LACEY — Despite defensive adjustments that proved helpful, a slow offensive start was too much for the Port Angeles girls basketball team to overcome in a 46-27 district-opening loss to River Ridge.
After falling Wednesday, the Roughriders (10-11) now face a loser-out contest with Renton (15-6) tonight at 6 p.m. at Wilson High School in Tacoma.
Renton fell 63-41 to Sammamish in its district opener.
Against the Hawks (13-8), Port Angeles mustered just four first-quarter points.
“Offensively, we got off to a disastrous first quarter, shooting 2 of 13 from the field,” Port Angeles coach Michael Poindexter said.
“We were 11 of 44 for the game, most shots coming from the high post area or inside.
“We did a nice job of attacking River Ridge’s half-court trapping zone early in possessions, but we weren’t able to capitalize on 4-on-3 opportunities that we had.”
Nizhoni Wheeler led the Riders with eight points and Haley Baxley added seven points.
Defensively, Port Angeles’ game plan intended to shutdown River Ridge’s Makenna Schultz (22 points per game) and Savannah McGill (10 points per game).
This strategy was effective, as Schultz was held to seven points and McGill managed just two points, but it yielded opportunities for other Hawks.
“Our efforts to guard those two gave Mel Sitani a couple of early 3-pointers,” Poindexter said.
“We adjusted pretty well defensively after that and played a solid defensive game up until some fouling in the fourth quarter.”
The Hawks hit six of their 11 fourth-quarter points from the free-throw line.
The Riders played better in the second half but were unable to mount a comeback.
“River Ridge’s zone defense was effective in limiting our outside scoring opportunities and in consistently contesting shots we took inside,” Poindexter said.
River Ridge 46, Port Angeles 27
Port Angeles 4 8 7 8— 27
River Ridge 14 12 9 11— 46
Individual scoring
Port Angeles (46)
N. Wheeler 8, Baxley 7, Steinman 4, Boe 2, Long 2, Johnson 2, Robideau 2, C. Wheeler, Lunt, Williams, Gray, Buchanan.
River Ridge (27)
Sitani 14, Coleman 10, Schultz 7, Johnston 7, Yenne 6, McGill 2.
White River 66, Sequim 28
BUCKLEY — The third-ranked Hornets (19-2) swarmed the Wolves (9-12) and ran away with a district-opening win.
Sequim now faces a loser-out contest against Evergreen (12-6) at Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma tonight at 7:45 p.m.
The Wolverines were blown out by North Kitsap 55-18 in their district opener.
White River, whose two losses are to Class 2A No. 1 Mark Morris and No. 2 W.F. West, was led by the 23 points by 6-foot-1 sophomore forward Kendall Bird.
“They are a tough and talented team,” Wolves coach Evan Still said of the Hornets.
“Just stacked. They have some really good players in their starting lineup, and even their sixth, seventh and eighth players would be able to start for a lot of teams.”
Sequim had trouble dealing with the random nature of White Rivers’ man-to-man defensive pressure in the first half, totaling just eight points.
“You have to adjust and adapt because they will trap at many different points and it’s all disguised,” Still said.
“We knew it was coming but in the first half we didn’t execute the way we wanted to.”
Still said his team played better in the second half, going into a matchup zone that produced a 9-0 run for the Wolves.
“They were getting shots, but we were boxing out and rebounding and getting some scores,” Still said.
“We haven’t been playing well lately, but in the second half we kind of realized that when we execute and play well we can compete with any team.”
Kylee Williams led Sequim with eight points and Caitlin Stofferahn had six.
Against Evergreen today, Still said he expects the Wolverines to play a 2-3 zone defense and pack the interior, which should lead to outside shots.
“They have a post bring up the ball so that makes me think if we pressure and press them it should be effective,” Still said.
“We can kind of go back to doing some of things we are more comfortable with.”
White River 66, Sequim 28
Sequim 5 3 9 11— 28
White River 16 19 17 14— 66
Individual scoring
Sequim (28)
Williams 8, Stofferahn 6, Miller 5, M. Bentz 3, Haggerty 2, Cummins 2, Christiansen 2, J. Bentz, Lester, Beuke, McMinn.
White River (66)
Bird 23, Sturdivan 16, Goethals 11, Lance 7, Mills 3, Gore 3, Andersen 2. Howard 1.
