PORT ANGELES — The Peninsula College women snapped a two-game losing streak, pulling away in the final minutes to fend off an Olympic College team that wouldn’t go away.
The Pirates won 71-62 to improve to 8-6.
Olympic came in with an 0-12 record and, after the Pirates got off to a 12-2 start to open the game, it appeared they would have an easy win.
Peninsula held a double-digit lead for much of the game and was up 43-27 at the half. But the Rangers fought back, outscoring the Pirates 22-14 in the third quarter and cutting the lead to 60-56 with 6 minutes left in the game.
“We didn’t have a very good second half. We lost a lot of focus and energy. I wasn’t super impressed,” said coach Alison Crumb. “I’m happy to have a team that can gut out a win when they don’t play their best. We’ll always take a win.”
The Pirates, behind a number of clutch plays from Sequim’s Hope Glasser, went on a 10-4 run over the next 5:20 to put Olympic away. Glasser had two buckets and two free throws during that stretch, along with a rebound and a steal.
Glasser ended up leading the Pirates in scoring with 16 points to go along with her eight rebounds, five assists and five steals. She also shot 5-for-7 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line. But it was a balanced effort with four players in double figures.
Crumb said part of the reason Olympic was able to claw its way back in the game is Glasser had to leave because she picked up her fourth foul.
“She’s an integral part of what we’re doing this year and our team next year,” Crumb said. “Her motor is so high and she works so hard.”
Tayvia Cabatbat had 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Keeli-Jade Smith had three 3-pointers, 11 points and seven rebounds and Ariyanna Camacho-Villafuerte had 11 points.
The Pirates didn’t shoot great at 36.6 percent, but they took 18 more shots than the Rangers. Peninsula, normally not a big 3-point shooting team, took 34 shots from beyond the arc, making nine.
“We were just lazy, to be perfectly honest. There’s not ever a game where we should take 34 3-pointers. They’ll learn from it,” Crumb said.
Port Townsend’s Jasmani Apker-Montoya had eight points and four rebounds for Olympic.
Peninsula plays at first-place Bellevue (11-4) today in a makeup game in the Pirates’ fifth game in nine days. The Pirates finish their season — there is no postseason — with a rare home game against Whatcom (8-3) at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Saturday’s men’s game against Edmonds was canceled.
Peninsula 71, Olympic 62
Oly. 13 14 22 13 — 62
PC 20 23 14 14 — 71
Olympic (62) — Pappuleas 16, Kahananui 11, Harder 10, Apker-Montoya 8, Neumann 8, Rodriguez 2, Ware 2.
Peninsula (16) — Glasser 16, Cabatbat 14, Camacho-Villafuerte 11, Smith 11, Brown 5, Kamae 5, Owens 4, Nicdao 3, Little 2.
Olympic’s Shaunya Kahanaui, left, and Peninsula’s Tasiah Little watch as ball slips out of their grasp on Saturday in Port Angeles. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Peninsula’s Tayvia Cabatbat, left, looks to pass while defended by Olympic’s Esther Pappuleas on Saturday at Peninsula College in Port Angeles.
