PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles girls basketball team was held scoreless in the first quarter and trailed 19-6 at halftime but still came back to beat Bainbridge 33-26.
“Both teams were in zone defense early,” Roughriders coach Michael Poindexter said of Thursday’s game.
“Obviously, just a bit of a low-scoring game.”
Playing its second game in as many days, Class 2A Port Angeles had to shake off a slow start against 3A Bainbridge.
“We were sluggish offensively in the first half, making poor passing and shooting decisions,” Poindexter said.
“The second-half effort, decision-making and technique were decidedly improved.”
A switch to man-to-man defense helped the Riders claw back into the contest.
“We forced Bainbridge to play faster than was good for them, and slowly got back into the game,” Poindexter said.
With the game tied at 26, Port Angeles’ Lauren Lunt took a key charge against Taylor Tye, the Spartans’ top player.
On the next possession, Nizhoni Wheeler set up Maddie Boe for a baseline shot to give the Riders the lead at 28-26.
Wheeler then hit Katyn Flores with a pass in almost the same spot for a shot that made the lead 30-26.
Wheeler, who notched a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds, scored the final three points on a bucket inside and a made free throw. She also blocked four shots.
“Nizhoni played one of her best all-around games . . . and Maddie Boe showed great court leadership,” Poindexter said.
“Katyn Flores [7 points] and Lauren Lunt [6] scored all of their combined 13 points in the second half to give us an offensive boost.”
Boe led the Riders in steals with eight and assists with four, and also scored six points.
Emily Johnson grabbed five rebounds and had three steals.
Port Angeles (2-0) hosts Vashon on Tuesday.
Port Angeles 33, Bainbridge 26
Bainbridge 3 13 8 2— 33
Port Angeles 0 6 13 14— 26
Individual scoring
Bainbridge (26)
Tye 9, Usellis 5, Lant 4, Bredy 3, Havill 3, Carson 2.
Port Angeles (33)
N. Wheeler 10, Flores 7, Lunt 6, Boe 6, Baxley 2, C. Wheeler 2, Johnson, Steinman, McGuffey, Gray.
Sequim 45, Klahowya 20
SILVERDALE — The Wolves cruised to a season-opening road victory over the Eagles.
Sequim built a nice 21-11 halftime lead and then removed any doubt by outscoring Klahowya 18-0 in the third quarter.
Arienne Haggerty led the Wolves with 13 points. Jordan Miller added 11 points and Ella Christiansen scored 10.
The Wolves host Bremerton on Tuesday and Neah Bay on Wednesday.
Sequim 45, Klahowya 20
Sequim 12 9 18 6— 45
Klahowya 3 8 0 9— 20
Individual scoring
Sequim (45)
Montelius 2, Leal 3, M. Bentz 2, Christiansen 10, Bower 2, Haggerty 13, Miller 11, Grasser 2, J. Bentz, McMinn.
Olympic 58, Port Townsend 12
BREMERTON — The Redhawks ran into a strong Olympic League 2A team for the second time in their two games this season.
Despite the lopsided score, head coach Scott B. Wilson said 1A Port Townsend showed improvement from its 44-22 loss to Port Angeles on Wednesday.
“It’s challenging to launch the season against larger and much more experienced teams, especially since right now we’re playing with seven varsity players and six JV players,” Wilson said.
“What I’m looking for is improvement from game to game, both on an individual and team level. And despite the score against Olympic, [we] showed a lot of improvement in the areas we identified from the first game.
“They were relentless on offense and defense, cut down on turnovers, and played fundamentally solid defense. Nobody hung their head, they fought every minute as if the game was a tie.
“Those performances were a step in the right direction.”
Kaitlyn Meek, Jenna Carson and Jordyn King split the scoring for the Redhawks with four points apiece.
Carson, a junior, grabbed a team-high six rebounds, include three offensive, and senior Kassie Olin made several defensive stops on the perimeter.
Katie Campana led the Trojans with 25 points. Kaydra McInnis added 10 points.
“Olympic deserves credit — Laurie Shaw has a spectacular team. Katie Campana is a scoring machine,” Wilson said.
“I will be very surprised if they don’t make a deep run into 2A playoffs this year.”
Olympic 58, Port Townsend 12
Port Townsend 4 4 2 2— 12
Olympic 23 13 18 4— 58
Individual scoring
Port Townsend (12)
Meek 4, Carson 4, King 4, Olin.
Olympic (58)
Campana 25, Monzon 5, McInnis 10, Hazard 2, Bohlmann 2, Shaw 2, Meadows 2.
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Compiled from team reports.
