PORT ANGELES — The Peninsula College women’s basketball team fended off a fierce comeback attempt from Lower Columbia College, much of it led by a Port Angeles alum, as the Pirates held on for a 70-65 win in the Pirate Classic on Sunday.
With the victory, the women (4-1) swept all three of their games at their home tournament, though Sunday’s win was the biggest of the three. Lower Columbia is considered one of the better teams in the NWAC and came in to Sunday’s game with a 4-0 record.
Peninsula went up 39-29 at the half and twice built that lead up to 14 points in the third quarter. Lower Columbia roared back to take a 56-54 lead in the fourth. But the Pirates made some clutch baskets down the stretch, including a bucket by Shania Moananu with 1:51 left and a 3-pointer by Talia Marini with 1:13 left to break open a 63-63 tie.
Ciera Tugade Agasiva led the Pirates with 15 points, while Alexa Mackey had 11 points and 15 rebounds. Moananu had 11. Sequim’s Jelissa Julmist had nine points and seven rebounds.
Lower Columbia was led by Bailee Larson of Port Angeles High School with 19 points.
Peninsula 70, Lower Columbia 65
LCC 16 13 25 11 — 65
PC 16 23 15 16 — 70
Lower Columbia (65) — Larson 19, Hamilton 13, Niemeyer 10, Roberts 6, Kasubuchi 6, Vonmoos 4, Swan 3, Mann 2, Torrey 2.
Peninsula (70) — Agasiva 15, Mackey 11, Moananu 11, Julmist 9, Suaava 9, Pedebone 5, Marini 4, Donovan 2, Bates 2, Greene 2.
Saturday, Friday games
The Pirates won a pair of games Saturday and Friday thanks to putting together at least one dominant quarter in each game.
The Pirates rode a 20-5 third quarter while beating Chemeketa 65-41 on Saturday and a 20-3 second quarter in beating Treasure Valley 65-45 on Friday.
In Saturday’s win, the Pirates started off flat, allowing an outmanned Chemeketa squad to hang around down just nine, 32-23 at the half.
Coach Alison Crumb challenged her team to pick up the pace in the second half.
“They played like trash in the first half,” Crumb said.
Peninsula’s Jelissa Julmist, a graduate of Sequim High School, looks for the net defended by Chemeketa’s Annie Bafford on Saturday in Port Angeles. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
She was much happier with their energy in the second half as the Pirates held Chemeketa to 1-for-13 shooting in the quarter. Peninsula’s defense also created three shot clock violations in the second half and forced Chemeketa on two other occasions to take desperation shots at the shot clock buzzer. After the third quarter, the Pirates were in control at 52-28. Chemeketa never got to within 18 points after that.
“The third quarter was very much the game,” Crumb said. “[But] I think they can’t wait that long again.”
Marini had a great game for the Pirates, leading the team with 12 points, eight of them coming in the second half. She also led the team with three steals.
“We talked about raising our energy level,” Marini, who also played goalkeeper for the Pirates soccer team, said. “I think in the second half we showed them who we really were.”
Neah Bay’s Allie Greene hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored eight, while Julmist had eight points and five rebounds.
Moananu scored 10, Jenilee Donovan had nine points, six rebounds and three steals. Mackey had 10 rebounds and a pair of blocks.
In Friday’s win over Treasure Valley, the Chukars actually held an early lead at 17-15 at the end of the first quarter. The Pirates’ defense clamped down for a 20-3 second quarter and a 25-9 third quarter to blow the game wide open. The Chukars shot 4-for-27 (14.8 percent) in those two quarters against Peninsula’s defense.
Mackey and Agasiva each had 12 points and six rebounds, while Julmist led the team with 10 rebounds. Greene again hit a pair of 3-pointers for 11 points, while Donovan had eight points, six rebounds and five assists, and Marini had eight points.
Note: In Saturday’s Lower Columbia College’s 83-65 win over Whatcom, Larson had 19 points and 10 rebounds while her teammate Courtney Swan (Neah Bay) had 17 points.
Peninsula 65, Chemeketa 41
Che. 9 14 5 13 — 41
PC 16 16 20 13 — 65
Chemeketa (41) — Peters 14, Diaz 7, Bafford 6, Morgan 6, Custer 4, Syphard 2, Koehler 1, Pedersen 1.
Peninsula (65) — Marini 12, Moananu 10, Donovan 9, Greene 8, Julmist 8, Agasiva 6, Mackey 6, Suaava 2, Rowland 2, Pedebone 2.
Peninsula 65, Treasure Valley 45
TV 17 3 9 16 — 45
PC 15 20 25 5 — 65
Treasure Valley (45) — Steed 9, Brown 7, Sharper 6, McKea 6, Legate 5, Vineyard 4, Schumann 4, Harper 4.
Peninsula (65) — Agasiva 12, Mackey 12, Greene 11, Donovan 8, Marini 8, Moananu 6, Pedebone 4, Julmist 2, Wood 1, Rowland 1.
Peninsula men
PORT ANGELES — The Peninsula College men shot lights out in the men’s Pirate Classic Tournament on Saturday, making 13 out of 28 3-pointers (46.4 percent) in beating Grays Harbor 83-58 to improve their record to 4-3.
Beni Njomo shot 4-for-6 from beyond the arc for 21 points, while Port Angeles’ Wyatt Dunning shot 4-for-9 for his season-high 16 points. Javon Ervin hit a pair of 3s for 14 points and Ese Onakpoma also hit two 3-pointers for 12 points. Aiden Olmstead also scored 12.
Njomo added nine rebounds and Ervin four assists as the Pirates’ balance countered Grays Harbor, which got 30 points from Josh Adamsel Jr., with no one else on the team scoring more than nine.
Peninsula played South Puget Sound on Sunday night after deadline. Look for a story and photos from that game online today at www.peninsula dailynews.com and in Tuesday’s Peninsula Daily News sports section.
Peninsula 83, Grays Harbor 58
GH 29 29 — 58
PC 44 39 — 83
Grays Harbor (58) — Adamsel 30, Duncan 9, Campbell 7, Dewalt 5, Lawrence 4, Adigun 3.
Peninsula (83) — Njomo 21, Dunning 16, Ervin 14, Omstead 12, Onakpoma 12, Odum 6, Doughty 2.
Peninsula’s Alexa Mackey, center, heads for the lane as teammate Jenilee Donovan, left, and Chemeketa’s McKenzie Syphard look on during Saturday’s game in the Pirate Classic Tournament. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
