BELLINGHAM — The Peninsula basketball men and women finished their regular seasons with road losses against Whatcom, but they still both finished in second place in the NWAC North Division
The men lost 96-84 to the Orcas on Wednesday, while the women, still without injured starter Anaya Rodisha, lost 78-73.
The men end their regular season 9-5 (18-8 overall), one game behind division champion Shoreline. They will begin postseason play March 9 in Everett.
The women’s final regular season record is 10-4 (18-9 overall), two games behind division champ Skagit Valley. Though the women finished in a three-way tie for second, they held the tiebreakers to earn the No. 2 seed. They will begin postseason play March 11 at Everett.
The tournament brackets will be announced Sunday at a first-ever NWAC Basketball Tournament Selection Show, streamed from the NWAC Sports YouTube channel — https://www.youtube.com/ c/NWACSportsNetwork. The women’s show begins at 2 p.m. and the men’s will follow at 3 p.m.
Men’s Game
Whatcom 96, Peninsula 84
Leif Anderson for the Orcas was the difference in this game as he shot 7-for-10 from beyond the 3-point arc and scoared 27 points. The Pirates as a team made nine 3-pointers, though Peninsula’s Alex Baham did his best to keep up with Anderson, shooting 4-for-8 from 3-point range.
The Pirates lost despite having solid balance up and down their lineup, with seven players scoring at least eight points. Cole Rabedeaux led the Pirates with 17 points and eight rebounds.
Alex Baham finished with 14 points, Darrion Daniels had 13 points and eight rebounds, Omar Lo scored 10 with 14 rebounds, Kevin Baker shot 4-for-5 from the floor and scored nine and Jalon McCullough hit two 3-pointers and scored nine. Trent Warren added eight points despite playing with foul trouble.
Whatcom 96, Peninsula 84
Peninsula 38 46 — 84
Whatcom 50 46 — 96
Peninsula (84) — Rabedeaux 17, Baham 14, Daniels 13, Lo 10, Baker 9, McCullough 9, Warren 8, Day 2, Losee 2.
Whatcom (96) — Anderson 27, Martin 17, Lootens 17, Honeycutt 13, Daugharty 11, Hayes 6, Clark 3, Murphy 2.
Women’s Game
Whatcom 78, Peninsula 73
The Peninsula women, still dealing with injuries, got 28 points and 11 rebounds from Jenise McKnight, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a 21-9 second quarter for the Orcas. Whatcom got 23 points from Linsey Honeycutt and Bella Nigretto, while Nigretto and Haily Tift shot a combined 6-for-10 from 3-point range.
Alicia Dugan shot 4-for-10 from the 3-point line and scored 20 with six rebounds for the Pirates. Taisha Thomas scored 10 points with nine rebounds, while Yamelei Rodriguez, who was back after missing a few games, socred 10 points with seven rebounds.
Whatcom 78, Peninsula 73
Peninsula 24 9 20 20 — 73
Whatcom 20 21 16 21 — 78
Peninsula (73) — McKnight 28, Dugan 20, Thomas 10, Rodriguez 10, Barnes 3, Smith 2.
Whatcom (78) — Honeycutt 23, Nigretto 22, Morgan 16, Tift 13, Washington 4.
