Only three prep basketball teams from the North Olympic Peninsula are alive with two weeks to play.
The Port Angeles girls basketball squad and the Neah Bay boys and girls teams play in the regionals this weekend with winner-to-state, loser-out games.
All or nothing.
The Roughriders take on state powerhouse River Ridge of Lacey in 2A regionals at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma on Saturday starting at 4 p.m.
The Red Devil boys open regional play tonight against Shorewood Christian at Mountlake Terrace High School at 8 while the Neah Bay girls play Grace Academy on Saturday night at 6, also at Mountlake Terrace.
Port Angeles will have its hands full against the Hawks, who captured third in state a year ago and have won the state championship in three of the past five years, including 2010, 2008 and 2007.
In 2009, the Hawks went two-and-out at state.
The Riders, meanwhile, haven’t placed at state since 2001, when they took fifth. They went two-and-out last year.
“They have been good for a decade,” Port Angeles coach Michael Poindexter said about the Hawks.
“They are extremely quick,” Poindexter said.
That speed starts at River Ridge’s three-prong attack that is led by 5-foot-9 senior shooting guard and speedster Necy Wade.
A state-class sprinter, Wade is the defending state 100-meter champion, 200 runner-up, and she also shoots lights-out.
“Necy is a very good scorer and she is really, really quick,” Poindexter said.
Then there is senior point guard Kyahri Adams, who is — you guessed it — quick.
Oh, and she also has a deadly shooting touch.
“Kyahri is very, very good penetrating in the middle,” Poindexter said.
Just when you thought all the Hawks are relatively short and fast, there’s the third part of the three-prong attack, 5-11 sophomore post Rebecca Stevenson.
“Rebecca has good size inside, she has a soft shooting touch and she is hard to defend,” Poindexter said.
The Hawks can shoot from the outside or inside, and they like to defend a number of ways, including full-court press, trapping and various zones.
“You have to be prepared for anything,” Pointdexter said.
“Overall, they have quickness and the ability to slice inside and score.”
The Hawks, though, can be beaten. They have the same record as the Riders at 17-7 and have let a few teams come from behind for victories.
“Teams have found the ability to make runs on them after being down,” Poindexter said.
The Riders have a good shot at winning because they have the maturity to not panic when they get behind.
“We have played in close games and won,” Poindexter said.
The Riders need to limit mistakes to have a shot at beating the Hawks.
“We have to take care of the basketball,” Poindexter said.
A victory against such a strong team as River Ridge, though, would give Port Angeles confidence going in the 2A state championships, set for March 1-3 at Yakima Valley SunDome.
