PORT ANGELES — The Northwest Athletic Conference tweaked its basketball tournament this year.
Instead of four straight days of games in Kennewick, as the tournament has been, the first round will be played on the home courts of the top two teams of each region, while the other three rounds will be played at Everett Community College.
As the champions of the North Region, the Peninsula College women’s team will host Treasure Valley on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Another change to the tournament is that the first round is single elimination.
So if the Pirates win, they advance to Everett. If they lose, their season is over.
That kind of pressure, though, already exists for the defending NWAC champions.
“It makes it really exciting, because at this point it’s the top-16 teams, anybody can beat us and we can go out and beat anybody,” Peninsula coach Alison Crumb said.
“At this point, we’re trying to win the title. For us, it’s a loser-out situation all the time.”
The Pirates should have all hands on deck for Saturday’s high-stakes game.
Crumb said Peninsula’s leading scorer, Cierra Moss, should play after suffering an injury in the regular-season finale against Shoreline.
Moss was scheduled to practice Thursday afternoon to gauge her mobility and movement.
Crumb doesn’t expect Moss to be limited, minutes-wise, against Treasure Valley. If she is restricted, freshmen Anaya Rodisha, Alicia Dugan and Sephora Yayouss could see more playing time.
“Cierra is a very tough kid,” Crumb said. “If she can be out there, she’ll be out there.”
But it could be Peninsula’s posts players who are most vital to the team’s success against the Chukars, who have to travel more than nine hours from Ontario, Ore., to play in Port Angeles.
Crumb isn’t too familiar with Treasure Valley. Her scouting has been limited to watching film, and from that film she has learned that the Chukars are good in the post.
“They have a great inside game,” Crumb said. “They have some sturdy 5-foot-11, 5-foot-10 players.
“We have to keep them off the boards. For us, it’s going to be about blocking out.”
Peninsula will be down one of its post players, Tai Thomas, who will be sidelined for the rest of the season due to injury, but still have fellow freshmen Jenise McKnight and Daijhan Cooks and sophomore Amanda Hutchins with plenty of experience.
Crumb also expressed confidence in post players who haven’t seen the court as much this season, Savanna Gonzales, Nika Criddle and Cami Butler.
“All of our posts are playing well right now,” Crumb said.
“We might even mix in a few that haven’t played a lot this year.”
Treasure Valley also is deep and balanced.
Heather Waldemar, a 5-11 sophomore, leads the Chukars with 11.2 points per game. Behind her are nine players who average between four and eight points.
With Moss in the lineup, the Pirates can match that depth. They also have the speed advantage.
“I think we can run the floor on them a bit,” Crumb said.
“We’ll try to pressure them a little more than they’re used to.”
What Peninsula won’t have is the element of surprise. Not at all.
Last season, Crumb talked about winning the NWAC championship as early as December 2014. However, the rest of the conference seemed a bit surprised when it actually happened.
That won’t be the case this season.
“We might have been the only people who believed we could win last year,” Crumb said.
“This year, there’s probably more people on our ship.”
Like the 2014-15 Pirates, this year’s squad appears to be peaking at the right time.
Last season, Peninsula lost to Bellevue on Jan. 24 and then reeled off 13 straight victories to end the season, including four at the NWAC tournament.
This year, the Pirates lost to Bellevue on Jan. 23 and have since been unbeaten in nine consecutive games.
The defense, which ranks second in the NWAC by allowing only 57.7 points per game, has remained a fortress, but the offense has become more formidable.
“We’ve got more confidence, and more people are starting to play really well.
“Offensively and defensively we are peaking, I think.”
If Peninsula, which is ranked third in the final NWAC coaches poll of the season, wins Saturday, they’ll advance to face the winner between Umpqua and Grays Harbor in the quarterfinals Thursday at Everett Community College.
Umpqua is ranked second in the coaches poll.
Saturday’s first-round games are run by the NWAC, so ticket prices are different. They are $10 for adults, and $7 for students, seniors and children ages 7-12. Ages 6 and younger get in free.
Also, Pirate Athletic Association membership passes will not be accepted.
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Sports Editor Lee Horton can be reached at 360-417-3525 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.