PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles didn’t shoot terribly well, but relied on a stifling defense to build up a 48-24 lead over North Kitsap in a girls basketball game Friday night.
Then, things got just a little interesting.
With the Roughriders dominating early in the fourth quarter, the Vikings went on a 12-0 run to make Port Angeles a little nervous at the end. Very quickly, a 48-24 lead had been cut to 48-36 with more than 3 minutes left in the game, more than enough time for North Kitsap to actually pull out an unlikely comeback victory.
But the Riders responded with their best possession of the game. They came up with two big offensive rebounds and pulled the ball back out, milking the clock for a full minute. Eventually, Eve Burke drew a foul and made two free throws, making it 50-36 with 2 minutes left and ending any serious chance of a North Kitsap comeback. The Riders went on to win 54-36.
Burke actually made 7 out of 8 free throws on the night as the Riders shot 9 for 12 from the line.
“Our best offense was getting to the line,” joked coach Michael Poindexter.
Poindexter said this game was indicative of how Port Angeles can never take any Olympic League 2A game for granted.
“”We think every game in this league is for the league title,” he said.
“That game was closer than the score indicated.”
He added that the Port Angeles girls didn’t panic when they went through a dry spell in the fourth quarter.
“We expect that from North Kitsap. I’m proud of the kids’ poise,” he said. “We were smart. Sometimes in the past, we struggled with clock management. With three minutes left, we understood that the clock is our friend.”
Poindexter also credited the Riders’ defense for the win.
“We were on them. We bothered them. They’re a team that likes to play fast,” he said.
The win keeps Port Angeles undefeated in the Olympic League 2A Division and in first place, one game ahead of Sequim.
The Riders struggled early shooting from outside, making just 1 out of 12 3-pointers. Jaida Wood responded in the second half with a pair of 3-pointers. She finished with three 3-pointers and 13 pointers total.
Wood, a 5-10 post player said she started shooting 3s when she was little.
“I was that taller girl. I didn’t want to be just the ‘tall girl’, so I learned to shoot it from outside,” she said.
Wood said her and her teammates were confident they would win this game even in that rugged fourth quarter.
“I believe in my teammates. I believe we can always follow through. We finish really well,” she said. “Our team chemistry is great this year.”
Millie Long was all-everything for the Riders. She led the team with 21 points, seven rebounds, five steals and three assists.
Burke finished with 11 points. The Vikings were led by Noey Barreith with 16. Mia McNair, a former star player and Olympic League 1A MVP for Chimacum, scored nine for North Kitsap.
The Riders’ Bailee Larson toughed out the game playing with a jammed finger on her shooting hand. Poindexter said it was an injury from the Kingston game Wednesday.
Port Angeles (8-0 12-3, No. 10 RPI) played at a very good Washougal team (7-0, 12-2, No. 4 RPI) in a nonleague game today after press deadline. The Riders next play at North Mason (4-5, 7-8) at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Port Angeles 54, North Kitsap 36
NK 8 6 10 12 — 36
PA 14 11 15 14 — 54
North Kitsap (36) — Barreith 16, McNair 9, Johnson 6, Baugh 4, Kimmel 1.
Port Angeles (54) — Long 21, Wood 13, Burke 11, Brady 4, Larson 3, Walker 2.
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Sports Editor Pierre LaBossiere can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or plabossiere@peninsuladailynews.com.
Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Port Angeles’ Mikkiah Brady, right, outpaces North Kitsap’s Noey Barreith in the first quarter on Friday at Port Angeles High School.
Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Bailee Larson of Port Angeles, right, drives downcourt pursued by North Kitsap’s Mia McNair on Friday on the Roughrider court in Port Angeles.
