PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles sophomore Madison Cooke checks all the boxes ability-wise. She possesses the six tools coaches prize — the ability to shoot, pass, dribble, drive, rebound and defend.
And when she puts them all together — opponents better watch out.
Cooke, at a listed height of 5-foot-10 is classified as a forward, has the ball-handling and ball-hawking skills of a guard and jumps higher than taller centers to tap away and corral rebounds.
A standout forward on the Roughriders’ (21-6) state-tournament squad, Cooke averaged 16.8 points per game on the season while connecting on 50 percent of her shots from the floor. She also led Olympic League and West Central District champion Port Angeles in rebounding with 10.4 boards per contest and was second in steals (3.3) and assists (2.8).
Cooke was selected as Olympic League 2A Division MVP by Olympic League coaches, was picked as second-team Class 2A All-State Tournament by prep reporters and earned honorable mention on The Associated Press Class 2A all-state team.
The best of a crowded field of talented field of North Olympic Peninsula players, Cooke is the Peninsula Daily News’ All-Peninsula Girls Basketball MVP as selected by area coaches and the sports staff of the Peninsula Daily News.
A popular kid, Cooke typically has a rooting section of friends waiting for her after games drawing a grin on Cooke’s face as easily as she draws contact in the lane. And she doesn’t leave her pals hanging by running off to check her statistical totals.
“Madi will never go to the scorebook or our stat program to find out how many points she’s scored,” head coach Michael Poindexter said in a Peninsula Daily News story on Cooke in late January. “She wants to know how many rebounds she had, how many assists she made. We’ve had to push her to be more scoring-oriented and attack inside and shoot from outside.”
With rare exception, there was no other area player this season able to control the outcome of contests like Cooke.
And she absolutely shined in three games against rival Sequim this season.
In the team’s first meeting in Port Angeles in January, Cooke hit her first five shots from the floor, including three 3-point baskets to score 13 of the Roughriders’ first 15 points.
Cooke’s net-scorching start boosted Port Angeles to an early 15-2 lead on the Wolves in a game the Riders eventually won 59-50.
With Sequim putting pressure on Port Angeles early in the fourth quarter later that month in the team’s second meeting, Cooke went on a 7-0 scoring run of her own to put a pin in the Wolves’ upset hopes. She finished that game with 23 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
And with the Riders getting outplayed and outhustled and facing elimination from the state tournament against Sequim, Cooke got cooking late. With Port Angeles trailing the Wolves 36-35 entering the fourth quarter, Cooke opened the final frame by drilling two 3-point baskets.
Cooke sank two straight 3-point baskets to open the quarter, then played a role in the hustle play of the season to put the Riders up 43-36, a lead Port Angeles would never relinquish.
Cooke forced a loose ball near midcourt and flipped it back behind her toward the Riders’ basket and headed out of bounds along the sideline. Cooke saved the ball with a little “oomph” and it didn’t look like teammate Millie Long would be able to run the ball down before it went out of bounds along the baseline.
But Long runs the hurdles for the Port Angeles track team. She made the play and saved the ball back to Cooke who also had sprinted down court. Cooke then sent a short pass to an open Mikkiah Brady for the basket.
She scored 14 points in that quarter, extending the Riders season with the win.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
Michael Dashiell/Olympic Peninsula News Group Port Angeles’ Madison Cooke draws a double team during the Roughriders win over Sequim at the Class 2A state tournament. Cooke has been selected as the All-Peninsula Girls Basketball MVP.
