PASCO — The Peninsula College women’s basketball team utterly dominated the first half and the offensive boards, then cruised to a first-round NWAC tournament victory 66-44 over Chemeketa on Wednesday.
That final score is misleading as Chemeteka hit four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter against the Peninsula reserves to close a massive gap. The Pirates got up 36-5 at the end of the first half and with eight minutes left in the game, they held a commanding 53-19 lead, threatening to break the NWAC tournament record for fewest points allowed in a game (31).
Peninsula (23-2), which won its 22nd straight game, next plays at 2 p.m. today against South Puget Sound.
Defense and rebounding were key to this game. The Pirates had a huge edge on the boards 55-27 overall and 22-7 on the offensive boards. The Pirates also held the Storm to 2-for-28 shooting (7.4 percent) in the first half.
The Pirates didn’t shoot great at 33.8 percent (26-for-77), but they didn’t need to with their dominant defense and rebounding.
Ciera Tugade Agasiva led the Pirates with 15 points and seven rebounds.
“Coach just told us to come out strong and leave it all on the court,” Agasiva told the NWAC broadcast crew after the game.
The Pirates were able to use their bench as 10 players scored, with eight players scoring at least five points. Seven players had at least three rebounds.
Alexa Mackey also had a great game with 11 points and 16 rebounds, eight of them on the offensive boards. Alecsis Smith had seven points and 10 rebounds, while Shania Moananu, nursing a sore knee, scored eight points.
Neah Bay’s Ryana Moss hit a pair of 3-pointers in the second half and scored six, while Makena Patrick came off the bench to score five to go along with six rebounds.
Peninsula 66, Chemeketa 44
Che. 3 2 14 25 — 44
PC 16 20 11 19 — 66
Chemeketa (44) — Bufford 12, Peters 11, Diaz 10, Holwege 3, Cabral 2.
Peninsula (66) — Agasiva 15, Mackey 11, Moananu 8, Smith 7, Moss 6, Julmist 5, Miller 5, Patrick 5, O’Brien 2, Ragsdale 2.
