PORT ANGELES — With much the same cast, the 2025-26 Port Angeles girls basketball team is seeking to find the formula it had in February, when the Roughriders discovered the form needed to advance to the state regional round.
“We focused on this, this summer at team camp,” coach Michael Poindexter said. “For us to not have to relearn everything we learned in February last season. We weren’t an elite team like Lynden or Archibshop Murphy, but we were solid and grew a lot in the quality of our play, our interactions with each other and self talk.
“I don’t want to have to restart that process, so remember who you are and who you became from last February. We had a good run, and I don’t think it was an accident.”
Port Angeles brings back an All-Olympic League first-teamer in senior Lindsay Smith, a 6-foot guard/forward who led the Riders in points and rebounding last season.
“Lindsay scored 17 points a game. She can score inside and out,” Poindexter said.
She’s our tallest kid and has really worked on her shot all summer, and she looks good with her 3-point shot.”
Smith will take over graduated elder sister Lexie Clark’s spot in their usual bread-and-butter 1-3-1 zone defense.
“Lexie led us or was second in a lot of stats,” Poindexter said. “Just as importantly, she provided a kind of a glue with her leadership and enforcing of values. We will miss her.”
Even without the other 6-foot Smith, Poindexter isn’t too worried about size mismatches.
“We’re not intimidating with our height, but we should be able to compete just fine against most teams,” he said. “We have a bunch of 5-10, 5-9 kids.”
Senior Teanna Clark was a second-team All-Olympic Leaguer last season and, with fellow senior Becca Manson, forms a portion of what could become a fearsome Port Angeles defense.
“In Teanna and Becca, we have a pair of defensive player of the year award candidates,” Poindexter said.
“Both of them can guard smaller, quick players and bigger and taller players, and both are good in man and zone [defenses].”
Poindexter also had praise for junior Morgan Politika, a versatile athlete who enjoyed a breakout soccer season in the fall.
“Morgan is starting to come into her own,” Poindexter said. “She had a really good summer.”
Sophomore Sariah Doherty is one of those 5-9 players mentioned previously. She made the varsity as a freshman last season and saw time on the court.
“[The plan is] Sariah Doherty grows into more of a role on the floor this season,” Poindexter said.
Seniors Kenzie Moses and Mikkiah Stevens have varsity experience and will provide reserve minutes off the bench.
Varsity newcomers include sophomores Storey Schmidt, a cross country runner, volleyball player London Bourland and Maddie Walton, a member of the state-bound girls soccer team.
“They all have athleticism, intelligence and good attitudes toward their teammates,” Poindexter said. “We just have to get them comfortable.
“I thought Maddie took a great step forward in the offseason.”
Tough schedule
The Riders have a challenging nonleague schedule with a game against Neah Bay today, a solid Class 2B team in Onalaska and are playing in the competitive division at Meridian’s holiday tournament, opening with Greater St. Helens League’s Ridgefield and with a shot to play defending 1A champ Bellevue Christian and always-tough Burlington-Edison.
A post-New Year’s contest with an Australian travel team also is set.
Poindexter said he believes the Olympic League took a dip in quality from last season.
“The league lost a lot to graduation, and we are probably hurt less than most,” Poindexter said. “It’s a bit of a mystery with two new coaches (North Kitsap and Bremerton).”
Another factor affecting the league is the introduction of girls flag football as a winter sport.
“We didn’t lose any varsity kids to that directly; some younger kids went to play,” Poindexter said. “I think the addition will be more popular with kids in the Kitsap area.”
Flag football teams have been up and running at a number of those schools, with Bremerton one of the teams invited to participate in a Seattle Seahawks-hosted tournament in June.
After a stumble in the season opener against Forks, Poindexter is focusing on turning the team’s practice performance into game-day success.
“At times we look really good in practice, our cutting and scoring actions are there and we aren’t shabby defensively. We are playing good defenses because that’s us and we still look good.
“My job early on is to convey that they can live that practice self in a game and to just relax and let the game flow naturally instead of trying to make things happen inorganically,” Poindexter said.
“We have a group that will get better. You will see the real us, I hope, in late December and January. It will take some time. We have a new zone offense that we are installing, a number of new man sets, lots of five out [motion], and we have players in new roles on the floor and new leadership roles.”
Port Angeles Roughriders
• Head coach: Michael Poindexter.
• 2024-25 record: 11-3 in league, 18-7 overall. Qualified for state regional round.
• Returners: Lindsay Smith, (sr., G/F, 6-0); Teanna Clark, (sr., G, 5-7); Mikkiah Stevens, (sr., G, 5-3); Morgan Politika (jr., G, 5-9); Becca Manson (sr., G/F,) Kenzie Moses (sr., G, 5-5); Sariah Doherty, (so. F, 5-9).
• Newcomers: Storey Schmidt (so., G/F, 5-10); Maddie Walton, (so., F, 5-11); London Bourland, (so., G/F, 5-9).
• Outlook: “This group has invested a lot of their time and energy in creating something good,” Poindexter said of the senior class. “I think they learned from that, and our younger kids got to see us as our best selves for the first time since 2022. We really came together in February and they saw how good that felt and understood the value of playing together.”
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at sports@peninsuladailynews.com.
