Basketball playoff season has arrived, with a whopping 13 teams on the North Olympic Peninsula qualifying for postseason.
Several of these teams have valid aspirations of making to the their various state tournaments, with more than one dreaming of making it to the finals.
Many of the first-round games will be played on the Peninsula this week. Here’s a quick rundown of the playoff games coming up in the next few days. Stay tuned for updates as some of the opponents and times become firmed up.
Boys Olympic League 2A
The Port Angeles boys won the Olympic League 2A championship along with North Kitsap, and because the Roughriders and Vikings split two games this year, they played a third tiebreaking game Saturday, which the Riders won 68-64. That gives Port Angeles a No. 1 seed in the West Central District III 2A Tournament and a first-round bye.
Port Angeles will host a second-round game at 7 p.m. Friday against either Fife (10-3, 16-6) or White River (8-5 12-7), which play in the South Puget Sound League Tournament Wednesday. Fife was the co-champion of the SPSL South while White River came in second in the SPSL East.
Port Angeles (12-1, 17-4) goes into the playoffs red-hot, having won 10 in a row and climbing up to No. 7 in the RPI rankings. The last time the Riders lost on Jan. 5, it was to Lynden Christian, the No. 1-ranked 1A team in the state.
Sequim (7-5, 12-8), which came in third in the Olympic League 2A Division, will go on the road to play Renton (12-1, 16-6) at 7 p.m. Thursday. Renton is the champion of the SPSL North, but fell down to a No. 6 seed by splitting two games in the SPSL Tournament.
Forks
The Evergreen 1A champion Forks (7-1, 16-4) boys are another red-hot team, having won 11 out of 12. Forks hosts the Trico 1A League No. 4 seed at 7 p.m. Thursday in the District 4 1A Tournament. It appears that’s going to be either Stevenson (3-7, 8-12) or Castle Rock (3-7, 8-12).
Port Townsend
The Redhawks (3-3, 9-8), the No. 2 seed in the Olympic League 1A Division, will host the Nisqually League No. 3 seed in the West Central District III 1A tournament at 6 p.m. Friday. It appears it will likely be Cascade Christian (4-2, 10-8).
North Olympic 1B
Two local boys’ teams made the Tri-District 1B tournament and their opening games will both be played at Port Angeles High School.
League champion Neah Bay (9-0, 14-6) has gotten hot, getting all of its players back and having won 10 out of its last 11 games after a slow start to the season. The Red Devils also went undefeated in the North Olympic 1B League. Neah Bay gets a first-round bye in the tournament and will play its first game on Feb. 12.
The Crescent boys also made the tournament, finishing second in the NOL. The Loggers (5-4, 8-8) will play its opening game on Saturday, at either 3 p.m. or 5 p.m.
Girls Olympic 2A League
The Port Angeles girls along with the boys also won the Olympic League 2A Division championship. Unlike the boys, the girls won the title outright, with no need to play a tiebreaker for the No. 1 seed.
As a No. 1 seed, the Roughriders get a first-round bye and will host a West Central District III 2A Tournament game at 7 p.m. Saturday against the winner of Eatonville and Franklin Pierce. Eatonville (9-4, 11-12) and Franklin Pierce (9-4, 14-8) tied for second in the SPSL 2A East.
Port Angeles (11-1, 17-3, No. 8 in RPI) managed to win the league championship despite losing three key contributors to injuries, including last year’s league MVP Millie Long. The Riders have a potential league MVP in sophomore Madison Cooke.
Sequim had its best season since at least 2006, going 8-4 and 13-6 overall, finishing third in the Olympic League 2A. The Wolves will go on the road to play Lindbergh at 7 p.m. Thursday. Lindbergh (7-6, 12-8) finished third in the SPSL 2A North, but won two out of three at the SPSL tournament to gain a home seed.
Olympic League 1A
The Chimacum girls won perhaps their first-ever Olympic League 1A title, going undefeated in league in what might be the final year for the Olympic League 1A. The Cowboys get a first-round bye and will play a West Central District III 1A Tournament game at Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma on Feb. 12 against the Nisqually No. 2 team, which appears will be either one of two very good teams — Annie Wright (8-1, 17-2) or Bellevue Christian (8-1, 18-1). Bellevue Christian is the No. 2-ranked 1A girls team in the state, while Annie Wright is ranked No. 5. So, the Cowboys will have their work cut out for them, though that game is not a loser-out affair.
The Cowboys have their own league MVP candidate in Mia McNair.
After a very slow start to their season, the Port Townsend girls made the postseason as the No. 2 seed out of the Olympic League 1A. The young Redhawks got off to a 1-10 start, but won five out of their last six games, including a crucial season-ending victory over Klahowya on Jan. 31 to qualify for postseason.
Port Townsend (2-4, 6-11) will host a playoff game at 6 p.m. Thursday against the Nisqually No. 4 seed, either Seattle Christian (3-6, 5-9) or Charles Wright (2-7, 10-9).
Forks
The Forks girls (2-6, 8-11) qualified for the postseason by beating Hoquiam in their final league game. The Spartans will go on the road to play King’s Way Christian (10-0, 14-6), the No. 1 seed out of the Trico League, in Vancouver at 7 p.m. Friday.
North Olympic League
The Neah Bay girls (9-0, 18-2, No. 5 in RPI) romped through the North Olympic 1B League, going undefeated in league. One of the highlights of the Red Devils’ season was beating a 4A school, Auburn, at the Crush in the Slush in December.
Neah Bay gets a first-round bye in the Tri-District 1B Tournament. The Red Devils will play a tournament game on Feb. 12 at Port Angeles High School.
Clallam Bay (6-3, 11-8) finished second in the NOL 1B League. The Bruins will play a Tri-District 1B game at Port Angeles High School on Saturday, likely at 3 p.m. or 5 p.m.
Quilcene
The Quilcene girls (5-8, 7-14) are playing in the Sea-Tac 1B League Tournament. The Rangers were supposed to play a home game against Northwest Yeshiva (2-11, 4-16) Monday, but that game was postponed to 5:30 p.m. today because of snow.
If Quilcene wins, the Rangers will play the winner of Evergreen Lutheran (5-8, 9-14) or Rainier Christian (7-6, 9-10), for the chance to qualify for the Tri-District 1B Tournament.
