PORT ANGELES — Team A is 6-4. They’ve lost to Wenatchee Valley, Big Bend and twice to Lane.

Team B is 9-4 with losses to Wenatchee Valley, Bellevue and Lane, twice.

Team A is the 2014-15 Peninsula College women’s basketball team before Northwest Athletic Conference North Region play began last January. The Pirates lost only one more game — to Bellevue — and went on to claim the NWAC championship by beating nemesis Lane in the title game.

Team B is the 2015-16 Peninsula women’s team, which opens NWAC North play at Edmonds (1-11) on Saturday.

The Pirates are coming off a rough 84-53 loss to Lane on Dec. 19 in the Battle in the Olympics crossover tournament title game in Port Angeles.

Viewed with the context of a defending champion, particularly one that started this season 6-0, the Pirates’ start this season might seem disappointing, while a similar start last year was anything but.

That shellacking Lane dealt Peninsula on its own home court is particularly discouraging. But maybe that was more about the unbeaten Titans being really good than anything related to the Pirates.

Peninsula shot 23 percent from the field in that game and scored only 20 points in the second half. The Pirates were in the game until they went ice cold.

Peninsula also struggled with their shooting in the first two tournament games, but still managed to earn impressive double-digit victories over South Puget Sound and Big Bend.

The Pirates also have wins over Walla Walla, Columbia Basin, Lower Columbia

and Centralia.

Discomfort zone

Opponents have found out that facing zone defense is

Peninsula’s kryptonite.

“When we got hot and won six games in a row [to start the season], we didn’t see zone once, and so now teams are going to zone us,” Pirates coach Alison Crumb said following the loss to Lane.

“It slows us up, we’re not moving the ball quick enough, we’re not getting into the key, we’re not making good decisions off the dribble.

“We don’t feel comfortable yet in a zone, and that’s something we’ll just need to work on and continue to work on and work on and work on until we do.”

The beauty of the nonleague, or nonregion, season is that teams get exposed before the games actually count.

And with the long break between games, the Pirates have had plenty of time to work on facing a zone once the players returned from their Christmas vacations home.

During the busy Thanksgiving-to-Christmas schedule, which also included finals at school, Crumb said the Pirates only had five or six practices. That didn’t give them much time to work on facing zone defenses.

“We’ve just got to do it enough in practice to where we get better,” Crumb said.

“We have the players to do it, we have the players to beat it.

“I’m not worried about it.”

Defensively, the Pirates are in good shape. Only three times have they allowed more than 65 points this season, twice to Lane and once to Wenatchee Valley.

Early region outlook

The Pirates, Bellevue (9-3) and Skagit Valley (10-6) appear to be the early favorites to lock down the top two spots in the NWAC North. The top finishers in each region earn home games in the first round of the conference’s new postseason format.

Other than Everett at 7-7, the rest of the North is under .500. Olympic is 5-7, and Shoreline (2-7), Edmonds (1-11) and Whatcom (0-11) have a combined record of 3-29.

Three of the sixth NWAC teams with two wins or less are in the North.

Statistical standouts

Neah Bay graduate Cierra Moss leads the Pirates in scoring with at 15.9 points per game, which ranks 15th in the NWAC.

Moss also is ninth in the conference in free-throw shooting at 81.1 percent (43 for 53).

Zhara Laster ranks first in steals (3.46) and sixth in rebounds (10.9) per game. She has made 45 steals and pulled down 141 rebounds in 13 games.

Imani Smith is 10th in steals with an average of 2.62 (34 in 13 games).

PENINSULA MEN

The Peninsula men also had a problem with zone defenses earlier in the season, but coach Mitch Freeman said the Pirates have put that behind them.

“We have since faced zone defenses . . . and we’ve done very well,” Freeman said Monday. “We’d love for team to zone us [now].

“I don’t think we’ll see a whole lot of zone.”

Holiday rebound

The Pirates (7-6) finish their nonleague schedule today at Pierce (4-9).

Freeman said he likes having a few games after the players return forom traveling home for Christmas because it helps ensure the Pirates aren’t rusty when they begin their NWAC North Region schedule.

“League play is so important,” Freeman said. “Nonconference is great to see where your team’s at, great to see how guys develop, but league play is where it’s at.”

Peninsula jumps right into the deep end of region play, opening against defending North champion Edmonds (11-2), which was the runner-up at last season’s NWAC tournament, on Saturday.

Early region outlook

Making the postseason will be tough in the hellacious NWAC North

“Whatcom, Everett and Edmonds have risen to the top [in nonleague play],” Freeman said.

“All three of those teams can score very well, they defend really consistently.”

Whatcom is 13-3, Everett is 9-6.

Then there’s the Pirates, who return most of the players from last season’s third-place finish at the NWAC tournament.

And don’t forget Bellevue (9-6), Skagit Valley (7-6), which is dealing with injuries, and the always tough Shoreline (5-6).

Only four of those teams can make it to the postseason. So three good teams could get left out in March.

Freeman said the Pirates aren’t looking that far ahead, though.

“We’re focusing on what’s in front of us,”

“Looking to far into the future can be stressful

“What is happening right now, where are we at — when our focus is there, it allows us to play harder.”

Statistical standouts

Peninsula sophomore Deonte Dixon ranks 12th in the NWAC in scoring with a 19.1 average.

Post players Jeremiah Hobbs (37 for 60, 61.7 percent) and Dimitri Amos (69 for 115, 60 percent) are both in the top 20 in field goal percentage among those with at least 35 attempts.

Ryley Callaghan is 17th in free-throw percentage. He’s made 45 of 56, or 80.4 percent, from the line this season.

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Sports Editor Lee Horton can be reached at 360-417-3525 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.