EVERETT — The wound is too fresh right now, the disappointment is too raw and the taste is too sour.
The Peninsula Pirates’ hearts are too broken.
But eventually, they will look back and realize what they accomplished this season.
The conclusion wasn’t great. The Pirates lost 76-59 to Lane on Sunday in the Northwest Athletic Conference women’s basketball championship game.
Afterwards, they had little interest in that second-place trophy.
“You know it’s just really hard,” Peninsula coach Alison Crumb said Sunday.
“I don’t mind accepting [the trophy]. It’s just, if you went into a game wanting the second-place trophy, then you didn’t deserve to belong here.
“We didn’t want it. Lane didn’t want it. Of course, yeah, I’m sure the person who got fifth or sixth or whatever would rather take second, but in this moment in time, it’s not why we came into this game, and it’s certainly not what we wanted at the conclusion of it.
“It’s not a fun feeling.”
But that second-place trophy will look pretty nice next to the championship they won last year.
Not only does it complement the Pirates’ first-ever title, it also backs it up. It is proof that 2014-15 wasn’t a fluke and that the Pirates probably aren’t going anywhere.
“In hindsight, you’ll appreciate it,” Crumb said.
“Even three days from now, it’ll be like, ‘Wow, this is pretty special.’
“Right now, it sucks.”
The Lane Titans certainly are worthy champions. They beat Peninsula three times this season. They also beat the third-place finisher, Wenatchee Valley, three times. They had two wins over fourth-place Spokane.
They lost their only game on a cold-shooting night to Umpqua, but also beat the Riverhawks by 22 points. Umpqua was ranked second in the final NWAC coaches show before stumbling in the NWAC tournament, losing to Peninsula and then Spokane.
Lane also won its two meetings with seventh-ranked Clackamas by 15 and 18 points.
The Titans are the current powerhouse of the conference. They have won five NWAC titles in the past 11 years. They’ve also earned two second-place trophies over the past 12 seasons, including last year when they lost the title game to Peninsula.
The Pirates are worthy runner-ups. They finish with a 25-6 record. Three of those losses were to Lane, two were to Bellevue and the other was to Wenatchee.
Only two of those losses came in 2016, and Peninsula entered Sunday’s title game on a 12-game winning streak.
The Pirates defeated nine of the 16 teams that made this year’s NWAC tournament. In fact, 12 of their 26 victories — almost half — were against tournament teams.
They went 13-1 while claiming their second consecutive North Region title.
The sophomore class of Zhara Laster, Cierra Moss, Amanda Hutchins, Cherish Moss, Imani Smith, Savanna Gonzales and Nika Criddle is the most accomplished in school history.
They were part of an NWAC championship and runner-up finish. They made it to the title game two years in a row.
“That’s an accomplishment that not many can say, you know, they accomplished, I guess you could say,” Smith said after Sunday’s game.
“That’s what Crumb talked to us about after the game, she told us not to let this 40 minutes define who we are as players.
“She pointed out the sophomores . . . how we won one last year and had the opportunity to possibly win another. We didn’t do it, but not many people get to go win one and then get to compete again for another.”
The sophomores also have two North Region titles to their credit.
In their two seasons at Peninsula College, the Pirates went 48-11 overall and 26-2 in region play.
“They’re just such good people,” Crumb said.
“I think we get to this point and it’s all about the basketball and what we’re doing, but it’s like, you have to have that factor that doesn’t show up in the stat line to get you here.
“There are so many teams that are talented that just didn’t get here for whatever reason.
“Our sophomores are our leaders and they just have something about them, it’s just strong and they’re good people, too, they deserve it.
“They’ve got good karma on their side, because they do the right things.”
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Sports Editor Lee Horton can be reached at 360-417-3525 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.
