TUKWILA — Lindsay Smith sank a corner 3-pointer while being fouled to put Port Angeles up 40-39 with 2:14 to play and the Roughriders hung on for a 44-41 bi-district girls basketball tournament third-place game win over Enumclaw on Saturday.
Port Angeles (17-7, No. 10 Ratings Percentage Index) picked up a No. 11 seed and will now play No. 14 seed West Valley of Spokane (13-9, No. 26 RPI) on either Friday or Saturday with the site of the game to be determined. That is a loser-out game. Win and the Riders move on to the Yakima SunDome on Feb. 28.
“We felt that we played much better, more like ourselves, than we had the previous night against Sammamish,” said coach Michael Poindexter. “Players attacked the rim confidently and for the most part made good choices on three-point attempts.
“Our 1-3-1 zone caused Enumclaw to play much slower than they generally prefer,” Poindexter said. “We did a good job of limiting their scoring, but as the fourth quarter progressed a bit, we decided to play a triangle-and-two, focusing on denying Bella Firnkoess as much as possible.”
The Roughriders got off to a slow start in the Enumclaw game as both teams were tied 6-6 with three minutes left in the first half. Enumclaw finished the half on an 11-4 run as the Riders were only able to score 10 points in the half and found themselves down 17-10.
The Riders tripled their halftime score in the third quarter.
The Riders’ Izzy Felton had a great second half as she got Port Angeles going with a 3-pointer, followed by a two-point bucket to pull to within 17-15. Smith hit her first 3-pointer to tie the game at 19-19 and Felton scored another bucket to give Port Angeles its first lead of the second half at 21-19.
The game see-sawed back and forth most of the rest of the half. Enumclaw regained the lead but Lexie Smith hit a clutch 3-pointer with 5:55 left to give Port Angeles a 35-34 lead.
After Lindsey Smith’s 3-pointer, Felton finished the game with three free throws in the final minute. Felton also blocked an Enumclaw 3-point attempt at the buzzer to seal the victory.
Felton and Lindsey and Lexie Smith all scored 11 to lead the Riders. Lexie Smith had seven rebounds, Paige Mason six, and Felton and Lindsay Smith five each.
Felton, Teanna Clark, Lexie Smith and Mason all had three steals.
Port Angeles 44, Enumclaw 41
PA 6 4 20 14 — 44
Enum. 2 15 9 15 — 41
Port Angeles (44) — Felton 11, Lexie Smith 11, Lindsay Smith 11, Mason 6, Clark. 5.
Sammamish 37, Port Angeles 36
PORT ANGELES — Sammamish scraped by Port Angeles in a 37-36 defensive slugfest in the Class 2A Bi-District Girls Basketball Tournament semifinals Friday night at the Rider Gym.
“Both teams were slowed down and challenged by each other’s defenses, combining for 62 turnovers in the game,” Poindexter said.
“Sammamish had four starters at 5-foot-11 or above, and their height bothered us both in their full-court press and in getting vision in our half-court offense. We were sometimes too hesitant to attack the basket and at other times, attacked but finished with off-balance, hurried attempts.
“Four of our players (Teanna Clark, Izzy Felton, Becca Manson, and Lexie Smith) combined for a 65 percent shooting night, but the rest of the team shot 15 percent.”
Port Angeles went up 25-21, its largest lead of the second half, on a Lexie Smith 3-pointer.
“We struggled to score in the 4th quarter and fell behind 35-30. Two Paige Mason free-throws and a Lexie Smith steal and assist to her sister Lindsay for a lay-in got us to within 1 at 35-34. A Becca Manson lay-in off a nice Teanna Clark assist gave us a 36-35 lead, but 20 seconds later, Sophia Eastman hit a 15-foot baseline runner to put Sammamish up by one with 2:47 left.
Neither team would score after that. Sammamish had four straight turnovers; Port Angeles had three turnovers and two missed shots.
Sammamish inbounded the ball with six seconds left, and Izzy Felton made a nice play on the ball for a steal, but got called for a foul in a struggle for the ball, and Sammamish ran out the clock to close the game.
Sammamish 37, Port Angeles 36
Sammamish 5 11 15 6 — 37
Port Angeles 9 6 13 8 — 36
Port Angeles (36) — Clark 10, Lexie Smith 7, Lindsay Smith 6, Felton 6, Mason 4, Manson 3, Politika, Rognlien.
