EUGENE, Ore. — The Peninsula College women went up against two of the powerhouses of the NWAC this weekend at a crossover tournament in Eugene, Ore., showing they belong at their level, with freshman and bench player Alecsis Smith emerging as the new big star for the Pirates.
Smith, a 6-foot-3 post who didn’t play in Peninsula’s first two games of the year, put up Bill Walton-like numbers Saturday, shooting 10-for-10 from the floor in just 13 minutes. She scored 24 points to go with 13 rebounds in a 69-54 win over Lower Columbia. On Friday, the Pirates took two-time defending NWAC champion Lane to overtime before falling 81-76. If the Pirates had shot better on their free throws, they likely would have won that game, too.
The Pirates got up big 25-12 in the first quarter against Lower Columbia, consistently one of the best teams in the NWAC, and never looked back.
In addition to Smith’s huge game, Sequim’s Jelissa Julmist had 14 points and seven rebounds. Neah Bay’s Ryana Moss had seven points and Lexie Mackey had six points and seven rebounds.
Lane 81, Peninsula 76 OT
In Friday’s game, the Pirates took defending champion Lane to overtime before finally bowing 81-76.
The Pirates nearly knocked off the two-time defending champs despite shooting 7-for-15 from the free-throw (46.7 percent) and 5-for-29 (17.2 percent) from 3-point range.
Ciera Tugade Agasiva led the Pirates with 16 points. She only hit one 3-pointer the whole game, but it was a crucial one with 22 seconds left in overtime to cut into Lane’s lead and make the score 77-76 for the Titans.
With Lane holding a 79-76 lead with 13 seconds left, Agasiva had a chance for a game-tying 3-pointer with 13 seconds left but it wouldn’t drop. Lane made a pair of free throws for the final margin.
Smith had another great game off the bench. She only played 15 minutes, but scored 13 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Moss had 12 points to go with four steals, while Shania Moananu had 10 points. Mackey led the team with 11 rebounds.
The Pirates (2-2) take two weeks off and next play Chemeteka (Salem, Ore.) in their home opener at the Pirate Classic at 6 p.m. Dec. 6.
Peninsula 69, Lower Columbia 54
PC 25 10 21 13 — 69
LC 12 11 16 15 — 54
Peninsula (69) — Smith 24, Julmist 14, Moss 7, Agasiva 7, Mackey 6, Moananu 4, O’Brien 4, Jackson 3.
Lower Columbia (54) — Conrotto 15, VonMoos 14, Renet 5, Hamilton 5, Niemeyer 4, Medico 4, Katyrniuk 3, Mann 2, Baklund 2.
Lane 81, Peninsula 76, OT
PC 23 14 18 14 7 — 76
Lane 21 18 18 12 12 — 81
Peninsula (76) — Agasiva 16, Smith 13, Moss 12, Moananu 10, Julmist 8, Mackey 6, Patrick 6, O’Brien 5.
Lane (81) — Wicks 16, Duffin 16, Young 15, Kanoho 12, Soto 8, McDonald 7, Pena 5, Byrge 2.
