seven points and 10 rebounds, while Brylee Evans had six points and seven rebounds and Mia Foreman had six points and five assists. Aanna Sarnes and Brianne Evans each scored six points.
The Sea-Tac League playoffs begin Feb. 4. The fifth-seeded Rangers (14-3 overall) will host the winner of the No. 8 vs. No. 9 game. Five teams advance from the Sea-Tac League to the tri-district playoffs.
Quilcene 48, Puget Sound Adv. 6
PSA 0 6 0 0 — 6
Quil. 11 19 10 8 — 48
Quilcene (48) — Anderson 11, Canterbury 7, Foreman 6, Sarnes 6, Brianne Evans 6, Brylee Evans 6, Freiberg 2, Smith 2, Fay 2.
