And now the real fun begins.
Five area prep basketball teams, four of them girls’ teams, begin regional play Friday and Saturday.
It was quite a wild week last week — there were more than two dozen playoff games and 15 games on Friday and Saturday alone. Seven of those games were of the “win or go home” variety. And all of this was going on the same weekend as the wrestling Mat Classic at the Tacoma Dome.
The Friday night game between Port Angeles and Franklin Pierce was the most intense basketball game of the year. I told coach Kasey Ulin afterward, “I’m not supposed to have a rooting interest, but that was absolutely nerve-wracking.”
Port Angeles had a 10-point lead at halftime, but Franklin Pierce went on a 14-0 run to open the half. Port Angeles responded with an 18-8 run; Franklin Pierce responded with a 7-0 run; Port Angeles came back with a 12-4 run. It was absolutely epic swings of momentum.
In the end, Port Angeles won with seven straight free throws. The Riders found themselves in a similar kind of game Saturday night against Clover Park but ended up on the short end of the score. The Timberwolves were down 13 points with 7 minutes left, but hit five three-pointers and six straight free throws in the fourth to pull out the game and break the hearts of Port Angeles.
The junior-heavy Riders should be strong next year with two of their top players, Parker Nickerson and Isaiah Shamp, back.
On to the teams still alive.
I can’t imagine anyone was happy with their draws. We’re a little bit isolated here on the Olympic Peninsula, but some of the travel demands for the regional contests seem extreme. The Forks girls, who won their first league title since 2008, were rewarded by having to travel 440 miles completely across the state to the Idaho border to play Northwest Christian on Friday in Cheney.
Sequim also got a draw that’s tough to figure out. The Olympic League champion and No. 2-ranked team in the state has to travel 210 miles play No. 1 Ellensburg on Friday night. That team is 21-0 and features a 6-foot-6 and a 6-foot-4 player. The good news is the Wolves move on to the Yakima SunDome next week win or lose.
Port Angeles gets to play District 2/3 champion Renton for the second time in about 10 days. The good news here is the Riders lost by just two points to Renton the first time around in the district tournament. The Port Angeles girls are also very young with Piper Williams and Anna Petty as the only seniors. To make it this far into the postseason is a testament to some great coaching by Michael Poindexter and his staff.
Neah Bay has a bit of a trip to Tacoma to play two games. The No. 1-ranked girls play Waterville-Mansfield on Saturday afternoon, while the boys play Orcas Island on Saturday evening.
The Neah Bay girls in particular are a team to watch. They’re fairly small; the tallest girl on the team is 5-foot-10. But they crash the boards, play ferocious defense and run a smart offense featuring pretty backdoor cuts. They have a serious shot at a state championship this year.
All of these games will be broadcast on https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/.
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Sports Editor Pierre LaBossiere can be contacted at plabossiere@peninsuladailynews.com.
