PORT ANGELES — The Peninsula women got 25 points from Logan Luke, three 3-pointers from Neah Bay’s Gina McCaulley and blew open a close game in the second half to hold off Everett 72-58.
The women got off to a fast start, jumping out to a 17-4 lead, but the Trojans came back to within five at 33-28. Luke scored the final four points of the half on free throws and on a fast break to give the Pirates a 37-28 lead at the half.
The Trojans managed to cut the lead to 50-44 at the end of the third quarter when Alexa Martin hit a 3-point shot at the buzzer, her second buzzer-beater of the game. The Pirates had been in control all game, but hadn’t been able to shake the Trojans up until this point.
The Pirates got ignited in the fourth quarter when Sunshine Vicente drew a charge early in the period. McKenna Sargent, who only played seven minutes, made a big play on the offensive end, grabbing an offensive rebound and putting the ball back in for a bucket. Luke and Vicente hit a pair of buckets and then McCaulley and Leilani Padilla hit a pair of back-to-back 3-pointers as very quickly the Pirates got their lead back up to 62-49.
Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Peninsula’s Cassandra White, top, aims for the hoop while surrounded by Everett’s Morgan Marshall, back, and Trinidee Kahunahana on Saturday in Port Angeles.
Luke got a rebound and a putback after that to make it 64-51 and Padilla hit another 3-pointer. Brianna Fitzgerald hit a layup on a nice curl move into the paint and the Pirates were up 69-51 with 3:40 left to play. They had outscored the Trojans 19-7 over 5:20 to take command of the game. From that point on, they were able to cruise to the win.
The win puts the Pirates in third place in the North Division, just one-half game out of first. A loss would have dropped them down to fifth place.
“Everett is a good team. We knew they would come back. We handled that turn of events really well,” said coach Alison Crumb.
Crumb also thought it was a nice bounceback from a loss last week to Whatcom.
“You can’t play not to lose. We played to win tonight,” Crumb said.
Peninsula won despite struggling from outside, shooting 8 for 28 on 3-pointers (though McCaulley was 3 for 5 from outside). The Pirates won with rebounding — a 43 to 29 edge — and holding Everett to 6 of 21 shooting from outside.
Luke shot 10 for 15 from the field and 5 of 7 from the line for her 25 points.
Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Peninsula’s Kameron Bowen, top, tries for a rebound that gets over her head surrounded by, from left, Everett’s Raven Rosa-Lasco and Hannah Hezekiah and Pirate teammate Gina McCaulley on Saturday at Peninsula College.
“She’s been due for a game like that,” Crumb said of Luke.
“I think we moved the ball really well tonight. Usually we’re a heavy 3-point team. Today we were getting it inside and it opened things up for everyone,” Luke said.
McCaulley said this is a close group of players.
“We came together really well. We spend a lot of time together. We take all the same classes, and at team dinners. We’re together 24/7,” she said.
Padilla finished with 16 points, hitting four 3-pointers and McCaulley finished with nine points on her three treys. Kayla Johnson led the team with nine rebounds, but five Pirates had at least five rebounds. Eight Pirates had at least two assists.
Kameron Bowen didn’t generate a lot of points, but she fired up her team when she came back into the game in the second half after having her arm wrenched awkwardly behind her back while fighting for a loose ball. Bowen played the rest of the game with her shoulder wrapped.
Peninsula (4-2, 11-6) plays next at Shoreline (2-3, 9-9) on Wednesday.
Peninsula 72, Everett 58
Everett 16 12 16 14 — 58
PC 25 12 13 22 — 72
Everett (58) — Hezekiah 27, Martin 18, Guzman 7, Kahunahaha 6.
Peninsula (72) — Luke 25, Padilla 16, McCaulley 9, White 7, Fitzgerald 4, Sargent 4, Bowen 3, Vicente 2, Brown 2.
