BAINBRIDGE — Port Angeles rallied back from a 10-point halftime deficit — outscoring Bainbridge 17-2 in the fourth quarter — to remain in the Olympic League girls basketball drivers’ seat with a 51-36 road triumph Wednesday night.
“Our main problem in the first half was not defense, but offense,” Roughriders coach Michael Poindexter said. “We had too many unforced turnovers and missed shots due to an impatient approach; we didn’t make their defense work very hard and didn’t give ourselves high-percentage shots.
Down 24-14 at halftime, Port Angeles focused on improving offensively and produced instant results.
“In the second half, our offensive movement, spacing and patience was much better,” Poindexter said.
“Sariah Doherty scored nine of her 13 points in the half, mostly inside, and five different players hit three-point shots, as we moved the ball well to get the shooters good inside-to-outside passes. Lindsay Smith hit four 3’s in the game accounting for all of her field goals. Teanna Clark had nine points in the fourth quarter, a combination of driving lay-ins, a three and two free-throws.”
The Riders weren’t playing bad defense in the first half, but the team’s ability to deny Bainbridge buckets impressed Poindexter.
“Our defense was stellar in the second half, as we played the best 2-3 zone I’ve seen us play in several years, perhaps going back to our 2016 team,” Poindexter said.
“We began to get better with this defense at team camp, and we hope to continue to strengthen it to add to what we’re already doing well defensively.”
Poindexter said Bainbridge was within 10 points of the lead until the final 1:30 of game time.
“They started fouling late in the game, and we hit five free throws down the stretch to extend the margin to 15,” Poindexter said.
The game was rescheduled after a traffic collision closed the Hood Canal Bridge back on Dec. 9.
Port Angeles (4-0, 6-5) hosts Bremerton tonight.
Port Angeles 51, Bainbridge 36
Port Angeles 9 5 20 17 — 51
Bainbridge 14 10 10 2 —36
Port Angeles (51) — L. Smith 14, Doherty 13, Clark 11, Manson 6, Politika 5, Schmidt 2, Stevens, Moses.
Forks 61, Hoquiam 45
FORKS — The Spartans played their best basketball of the season in opening up a 30-point lead over the Grizzlies — but suffered a tough break at the end of the first half as do-it-all junior Bailey Johnson suffered a likely broken wrist.
Forks coach David Hurn said he was hopeful for a potential return for the district playoffs in later February.
“We preach defense, defensive energy and we really challenged the team. We haven’t been hitting our shots on offense, so we knew we needed to play great defense and we played our best all-around game that we have played, especially offensively,” Hurn said.
“We hit seven 3’s in the first half, played with great pace and a great mindset on offense and we completely dominated the game. It was really great to see.”
Johnson had 22 points, including four 3’s, but suffered a hard foul right before halftime.
“It took the wind out of our girls’ sails going into halftime,” Hurn said. “We knew it wasn’t good when it happened. We came out with a 9-0 run to start the third quarter, so I’m proud of how we responded.
We got the game to a running clock situation and got to play our reserves.”
Hurn said his team has time to prepare for life without Johnson.
“We’re fully capable of handling it, and if she’s cleared and ready for the playoffs we will go with it.”
Forks (2-0, 6-7) visits North Beach on Tuesday.
Forks 61, Hoquiam 45
Hoquiam 5 6 12 22 — 45
Forks 19 25 12 5 — 61
Forks (61) — B. Johnson 22, Gaydeski 11, B. Rondeau 9, Dilley 8, Neel 7, F. Peters 2, H. Rondeau 2.
Boys Basketball Clallam Bay 69, Crescent 36
JOYCE — The Bruins erased five seasons of frustration against the Loggers with a big win Wednessday.
“We had beat them for five seasons in a row, and they were finally able to get over the hump, our hat’s off to them,” Crescent coach Chris Ferrier said. “My guys are just gutsy dudes, we are guarding their 6-foot-4 guys with 5’7 guys and making them work really darn hard. We didn’t expect some of their other guys to hit a bunch of shots but sometimes you have to make choices and trade-offs and the [Jordan] Angulo kid made some shots we didn’t expect. I thought we did a good job on [William] Hull, he is so long and athletic and has really improved his skill level.”
Hull, who earlier in the season broke the 1,000-point career scoring mark, led all scorers with 19.
Angulo added 14 for the Bruins.
Jax Sprague had 16 points to lead the Loggers.
“Jax had a really strong game, he had the tough assignment on [Dylan] Simmons and did a good job on him, and he put the ball in the bucket for us too,” Ferrier said. “We would get a missed shot on defense but would give up an offensive rebound or two and the Bruins would get a putback.
“All in all, I’m happy with the progress we are making.”
Crescent (0-1, 3-9) hosts Neah Bay today.
Clallam Bay (1-1, 6-5) hosts Chief Kitsap tonight.
Clallam Bay 69, Crescent 36
Clallam Bay 19 17 19 13— 69
Crescent 10 10 7 9 —36
Clallam Bay (69) — Hull 19, Angulo 14, Mendoza 10, McNally 7,
Crescent (36) — J. Sprague 16, L. Sprague 9, Chartier 7, L. Harris 7.
Neah Bay 79, Chief Kitsap 30
SUQUAMISH — Tyler Swan led the way with 26 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block as the Red Devils ran away from the Bears.
Eugene Ray added 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting, while Favor Ray added nine and Mathias Greene had eight.
The Red Devils (2-0, 6-3) visit Crescent tonight.
Neah Bay 79, Chief Kitsap 30
Neah Bay 16 19 25 19 — 79
Chief Kit. 5 10 8 7 — 30
Neah Bay (79) — Swan 26, E. Ray 12, F. Ray 9, M. Greene 8, Barton 6, Jimmicum 5, A. Greene 5, Cummings 4, Chartraw 4.
