PORT ANGELES — This weekend will be a true battle of titans, both literally and figuratively.
The Peninsula College women are back in the Northwest Athletic Conference Final Four this weekend with three other powerhouses. The combined won-loss records of the four teams is a staggering 108-9.
Standing in the way of the Peninsula College women in the semifinal is the biggest titan of them all, the 31-0 Lane Titans. The Pirates are no slouch either, with a 28-2 record and a 23-game winning streaking coming in to Saturday’s game.
The semifinal game from Columbia Basin College in Pasco will be played at noon and will be streamed on the NWAC Network. There is a fee for streaming the game.
The Titans are the defending NWAC champions and had a victory over Peninsula early in the season. The interesting thing about that game played back in November is that Peninsula took Lane to overtime, eventually losing 81-76. That not only was the only game all year in which a team forced Lane to overtime, it was the only game all year that Lane didn’t win by double figures. The next-closest game was a 70-58 win over Clackamas.
In that overtime win over the Pirates, Lane had a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter, but the Pirates came storming back, holding the Titans to one point over the final six minutes of regulation. Peninsula was one point down with 20 seconds left in overtime, but Lane hit its free throws down the stretch for the final margin.
Peninsula head coach Alison Rose said it absolutely feels like the Pirates were destined to meet Lane again.
“Our girls are excited about this game. I’m sure their girls are too,” Rose said.
Lane has dominated through the NWAC tournament so far, beating Bellevue 79-58 and Green River 75-50.
However, the Pirates have looked even more dominant so far, crushing Chemeketa 66-44 and South Puget Sound 79-55. Neither of those games were as close as the final score showed as the Pirates rested starters in the fourth quarter. Against Chemeketa, the Pirates had a second-half lead of 53-19, and against South Puget Sound, the Pirates were up 67-31 in the fourth quarter.
The reason the Pirates dominated both games was defense and rebounding. Peninsula, with 5-foot-11 Alexa Mackey, 6-foot-0 Julissa Julmist (Sequim High School) and 6-foot-3 Alecsis Smith, absolutely dominated the boards — 59-37 against South Puget Sound (26-12 on the offensive boards) and 55-27 against Chemeketa (22-7 on the offensive boards).
“Rebounding and defense have been our identity all year,” Rose said. She said every team in the Final Four is strong in those areas.
“No one out there is going to be bad at rebounding and defense,” she said.
Lane is deep with all five of its starters averaging in double figures. The Titans are led by Emma McDonald and Micah Wicks, who both average 16.6 points a game. The Titans average 84.0 points a game while allowing 52.9.
Rose said Lane plays with a lot of pace and can shoot. She also said they make few mistakes.
“What I’ve seen and am most impressed with is they don’t beat themselves,” she said.
Peninsula, meanwhile, also has balance with seven players averaging at least 7.5 points a game. Smith led the team at 15.2 points a game, though she only played in 14 games. Mackey averaged 12.8, Ciera Tugade Agasiva 12.2, Julmist 9.8 and Shania Maonanu 9.7.
The Pirates have been battling injuries with Smith missing half the season and sparkplug Agasiva missing several games recently to a knee injury. Both Agasiva and Smith have played in the tournament and played well.
Rose said after a 30-game physical season, every team in the Final Four is dealing with injuries.
“No one is 100 percent. We’re not as healthy as I would like. It’s not an excuse, nor will it ever be an excuse,” she said.
If the Pirates get past Lane, it won’t get any easier. The other side of the bracket is equally strong with East champion Walla Walla (25-5) and the South second-place team Umpqua (28-2). Umpqua’s only two losses of the season were to Lane, while Walla Walla is the only other team in the NWAC that beat Peninsula — 57-55 last November. Walla Walla had a 16-point lead at one point in that game, but the Pirates roared back in the second half and nearly won.
Earlier in the tournament, Walla Walla set an NWAC record by allowing its opponent just 29 points in a 63-29 win over Centralia.
The championship game will be played at 2 p.m. Sunday and also will be streamed by the NWAC Network.
Jay Cline/Peninsula College Alecsis Smith has been an inside force off the bench for the Peninsula College women’s basketball team, averaging 11.5 points and 11 rebounds a game in the first two games of the NWAC Tournament.
