PORT ANGELES – The Peninsula College women and men open North Division play Saturday on “Seahawks Family Day” at the Pirate gym.
Fans will enjoy a special matinee performance against Edmonds with the women tipping off at 1 p.m. and the men following at 3 p.m.
Barring overtime, fans will be home in time for the Seattle Seahawks playoff game, which kicks off at 5:15 p.m..
Parents are encouraged to bring their children and admission will be waived for those 17 and younger.
All fans are encouraged to wear Seahawks gear and to participate in football-related halftime contests.
“This promises to be a great day for sports fans,” Peninsula College director of athletics Rick Ross.
“Our teams are playing very well and we’re hoping the community will come out to support them in their conference opener – and still be able to join the rest of the Northwest around their TVs to cheer on the Hawks on Saturday evening.”
The Pirate women went 6-4 in nonconference play, including a win on the road against defending Northwest Athletic Conference champion Columbia Basin, while the men won seven games and lost five, including a championship at the West Region Crossover Tournament.
The Peninsula women are led by Madison Pilster, a sophomore out of Blackfoot, Idaho, who is averaging 14.3 points per game. She is ranked in the top 20 in the NWAC in that category.
Imani Smith, a sophomore from Ontario, California is scoring 13.8 per game,
Ciera Moss, a freshman from Neah Bay, is at 11 points per game, Miranda Schmillen, a sophomore from Honolulu, Hawaii, is at 9.8, Gabi Fenumiai, a sophomore from Juneau, Alaska is at 9.3 and Zhara Laster, a freshman from St. Mary’s, Maryland is at 7.33.
Laster, a guard, leads the team in rebounds with a 7.67 per game average. That effort ranks No. 19 in the NWAC.
Fenumiai, who last year broke the college’s single season rebound record with 303 boards, as well as the single game record with 23, is averaging 5.6 boards per game, and Moss is right behind with 5.2.
Smith leads the team in steals with 24 and Schmillen is the assist leader with 26.
Kitsap connection
For the men, freshman Deonte Dixon of Bremerton is the team’s scoring leader with a 19.5 average, which is the eighth-best in the NWAC.
Port Orchard’s Ryley Callaghan, also a freshman, is right behind with a 19.4 scoring clip, good for No. 10 in the NWAC.
Jal Deng, a sophomore from Anchorage, Alaska, is also in double figures at 12.2.
Malik Mayeux, a freshman from Tacoma, is at 7.3, Domach Domach, a sophomore from Kennewick, is at 6.2 and Jeremiah Hobbs, a freshman from Seattle, is at 5.8.
The Pirates have been rebounding by committee, led by the 8.0 average of Deng, and 7.2 average by both Mayeux and Hobbs. Dixon and Callaghan each have 10 steals to lead the team in that category and Callaghan is the assist leader with 39.
Following Saturday’s conference home opener, the Pirates will hit the road for games at Whatcom and Everett next week.
