TACOMA — A 14-0 second quarter shutout broke open a tight game as Port Angeles dispatched league foe North Kitsap 41-16 in a Class 2A bi-district winner-to-state regionals, loser-out contest Saturday at Mount Tahoma High School.
The Riders (13-10) learned they are the No. 14 seed to the Class 2A state regional round and will face a rematch with bi-district champs Renton (18-4), the No. 11 seed, in a loser-out game either Friday or Saturday in Renton.
Renton rallied for a 44-42 win over Port Angeles in a winner-to-state district matchup last week.
“Renton has improved the perception of their quality with their run in district tournament,” coach Michael Poindexter said. “They beat us, White River and Sequim. Impressive to win those three games. They are a difficult team to face. Their guards drive well and shoot the three well. And they are all capable of doing both. And they have a 6-foot shot-blocker and another post with quality.”
Port Angeles trailed North Kitsap 7-6 after the first quarter Saturday.
“Both teams seemed to be affected by the tension of the loser-out status of the game,” Poindexter said. “We switched defenses in the second quarter to our 1-3-1 [zone] in order to try to generate more points from our defense; we went on a 14-0 run for the quarter; six Riders scored in the quarter, which saw 11 Viking turnovers.”
The Riders went inside offensively in the third quarter to counter the Vikings.
“North Kitsap did a good job of attacking down low in the third quarter, as Evelyn Beers had five of her six total points in the quarter. We countered with a good quarter inside ourselves, let by Paige Mason and Lexie Smith. Overall for the game, 32 of our 41 points came from inside the lane.”
Mason posted a double-double with team highs in points (13) and rebounds (12) to lead Port Angeles.
“Izzy Felton had an excellent offensive game for us, with eight points and a confidence in attacking inside that seemed to give the rest of the team confidence. Piper Williams had an outstanding defensive game,” Poindexter said.
“Most members of our team have not played in a district tournament before, and we were pleased at how we bounced back from the opening-round two-point loss at Renton, as well as how we recovered from a shaky first-quarter today versus the Vikings,” he added.
Port Angeles 41, North Kitsap 16
NK 7 0 7 2 — 16
PA 6 14 11 10 — 41
Port Angeles (41) — Mason 13, Felton 8, Williams 7, Lexie Smith 6, Lindsay Smith 5, Rognlien 2, Clark, Stevens, Moses, Manson.
Renton 43, Sequim 39
BELFAIR — Sequim’s attempt at a fourth-quarter rally fell shy in a 43-39 bi-district championship loss to Renton on Saturday at North Mason.
The Wolves (20-2) received some disappointing news when the state tournament brackets were released Sunday. Sequim, No. 2 in the Class 2A RPI, was bumped down to the eighth seed and a regional matchup with undefeated No. 1 Ellensburg (21-0).
The Wolves are guaranteed a trip to the state tournament in Yakima regardless of what occurs against Ellensburg.
Against Renton, Sequim struggled to stop the Riverhawks.
“Renton did a great job penetrating the gaps and shooting the ball from deep,” Wolves coach Joclin Julmist said. “We didn’t play our game tonight. We shot too many threes and didn’t get the ball on the inside or even move the ball on offense. The girls fought hard to get back in the game in the last quarter but couldn’t overcome the deficit.”
Down 39-29 after three quarters, Sequim picked up its intensity on defense and tied the game up inside the final minute at 39-all when Jelissa Julmist scored after rebounding a long three attempt by Bobbi Mixon.
Renton snapped its quarter-long scoring streak with a jumper in the lane to take the lead.
With 19.8 seconds left, Sequim had a possession with the chance to tie or take the lead, but turned the ball over before getting a look at the basket.
Renton 43, Sequim 39
Ren. 10 16 13 4 — 43
Seq. 10 8 10 10 — 39
Sequim (39) — Vaara 18, Julmist 9, Bates 6, Turella 3, Mixon 3, Herman.
Rainier 64, Forks 47
CHEHALIS — The Spartans earned a state regional seed out of the Class 2B District IV Tournament.
They learned Sunday that they are the No. 14 seed into the 2B state tournament and will face another long trip to play No. 11 seed Northwest Christian of Colbert (18-7) in a loser-out, winner-to-state in Spokane game next weekend.
Forks (18-7) was the No. 12 team in the 2B RPI before being downgraded by the selection committee.
“It’s frustrating,” a clearly upset coach David Hurn said. “In the last week-and-a-half these girls have played five games, traveled 1,700 miles spent 30 hours on a bus to play in the toughest district tournament in the state. They placed fourth, battling and grinding the entire way and we finished ahead of a team that got a higher state seed than us. And now we will likely get an eight-hour bus ride to play in Spokane.
“To have a committee of coaches through a nontransparent procedure, with no accountability, devalue the work we did in the last week-and-a-half, is upsetting. It takes something away from the kids,” he said.
Neah Bay 63, Mount Vernon Christian 48
MOUNT VERNON — The Red Devils’ claimed the Class 1B Tri-District Championship with a potent defensive performance against the Hurricanes.
Neah Bay forced 18 turnovers and held Mount Vernon Christian to 37-percent shooting.
Allie Greene led the Red Devils with 17 points, three assists and two steals while Amber Swan added 14 and Ryana Moss had 13 and eight rebounds.
Angel Haltunnen also was active with 12 points and eight rebounds.
“Ryana played tough defense all night on their main big girl, it was outstanding and it was a game changer,” coach Cherish Moss said.
“This was a big win that was won in my opinion on the defensive end. Cerise [Moss] and Amber were huge being in consistent help defense. What a fun game. Such amazing effort from everyone on the court and on the bench.”
The No. 1 Red Devils (19-1) will are a No. 1 seed in regionals and will host No. 8 Waterville-Mansfield on Friday or Saturday.
Neah Bay 63, MVC 48
MVC 5 17 11 15 — 48
NB 17 21 11 14 — 63
Neah Bay (63) — A. Greene 17, Swan 14, R. Moss 13, Halttunen 12, C. Moss 4, Q. Greene 3, Chartraw, Martin.
