PORT ANGELES — These girls just wanna have some fun.
That and win enough games to bring a trophy home, preferably the top trophy.
The Peninsula College women’s basketball team is seeking its first NWAACC championship when it begins play in the season-ending tourney Saturday.
The Pirates, the No. 4 seed from the North Division (17-9 overall, 11-5 in conference) open the tourney against South Division champion Lane of Eugene, Ore., (23-4, 13-1) at 4 p.m. in the Toyota Center at Kennewick.
The 16-team tourney is double-elimination.
The Peninsula women have never won an NWAACC tournament trophy before.
“It should be a fun tournament,” Peninsula coach Alison Crumb said.
“We want a trophy, but we really want the biggest trophy.”
The Pirates first have to get by Lane, which no doubt wants that same trophy.
Both teams match up well with speed on speed.
The two teams aren’t strangers as Lane shaded Peninsula by just three points in the semifinals of the Pierce Tournament earlier this season in Lakewood.
No slow pokes here
This one will be a horse race.
“They like to get up and down the floor,” Crumb, a former standout Port Angeles High School and Peninsula College player, said.
“They’re like us. They are quick.”
The Titans are like the Pirates, too, when it comes to extending the defense.
“They like to press,” Crumb said.
“Not many teams have pressed us this year. We like to press, too.
“We’re best on the open floor. We don’t like to set up [in a half-court] game.”
“We’re excited about playing Lane,” Crumb said, “because we can play a full-court game.”
The main reason most teams don’t like to press the Pirates is because of freshman point guard Karli Brakes of Juneau, Alaska, who was named to the North Division’s all-defensive team.
“She’s so quick that it makes it hard to press us,” Crumb said.
“Karli has wheels.”
That will make an interesting matchup with Lane, another quick team, Crumb said.
“I’m looking forward to see how Lane defends us.”
Lane’s version of Brakes is speedster Kersey Wilcox, a freshman who made the South Division’s All-Star first team and who also was picked as the South’s freshman of the year.
“They’re a great defensive team,” Crumb said about the Titans.
“It will be a challenge for us but we’re looking forward to playing them.”
Lane is scorching-hot right now with an 11-game winning streak.
Another problem for the Pirates will be Lane center Megan Shields, a second-team all-star, who is a strong 6-foot-1 inside presence.
“Megan is a solid player with a big body who works well in the paint,” Crumb said.
The Pirates also will be paying attention to South second-team all-star Reed Levings, who also is on the South all-defensive team with teammate Joleen Chanco.
Lane coach Greg Sheley was voted South Division coach of the year.
Peninsula will counter Shields with their own standout post, 5-11 freshman Taylor Larson of Juneau, a high school teammate of Brakes.
Larson, the Pirates’ top scorer, made the North Division all-star first team and was voted the North’s freshman of the year.
The Pirates, looking to have fun in the four-day tourney and bring home a trophy, will play the winner between Clark (20-6) and Yakima Valley (20-7) if they beat Lane in the championship quarterfinals Sunday at 4 p.m. while the losers in the two games will meet in the loser-out consolation quarterfinals Sunday at 10 a.m.
If Peninsula keeps winning, it will play in the semifinals Monday at 8 p.m. and the championship final Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
