MOUNT VERNON — The Port Angeles girls basketball team’s season came to an end with a 48-26 loss to Anacortes in the regional round of the 2A state playoffs at Mount Vernon High School.
The Roughriders finish the season with a 20-6 overall record. They claimed a share of the Olympic League 2A championship and were ranked 10th in Class 2A in the final Associated Press poll.
The Riders also made a somewhat surprise run to regionals after losing seniors Maddie Boe and Emily Johnson to late-season injuries.
Port Angeles was led in Friday’s loss to Anacortes by its other senior, Hayley Baxley, who scored 12 points on four 3-pointers.
“In her last game as a Roughrider, she had our best all-around game of scoring, defending and taking care of the ball,” Port Angeles coach Michael Poindexter said.
“We played man-man for most of the game. Gracie Long and Kyrsten McGuffey joined Hayley Baxley in playing good defense on their perimeter players.”
Baxley also pulled down four rebounds.
Junior Nizhoni Wheeler, who was voted Olympic League 2A co-MVP, added six points and eight rebounds. Cheyenne Wheeler contributed four points, and Gracie Long and Katyn Flores each scored two.
“Anacortes is the best defensive team we’ve seen this season,” Poindexter said.
“We had little opportunity to get inside with dribble penetration, and had to often settle for longer or mid-range shots.”
Anacortes, ranked ninth by The Associated Press, dealt the Riders their two biggest losses of the season, beating them by 28 points in December and 22 points Friday.
“The most telling statistics of the game are that Anacortes had 11 more offensive rebounds than we did, along with 13 fewer turnovers,” Poindexter said.
“They had 23 more field-goal opportunities than we did. We actually shot about the same percentage from the field — 38 percent for us, 37 percent for them — but it’s hard to compete in a game in which the other team shoots two dozen more times.”
Friday’s loss prevented Port Angeles from advancing to the state tournament for the first time since 2014.
But just making it to the regional round was an impressive feat by the Riders, considering the absences of Boe and Johnson and illnesses that kept other starters on the bench for postseason games.
“The postseason saw us adjusting to new positions, leadership roles and defensive approaches, given our adjustments to injuries and illness,” Poindexter said.
“Throughout the adversity, I thought our players fought hard the entire way and learned some important lessons we can carry with us to next year.”
In the postseason, the Riders beat fellow league champion Olympic 35-28 in a tiebreaker game at Sequim High School to earn Olympic League 2A’s top seed at the District 2/3 tournament.
They opened districts by beating Steilacoom and River Ridge before falling to Franklin Pierce and Liberty and placing fourth in the tournament.
Port Angeles loses Baxley, Boe and Johnson, who have all been part of the varsity team since they were freshmen or sophomores, but next season will return seven players who played significant varsity minutes, as well as freshman Aeverie Politika, who moved up from the JV for the postseason and for a few other games during the regular season.
And while the 2015-16 Riders were shorthanded in districts and regionals, the 2016-17 Riders gained extensive postseason experience the past two weeks.
“Other than Hayley, we have next year’s team in this year’s tournament,” Poindexter said earlier this month.
“That’s not an ideal thing, but it certainly is a good thing for next year.”
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Compiled using team report.
