OLYMPIA — Times and dates have been set for four Olympic Peninsula prep basketball teams that qualified for the regional round of the 1B, 2B and 2A state basketball tournaments, with two games Friday and two Saturday.
The Port Angeles girls, who were the Olympic League champions and came in third in the 2A bidistrict tournament with a win Saturday over Enumclaw, garnered a No. 11 seed. The Roughriders got good news and bad news with their seed. They are in a loser-out bracket, but they get a game against a relatively low seed in No. 14 West Valley of Spokane (13-9). The Riders are ranked No. 10 in the state in Ratings Percentage Index while West Valley is ranked No. 26.
The other good news is that, for once, Port Angeles doesn’t have to cross the Cascades or take a ferry trip to play a regional game. Port Angeles’ game is relatively close at Tacoma Community College and will be played at 2 p.m. Saturday. This game is scheduled on the NFHS Network online (NFHSnetwork.com) with a subscription.
If the Riders win, they begin play at the 2A state tournament at the Yakima SunDome on Feb. 28.
Neah Bay girls
The defending state champion Neah Bay girls are ranked No. 1 in the state and won the 1B tridistrict tournament over Mount Vernon Christian, the No. 2-ranked team in the state.
Neah Bay (19-2) plays Curlew (20-3), a fairly high-ranked team at No. 4 in the state, also at Tacoma CC at 6 p.m. Friday. Curlew is a tiny town at the extreme northern border of central Washington a few miles from the British Columbian city of Grand Forks.
This is a seeding game, with the Red Devils moving on to the state tournament at the Spokane Arena win or lose. If Neah Bay wins, the Red Devils get a first-round bye and don’t play again until Feb. 29, already in the state quarterfinals. If Neah Bay loses, it plays Feb. 28 in a loser-out game in Spokane. This game is not listed on the NFHS Network schedule. It’s possible it may be added to the schedule later.
Forks girls
The Forks girls (19-7, No. 9 RPI) qualified for state the hard way, as the Spartans were forced to win three straight loser-out games at the District 4 2B tournament.
The Spartans, Pacific 2B League champions, got a low seed at No. 14 and will play No. 11 seed Cle Elum-Rosyln (17-7, No. 14 RPI). This will essentially be a home game for Cle Elum as it will be played at nearby Ellensburg High School at 6 p.m. Friday. This game is on the NFHS Network. This is a loser-out game. Win and the Spartans head to the state tournament on Feb. 28 at the Spokane Arena.
Neah Bay boys
The Neah Bay boys (19-4, No. 4 RPI) have been red-hot since losing their first three games of the year. Their only loss was this weekend in the tridistrict tournament championship game against Lummi, the No. 1-ranked team in the state.
Neah Bay got a nice seed at No. 4, meaning they will move on to the Spokane Arena win or lose. The Red Devils will play No. 5 seed DeSales (20-4, No. 6 RPI) at 2 p.m. Saturday at Kamiakin High School in Kennewick. DeSales is a private Catholic school out of Walla Walla. This game is on the NFHS Network.
If Neah Bay wins, the Red Devils get a first-round bye in Spokane and move straight into the state quarterfinals on Feb. 29. Lose and they play a loser-out game at the Spokane Arena on Feb. 28.
