PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles won a defensive donnybrook against North Kitsap 37-30 to continue its unbeaten start to league play.
Tuesday’s game was, Port Angeles coach Michael Poindexter said, a matchup of the top defenses in the Olympic League 2A girls basketball.
“I think we’re the best two, and I’m not sure one of us is better than the other, defensively. I think it’s a toss-up,” he said.
The Roughriders went through two long scoring droughts, one lasted nearly a quarter and the other lasted longer than a quarter. And they still won.
Both times, Nizhoni Wheeler ended the scoreless streaks. In fact, Wheeler bailed out the Riders throughout the game.
The junior post finished with a game-high 20 points. Wheeler scored 15 of Port Angeles’ 16 second-half points and 10 of its 11 fourth-quarter points.
It included a bank 3-pointer in the first quarter that beat the shot-clock buzzer.
It included a long jumper in the second quarter after the Vikings had taken their first lead of the game.
She also scored a layup to give the Riders a 29-28 lead in the fourth quarter soon after North Kitsap took its second lead of the game.
The layup came on a nice pass from Hayley Baxley, who had made a clutch rebound at the other end of the court.
After Raelee Moore hit a 3-pointer to give the Vikings a 30-28 lead, Wheeler tied the game with a layup off an inbound pass by Maddie Boe with 3:04 left in the game.
Then Gracie Long dove on a loose ball near midcourt to give Port Angeles possession, and 10 seconds later, Wheeler was fouled and made the go-ahead free throw with 2:31 to play.
“Gracie’s play down the stretch was huge for us,” Poindexter said of Long, who was playing in only her second game of the season after recovering from a foot injury.
“That loose-ball grab was — for once someone made an inspirational play tonight. And I really think we need that. Gracie really went after it.”
Then came the dagger. With the shot clock winding down, again, and just less than a minute to play, Wheeler made her third 3-pointer of the game to make it 34-30, which is quite a comfortable cushion in a defensive donnybrook such as this.
“That might seem like a lucky 3. Nobody’s surprised that she hit it,” Poindexter said.
“We’re not surprised. We’re like, ‘Eh, that’s just Nizhoni.’ But it’s bad that she has to resort to that.”
Baxley made it 35-30 by hitting the front end of a one-and-one at the free-throw line with 18 seconds left — it was the only second-half point not scored by Wheeler — and Wheeler then made two free throws to account for the seven-point margin.
Wheeler also had seven rebounds and seven blocks.
Boe scored seven points and made eight steals. Baxley finished with three points and three assists, but her play stood out beyond her statistics.
“Quietly, a very, very solid game. In fact, I think that’s one of Hayley’s strongest games of the year,” Poindexter said. “I didn’t want her off the court.
“Hayley played strong, Nizhoni was enormous for us, Boe was tough, and then Gracie down the stretch I thought was great.”
While both defenses wreaked havoc, the offenses contributed to their own demises with sloppy play.
For Port Angeles, it was a lack of movement, being loose with the ball and making careless passes.
“It’s a learning experience, but I wasn’t happy with our offense at all,” Poindexter said.
“When you see us function offensively, we’re getting movement, we’re playing with confidence and we’re just smart, instead of playing robotically and throwing the ball to North Kitsap.
“We must have turned the ball over a billion times — I don’t know how many times.
“But then again, [North Kitsap coach] Penny [Gienger] can say the same thing. We took it away on our end.
“It’s two good defensive teams that struggled offensively.”
The Riders turned the ball over 27 times, and the Vikings coughed it up 24 times.
Port Angeles shot 28 percent from the field, while North Kitsap made 27 percent of their field goals.
“It was a ratty game. One of the most ugly games that I’ve seen,” Poindexter said.
“I guess if you’re trying to be charitable, you say, two teams that excel on defense can create games like that.”
Port Angeles (3-0, 9-1) next faces its rival Sequim (1-3, 3-5) at home Friday at 5:15 p.m. The Wolves are coming off their first league win of the season, a 34-24 defeat of North Mason on Tuesday.
Poindexter said the Wolves are a formidable opponent, despite currently being near the bottom of the Olympic League 2A standings.
“They’ve got Adrienne Haggerty, she’s a good post player. They’ve got [Jordan] Miller, who can shoot,” Poindexter said.
“McKenzie Bentz, who’s one of our favorite Wolves, she’s an all-around good player, a good defender.”
Port Angeles 37, North Kitsap 30
North Kitsap 8 7 6 9— 30
Port Angeles 12 9 5 11— 37
Individual scoring
North Kitsap (30)
Moore 7, Weins 6, Mackenzie 4, J. Selembo 4, Keller 3, O. Selembo 2.
Port Angeles (37)
N. Wheeler 20, Boe 7, Gray 5, Baxley 3, Lunt 2, C. Wheeler, Johnson, Long, Steinman, McGuffey.
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Sports Editor Lee Horton can be reached at 360-417-3525 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.