PORT ANGELES — Peninsula College will host two fellow region leaders and a couple of familiar faces at the eight-team Battle in the Olympics starting today.
The Northwest Athletic Conference women’s basketball North Region Crossover tournament is also the 2015-16 home debut for the defending champion Pirates, whose victory tour has included 10 road games throughout the state.
“It’s taken a toll on everybody,” Peninsula coach Alison Crumb said.
“We’re just really excited to be home and be able to get some energy playing in front of people who support us.”
The Pirates’ first game at the crossover is against South Puget Sound tonight at 7 p.m.
The Clippers feature a pair of 2014 Port Angeles High School graduates Krista Johnson and Lenora Hofer.
Johnson, a guard, is South Puget Sound’s second-leading scorer with an average of 13.5 points per game.
Johnson grew up in Neah Bay before moving to Port Angeles during the eighth grade, and is good friends with Peninsula’s Neah Bay natives Cierra and Cherish Moss.
“Krista and the Moss sisters are really close, and because of that, she knows other players on our team,” Crumb said.
“She’s a hometown favorite. She’s a great kid, she’s a really nice person.”
“It’s going to be a great opening night.”
Johnson also leads the team in 3-pointers made with 26.
“She’s playing very well,” Crumb said. “Good shooter; we’re going to have to key on that.”
Hofer, a forward, averages 4.7 points off the bench for the Clippers.
She also played softball for South Puget Sound this past spring.
If Peninsula (7-3) beats the Clippers, who lead the West Region with a 6-2 record, they’ll face the winner between Big Bend and Portland in Friday’s semifinals.
If the Pirates win both of their first two games then they will move on to the championship game Saturday at 4 p.m.
On the other side of the bracket is Lane (7-0), the only undefeated team remaining in the NWAC.
Peninsula defeated the Titans in the NWAC championship game in March, but Lane beat the Pirates 82-72 at last week’s Raider Invitational at Pierce College.
Lane faces Spokane in the tournament’s opening game this afternoon at 1 p.m. against Spokane.
In Peninsula (North), South Puget Sound (West) and Lane (South), the Battle in the Olympic features three of the NWAC’s region leaders.
Admission to the tournament is $6 per day for adults, and $4 for seniors (55 and older), veterans and youth ages 13-17. Peninsula College students and children 12 and younger get in for free.
Here is a quick look at all eight teams competing at the North Region Crossover.
Peninsula Pirates
■ Record: 7-3, first in North.
■ Players to watch: Cierra Moss (16.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg), Imani Smith (14.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.5 spg), Zhara Laster (11.8 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 3.6 spg, 2.7 apg), Cherish Moss (6.3 ppg).
■ Notes: Cierra Moss ranks 15th in the NWAC in scoring and 17th in free-throw percentage (80 percent); Laster is seventh in rebounds and third in steals; Smith is 16th in steals.
South Puget Sound Clippers
■ Record: 6-2, first in West.
■ Players to watch: Savannah McGill (16.9 ppg, 15.1 rpg), Krista Johnson (13.5 ppg, 26/66 3pfg), Sydney Sauls (11.8 ppg), Lenora Hofer (4.7 ppg).
■ Notes: McGill, a 6-foot-1 freshman, ranks first in the NWAC in rebounding and 13th in scoring. She has had two games of at least 20 points and 20 rebounds as well as a 25-point, 18-rebound performance.
Big Bend Vikings
■ Record: 4-3, fifth in East.
■ Players to watch: Max Shelly (15.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.9 apg), Deanna Manning (7.4 ppg, 10.6 rpg).
■ Notes: Five of the Vikings first seven games were against North Region teams. They’ve gone 1-4 against Peninsulas league foes.
Portland Panthers
■ Record: 1-7, ninth in South.
■ Players to watch: Angelique Williams (24 ppg), Deijonae Slade (16.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg), Shyanne Akles (9.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg).
■ Notes: Last in the NWAC in scoring with 49.9 points per game, but Williams played her first game of the season game last week and put up 24 points.
Centralia Trailblazers
■ Record: 5-3, third in West.
■ Players to watch: Susan Kenney (14.5 ppg, 3.6 apg, 3 spg), Tiana Thompson (13.9 ppg, 7 rpg), Alisha Sorensen (12.88 ppg, 7.6 rpg), Sydnie Cole-Vogler (13 ppg, 6.3 rpg).
■ Notes: Lost to Peninsula 69-55 last month. Cole-Vogler led the Trailblazers with 15 points and nine rebounds.
Shoreline Dolphins
■ Record: 2-5, sixth in North.
■ Players to watch: Darrien Dolquist-Larson (12.7 ppg, 4.6, rpg, 2.4 spg), Dani Hayes 11 ppg, 4.4 apg, 3 spg), Paris Sanders (5.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg).
■ Notes: With two wins so far, the Dolphins have already surpassed last season’s win total by two games.
Spokane Sasquatch
■ Record: 7-2, second in East.
■ Players to watch: Brianna King (14.3 ppg, 3.4 apg), Khadija Neumeyer (13.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg).
■ Notes: Sasquatch are on a four-game win streak. One of their two losses to Lane 85-80.
Lane Titans
■ Record: 7-0, first in South.
■ Players to watch: Jordan Kimbrough (18.4 ppg, 9.3 rpg), Shelby Snook (17.9 ppg, 7.3 apg), Bre Dubois (12.6 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 4.4 apg, 2 spg).
■ Notes: Kimbrough was the MVP of the Raider Invitational. The Titans beat Peninsula twice last December but lost to the Pirates when it counted most in the NWAC title game.
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Sports Editor Lee Horton can be reached at 360-417-3525 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.
