VANCOUVER, Wash. — The Peninsula men got a nice draw for an early morning game with a 17-12 team for the NWAC Tournament, while the women will play the No. 1-ranked team in the NWAC.
The men (9-5, 19-10), who won their final regular season game last week against Whatcom to lock up the No. 2 seed out of the North Division, will play Clackamas (9-7, 17-12), the No. 3 seed from the South Division.
The men take a 19-10 record into the tourney. Peninsula did not play Clackamas in the pre-league schedule, but went 2-2 against teams from the South Division. Clackamas stumbled a bit down the stretch, going 3-6 over its last nine games heading into the tournament.
The men’s Sweet Sixteen game will be played at 8 a.m. Saturday at Everett Community College.
The toughest team in the men’s bracket appears to be South Puget Sound (22-7), which won the West Division. SPS is ranked fifth in the NWAC. If the men win Saturday, they might play SPS on Sunday, if the Clippers get past Yakima Valley.
The PC women (6-6, 8-16) scratched and clawed their way into the NWAC tournament, winning their final three games and six out of their last nine to grab a No. 4 seed out of the North Division.
Their reward? A very tough draw. They will play 28-1 Umpqua, champions of the South Division and the No. 1-ranked team in the NWAC. In fact, the Riverhawks were 27-0 and lost their first game of the year Feb. 28 against Lane.
The Pirates and Umpqua played in the tournament last year in the second round. Umpqua won that game 85-58.
Peninsula’s Sweet Sixteen game will be played at 10 a.m. Thursday at Everett.
