TACOMA — The Port Angeles girls basketball team locked down a regional berth by defeating River Ridge 39-34 at Foss High School.
The Roughriders will next face Franklin Pierce on Thursday back at Foss in the 2A District 2/3 tournament semifinals.
Port Angeles held a 31-15 lead Saturday after holding River Ridge to five total in the second and third quarters.
The Riders’ defense was especially dogged against the Hawks’ leading scorer, MaKenna Schultz, who came into the game averaging nearly 18 points per game, but was held to eight, all in the fourth quarter.
“In particular, Krysten McGuffey and Gracie Long did a nice job defensively in our zone defense,” Port Angeles coach Michael Poindexter said.
McGuffey, a freshman, also contributed offensively with eight points. Long, a sophomore, contributed three points and six rebounds.
Hayley Baxley also had six boards and was Port Angeles’ top scorer with 10 points.
Nizhoni Wheeler pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds.
The Riders were outrebounded 44-39, but Poindexter liked their effort against the taller River Ridge.
“While River Ridge’s many 3-point attempt misses went long, giving the Hawks quite a few offensive rebounds, I thought our team as a whole fought for position and rebounded well against the Hawks, who had an overall height advantage on us,” Poindexter said.
River Ridge made only 2 of 19 shots from 3-point range.
Port Angeles, playing without injured point guard Maddie Boe, only turned the ball over 12 times while forcing the Hawks into 14 turnovers.
“Katyn Flores provided a solid presence at point guard, and Nizhoni Wheeler took over that spot in the fourth quarter, as River Ridge intensified their full-court pressure,” Poindexter said.
The Riders, though, only made 5 of 20 free throws, and only 4 of 16 in the fourth quarter, which helped River Ridge close the gap.
“River Ridge was rewarded for fouling down the stretch by our failure to make free throws, keeping them in the game till the end,” Poindexter said.
If the Riders (20-3) beat Franklin Pierce (17-5) on Thursday, they will face the winner between Liberty and White River this Saturday in the district championship game.
If Port Angeles loses, it will play Liberty (9-13) or White River (19-3) in the third-place game Saturday.
Regardless of what happens in the next two district games, the Riders will play in the winner-to-state regional round Friday or Saturday, Feb. 26-27.
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Compiled using team report.
