PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles girls basketball team, which was given everything it could handle and then some from a feisty North Mason squad, had to dig deep to rally in the final three minutes for a hard-fought 46-41 West Central District 3 tournament victory.
This was the toughest Roughriders’ win all season as the Bulldogs maintained a lead through most of the second half and had built that lead to 39-34 with under three minutes left in the game. The Riders switched to a press defense, forcing some turnovers and bad shots to finish the game on a 12-2 run over the final 2:41.
“North Mason is playing really well right now. They’re tough,” said Port Angeles coach Michael Poindexter.
Poindexter said the team has been hit hard by illness and in fact didn’t have Mikkiah Stevens available. He also said the team had a lot of early-game jitters.
In the end, Poindexter credited the press defense for rattling North Mason on its offensive end.
“Our depth came in to play. We had a little more left in our tank than they did,” he said. “That press gave us back our aggressive persona. I’m really proud of our kids.”
With the win, Port Angeles won two out of three games this year against North Mason. The Bulldogs beat the Riders 30-29 early in the year and Port Angeles came back with a 58-33 win later in the season.
Teanna Clark struggled with her shooting much of the game, not hitting a single shot from the field until 2:03 left in the game when she drilled a critical 3-pointer to knot the score at 39-39.
With 27 seconds left, Clark swished another 3-pointer to ice the game at 46-41. She added six assists to go with her six points.
How did she drill those two shots in 90 seconds after missing all game?
“I just move on. I just tell myself that the next play is all that matters,” Clark said.
“She hung in. I’m really proud of her,” Poindexter said of Clark.
It was senior Lexie Smith’s final home game for the Riders. She had a huge game with 13 points, shooting 7-for-8 on her free throws. She also had seven rebounds, six assists and four steals.
“It feels amazing” to have won this game,” Smith said. “We told ourselves not to play for ourselves but for each other. We want to make it [in the playoffs] as far as we can.”
It was 39-34 with 2:41 left in the game. It appeared North Mason was going to hang on for a win to send Port Angeles into the consolation bracket. Smith was fouled and her two free throws pulled Port Angeles to within 39-36. After a steal, the Riders got the ball to Clark, who hit her first 3-pointer.
After another steal, Lindsay Smith broke out on a fast break and was fouled going to the basket. She hit a free throw to give the Riders their first lead of the second half at 40-39 with 1:48 left.
After a North Mason miss and Port Angeles rebound, Lindsay Smith made a half-court pass to Becca Manson, who hit her only basket of the game with 52 seconds left to make the score 42-39.
Morgan Politika made another steal and hit a free throw and North Mason responded with a pair of free throws to make it 43-41. Clark put the game away with her second 3-pointer.
Lindsay Smith had a huge game as she went toe-to-toe with fellow first-team all-Olympic League player Adrienne Tupolo. Tupolo was pretty much the entire North Mason offense with 24 points, while Smith had 19 points, 13 rebounds and two blocked shots. She shot 4-for-7 on her 3-point shots.
In fact, the Tupolo sisters, Adrienne and Adrianna, and the Smith sisters, Lindsay and Lexie, combined to score 61 out of the game’s 87 points.
Kenzie Moses hit a 3-pointer for Port Angeles while Manson had six rebounds.
Port Angeles (15-6) will now play No. 2 seed Eatonville (16-2) at 5 p.m. today at Foss High School. The winner goes to the state tournament and to the district championship game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Mount Tahoma High School. The loser plays Saturday at Foss High School against either Kingston or Fife, with the winner of that game moving on to state as the district’s third-place team.
Port Angeles 46, North Mason 41
NM 9 12 11 9 — 46
PA 8 11 10 17 — 41
Port Angeles (46) — Lindsay Smith 19, Lexie Smith 13, Clark 6, Moses 3, Alward 2, Manson 2, Politika 1.
KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS Port Angeles’ Lexie Smith, left, is blockaded in the lane by, from center left, North Mason’s Adrianna Tupolo, Adrianne Tupolo and Natalya Garcia on Tuesday at Port Angeles High School.
KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS Teanna Clark of Port Angeles, front, receives a pass as North Mason’s Natalya Garcia puts up a block on Tuesday evening in Port Angeles.
