LAKEWOOD — A slow start doomed the Peninsula College women’s basketball team in its latest matchup with one of the Northwest Athletic Conference’s elite.
The fifth-ranked Pirates’s five-game win streak was snapped with a 77-68 loss to No. 2 Lane in the Raider Invitational championship game at Pierce College Fort Steilacoom.
The Titans’ win Sunday earned them their fifth Raider Invitational championship in six years.
“The [Lane] program is tough and is always competitive at the NWAC tournament,” Peninsula coach Alison Crumb said.
“For us, it was a good opportunity to play a team we expect to be competitive with in postseason.”
Unfortunately for the Pirates, they made it too easy for Lane in the early shooting only 31 percent from the field in the first half, including
2 of 11 on 3-pointers.
“It’s hard to stay in a game when you are not making shots and you’re not taking the right shots against a team that can score like Lane,” Crumb said.
“I think when our offense became flat, our defense followed, and we played one of the worst defensive halves of the year, allowing 46 first-half points.”
Similar to their only other loss this season, the Pirates settled for too many long-distance shots.
“It resembled the loss against Wenatchee at home where we forced shots from the outside, because they were playing a pack in zone to cover our athletic guards and center inside,” Crumb said.
“We’re a good 3-point shooting team, but that is not what we rely on to win, and so far we have struggled when teams have zoned us. It’s just something we have to work on.”
Peninsula came out stronger in the second half, outscoring Lane 35-31 after a much better defensive effort.
The Pirates chipped way at the 13-point halftime lead, and even tied the score up at 52 with about 5 minutes remaining, but couldn’t get over the hump.
“Obviously, this wasn’t our best offensive game, and our defense only showed up for 20 minutes. So you play a team like Lane and most likely you’re going to lose every time if that’s the case,” Crumb said.
“I’m proud of how we battled and didn’t give up, but we need to learn, move on, and be better the next time around.”
The Pirates (5-2) will have a chance to apply the lessons they learned when they face Lane (8-1) in the opening round of the Green River Crossover on Thursday at 5 p.m. at Green River Community College in Auburn.
Before that, though, Peninsula hosts Highline (2-4) tonight at 5 p.m., the Pirates’ last home game until Jan. 10.
“Highline is athletic and aggressive, and we are coming off three tough days of basketball,” Crumb said.
“It’s about how you handle adversity. We have seven games in nine days, and that’s tough, but we want our nonconference schedule to be tough.
“It makes us better, so I’m all for it. Bring it on.”
Imani Smith led Peninsula on Sunday with 20 points and four assists. Smith, a freshman, was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 19.7 points over three games.
Gabi Fenumiai and Neah Bay’s Cierra Moss added 11 points each, Madison Pilster scored nine and Zhara Laster contributed eight points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Jordan Kimbrough, the tournament MVP, scored 23 points for the Titans, while Jacia Jointer, another all-tournament honoree, scored 21.
