PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles girls basketball team had little trouble justifying its new state ranking Friday night.
Putting together one of its more complete games this season, the Roughriders (8-0 in league, 10-2 overall) dominated upstart Klahowya in a 67-21 Olympic League win.
Jessica Madison scored her customary 26 points while also dishing out six assists in Port Angeles’ fifth straight win.
The Riders, now ranked ninth in Class 3A, have outscored their opponents by an average of 28.4 points during that streak.
“One of our focusses all year is trying to play 32 minutes of basketball,” Port Angeles coach Mike Knowles said. “Tonight was the closest we’ve got to 32 minutes all year.”
“They came out focussed for this game. I think they felt like they’d earned something [with the state ranking]. So they felt like they had to show that the respect was true.”
They wasted little time in doing that on Friday, outscoring Klahowya 20-2 in the first quarter and 38-7 in the first half.
Finishing out the rest of the game became a mere formality.
“That was a clinic,” Port Angeles assistant coach Lee Sinnes said.
Indeed, Port Angeles’ zone defense forced Klahowya (4-4, 7-4) into as many turnovers (20) as it had shots in the first half.
The offense was nearly as dominant during the same time period, hitting 13-of-30 (43.3 percent) shots from the floor and dishing out 10 assists to just eight turnovers.
And this was against an Eagles squad that came into the game having won four of its last five games.
“I think we played really well together as a team,” Madison said. “Our defense was good.
“After the last game we got yelled at bad for [our] defense. During practice the next day we really focussed on it.”
Reserve Elise Reid came off the bench to score nine points.
Kiah Jones had eight points and two assists, Skylar Jones six points and 10 rebounds and Taylyn Jeffers six points and six rebounds.
Alison Knowles added four points, four rebounds and four assists for the Riders.
The win allowed Port Angeles to close out the first half of its Olympic League season with a perfect league record.
Only second-place Kingston (7-1, 8-4), which Port Angeles beat 56-54 on the road early in the season, has stayed within single digits.
“I think that showed a lot of people what we can do,” Madison said. “It showed what we’re capable of doing, and it’s nice that other people have recognized us [with the state ranking].
“But still, it’s just a ranking. You have to go out and play.”
Port Angeles begins the second half with a home game against Bremerton on Tuesday.
“Personally, I’d rather just get the job done and go in [to the postseason] and then people go ‘Who are you?'” Knowles said. “But that’s me being selfish.
“If people think they are that good, and they play like they did tonight, then they need to be given that credit.”
Port Angeles 67, Klahowya 21
Klahowya 2 5 8 6 — 21
Port Angeles 20 18 14 15 — 67
Individual Scoring
Klahowya (21)
Drake 6, Durbin 4, McElwee 2, Dixon 4, Newman 3, Schultz 2.
Port Angeles (67)
K. Jones 8, Knowles 4, Stevenson 5, Reid 9, S. Jones 6, Madison 26, Jeffers 6, Walker 3.
