PORT ANGELES — Neah Bay’s Moss sisters, Cierra and Cherish, combined to hit 7 of 16 shots from 3-point range to spark the Peninsula College women to a 75-57 victory against Skagit Valley.
“It was good to see [Cierra] and Cherish hit a few outside shots,” Pirates coach Alison Crumb said of Wednesday’s game.
“They’ve been struggling and it was good to see them have some fun and really enjoy themselves in a game.”
Peninsula’s win, coupled with Bellevue’s 90-65 blowout of Whatcom, sets up a three-way tie for first place between the Pirates, Cardinals and Bulldogs at 5-1 in Northwest Athletic Conference North Region play.
“I thought we were very strong mentally,” Crumb said.
“Sometimes we tend to have those lulls and have to overexert ourselves, and this was more of a 40-minute-type game, not that we played perfect, but we were mentally engaged for the full 40 minutes.”
Peninsula started slow, trailing 8-2 after the first five minutes.
Two straight baskets by Cierra Moss, including a 3-pointer, helped ignite the offense as the Pirates closed the quarter on a 13-6 run to lead 15-14.
“I could tell by the way she started the game she was going to have a good game,” Crumb said. “I could see it in her eyes. She hit a few shots early and didn’t really cease.”
Cierra Moss led all scorers with 27 points on 9 of 18 shooting, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range. She added six rebounds and three assists.
Peninsula dealt with foul trouble to Zhara Laster, Anaya Rodisha,Tai Thomas and Jenise McKnight in the second quarter, but managed to keep building its lead.
Imani Smith and Rodisha each nabbed two steals, Rodisha’s coming on consecutive possessions and leading to two straight baskets as the Pirates pushed to a 35-26 halftime advantage.
“That’s the thing about Skagit, they don’t turn over the ball,” Crumb said.
“They are kind of a possession team, and we also outrebounded them, particularly in the first half.”
Cherish Moss heated up in the third quarter, knocking down three 3s in three minutes, to put Peninsula ahead 52-33 halfway through the period.
“That stretch was huge for our team because we know how strong a shooter she is,” Crumb said.
“It was nice to see her hang in there after missing a few shots in the first half.
“The reaction on the bench was almost ecstatic for her.”
Another huge cheer erupted from the Pirates’ bench when Alicia Dugan drove the baseline for a layup and a 58-38 Peninsula lead at the end of the third quarter.
Skagit Valley whittled away at the Pirates’ lead, coming as close as 61-48 with seven minutes to play.
Peninsula answered, however, as Smith notched two straight layups on nifty feeds from Daijhan Cooks and Cierra Moss.
Post Jenise McKnight scored down low for the Pirates on back-to-back possessions as Peninsula upped its advantage to 19, 69-50, with five minutes to go.
“Skagit went on a roll there, but we were able to get it back up to nearly 20,” Crumb said.
“I’m proud of the girls for not getting into that five- minute slump and maintaining a high level of play.”
McKnight scored eight points on 4 of 5 shooting in just under 12 minutes of court time.
Her play, coupled with fellow posts Cooks and Tai Thomas, also was impactful.
“They are some of our strongest players, so we wanted to get more than one of them in the game together,” Crumb said.
“Particularly with Zhara [Laster] in foul trouble. We needed them. We’ve got some great post play, so it was a matter of keep feeding them the ball and giving them opportunities.”
The Pirates host Shoreline (2-4, 4-11) at 4 p.m. Saturday.
________
Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-452-2345, ext. 5250 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
