PREP BASKETBALL: Port Angeles girls battle to the last seconds

PORT ANGELES — For the second straight game, the Port Angeles girls battled back from a deficit to give themselves a chance for a tie and overtime in the final seconds.

Unfortunately, for the second straight game, the Roughriders were also hurt by their struggles at the free-throw line as Port Angeles fell 44-40 to Bainbridge on Tuesday.

Port Angeles shot 9-for-22 from the free-throw line.

“I was so, so pleased with the defensive effort by our kids,” said coach Michael Poindexter. “We needed to score more. Two or three more baskets. More free throws. We win the game.

“Bottom line, in spite of a 12-rebound advantage on the offensive boards and nine fewer turnovers, our low shooting percentage, both from the field and the free-throw line, did us in,” he said. “Our offensive decision-making was the best of the year. Bainbridge ran an excellent 2-3 zone, and we got inside and drew fouls well. In addition, our 3-point shots were generally good decisions.

“I’m so proud of our girls. Teanna [Clark] and Izzy [Felton] played such good games defensively,” Poindexter said.

Poindexter said the Riders went to a triangle-and-two defense in the third and that made a difference as Port Angeles went on a 10-1 run to turn a 26-17 deficit into a 27-27 tie. The game was tied again at 30-30 and 32-32 and remained close the rest of the way.

The Roughriders did everything they could to win down the stretch and had chances late. Bainbridge held a 42-36 lead with less than 1:30 left in the game. A steal by Teanna Clark led to a fast break and foul against Lindsay Smith. She sank both of her free throws to make it 42-38. On Bainbridge’s next possession, Paige Mason came up with a huge shot block and Lindsay Smith grabbed the loose ball.

On the Riders’ next possession, they missed two 3-pointers, but Izzy Felton swooped in twice to come up with a pair of offensive rebounds. After her second rebound, she got the ball to Clark, who made a perfect pass to Lexie Smith for a shot under the basket to make it 42-40 with 23 seconds left.

Unfortunately, the Riders only had two fouls in the quarter, so they had to foul intentionally three times to finally send the Knights to the free-throw line with 12.7 seconds left. That cost Port Angeles a good 8 to 10 seconds off the clock. Bainbridge made one free throw to make it 43-40.

Felton got a good look at a 3-point shot with five seconds left to tie. The shot was straight on and looked like it might go in, but it was a little long and went off the back rim. Bainbridge made one last free throw with 2.5 seconds left to seal the win.

Port Angeles had 20 offensive rebounds to Bainbridge’s eight. The Riders also forced 25 Bainbridge turnovers while making 16 themselves.

Lindsay Smith led the riders with 11 points and eight rebounds. Clark had 10 points and five rebounds, while Mason had nine points and eight rebounds. Lexie Smith had eight points and six rebounds.

It was the Riders’ first loss in the Olympic League.

Port Angeles (3-1, 5-6) plays at North Kitsap (1-3, 6-3) at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

Bainbridge 44, Port Angeles 40

BI 15 7 10 12 — 44

PA 9 8 15 8 — 40

Bainbridge (40) — Ramirez 12, Greiwe 10, Rowe 9, Gardner 4, Berry 4, Drugge 3, Cole 2.

Port Angeles (44) — Lindsay Smith 11, Clark 10, Mason 9, Lexie Smith, Felton 2, Politika, Rognlien, Manson, K. Moses.

Sequim 68, N. Mason 49

BELFAIR — The Sequim girls basketball team struggled with its shooting on the road but racked up 44 rebounds and 28 steals to beat North Mason 68-49 for an Olympic League victory.

The Wolves outscored the Bulldogs 22-12 in the fourth quarter to run away with the game.

Sequim won despite shooting just 5-for-34 (14.7 percent) from beyond the 3-point line. With the edge in steals and rebounds, the Wolves got off a whopping 92 shots for the game.

“We didn’t shoot the ball very well tonight but the girls worked hard. We have to keep working on the fundamentals like passing, free throws and rebounding,” said coach Joclin Julmist.

Jolene Vaara, Libby Turella and Dani Herman all had big games. Vaara had a near-triple double with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight steals. She added five assists. Turella had 10 pounds, 10 rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots. Herman had 10 points, 12 rebounds and three steals while shooting 4-for-7 from the floor.

Bobbi Mixon added 14 points, six rebounds and six steals, while Gracie Chartraw had 12 points and six steals.

Sequim (3-1, 5-2) next hosts Kingston (3-1, 8-2) at 7 p.m. Friday. Kingston beat North Kitsap 41-40. The Vikings are usually one of the strongest teams in the Olympic League, so the Bucs appear to be for real.

Sequim 68, North Mason 49

Sequim 17 19 10 22 — 68

NM 7 13 17 12 — 49

Sequim (68) — Vaara 20, Mixon 14, Chartraw 12, Herman 10, Turella 10, Brewer 2.

Forks 75, Ocosta 37

OCOSTA — The Forks girls basketball squad scored 52 points in the first half and cruised the rest of the way in a 75-37 road win over Ocosta on Tuesday to remain unbeaten in the Pacific 2B League.

It was the seventh straight win for the 10-3 Spartans and the last of nine straight road games. Forks finally gets to play at home tonight for the first time since Dec. 5.

The Spartans were actually ahead 70-21 entering the fourth before allowing the bench to play.

“We’ve bounced back from some early struggles and we’re playing some decent basketball,” said coach David Hurn. “I’m pretty proud with how we’re competing. We’re still a young team and our best basketball is yet to come.”

All-time Forks leading career scorer Keira Johnson led the team with 36 points, while sister Bailey Johnson scored 17. Janessa Ramos and Fynlie Peters, helping to fill in for an injured Chloe Gaydeski, each scored 10.

Forks (4-0, 10-3) hosts Chief Leschi (1-3, 5-3) at 6 p.m. today.

Forks 75, Ocosta 37

Forks 26 26 18 5 — 75

Ocosta 4 8 9 16 — 37

Forks (75) — K. Johnson 36, B. Johnson 17, Ramos 10, Peters 10, Dilley 2.