PORT ANGELES — There were plenty of questionable moments for Port Angeles in a 38-27 Rainshadow Rumble girls basketball victory over rival Sequim.
But the Roughriders dug deep and found answers.
Down 7-1 to the Wolves, and the Riders having missed their first 10 shots of the game late in the first quarter of Friday’s contest, Port Angeles’ Hayley Baxley banked home an unlikely 3-pointer to trail 7-4 after one quarter.
“The 7-1 deficit didn’t bother them,” Riders coach Michael Poindexter said.
“I sang the song from ‘Frozen’ to them on the bench, ‘Let it Go.’
“What I really liked about us is when the shots weren’t going, our defensive effort was just incredible.”
Port Angeles’ 2-3 zone defense started squeezing off lanes and denying entry passes with a vengeance in the second quarter, ultimately forcing nine turnovers in the period.
The Riders allowed just one made field goal in the quarter, a 3 from Caitlin Stofferahn with 2:04 to go until halftime.
Stofferahn and the Wolves’ floor leader, point guard McKenzie Bentz, each dealt with early foul trouble that forced them to the bench for much of the early going.
Many problems
“We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, turned the ball over way too much, committed too many fouls and didn’t execute on the offensive end,” Sequim coach Evan Still said.
Nizhoni Wheeler got going offensively for Port Angeles, hitting for eight points in the second quarter as the Riders pulled to a 16-11 lead at the break.
Still, Port Angeles wasn’t exactly feeling comfortable against its rivals.
“We are honest with the kids,” Poindexter said.
“We don’t coddle a lot. At halftime the kids were worried about this, I’m getting hit here, I’m getting pushed there, and we told them don’t worry about that just make the shot.”
Stofferahn hit the Wolves’ first shot of the half to pull within three, 16-13 with 7:38 to play in the third, but the Riders answered with a 10-0 run to close the third quarter,
The run was sped along by four straight baskets from Wheeler, most coming on long jump shots away from the 6-foot-1 center’s normal home in the post.
“We really like Nizhoni in that 15- to 17-foot range,” Poindexter said.
“She’s got a beautiful touch and it frees up her inside game.
“Our offense is designed to get her the ball down low, but she is effective there.
“I’m really proud of her, she had a rough week emotionally dealing with the death of a close family member.”
Wheeler posted a double-double, with a game-high 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Still was dismayed by the inability of Sequim’s post defenders to close out on Wheeler and prevent those long jump shots.
“We have to do a better job taking away Nizhoni Wheeler’s shot,” Still said.
“The majority were jump shots and we have to contest that better and get a hand in her face.
“Instead, we just sagged off of her and we didn’t make her drive and be a little less comfortable.”
The Wolves offensive slowdown was caused by turnovers and a lack of stick-to-itiveness in their attacks at the basket.
“We needed to do a better job being more active in the high post,” Still said.
“When we got the ball to the high post, we were not aggressive enough.
“If we can get it from the wing to the high post, we saw we had a 3-on-2 advantage [in a certain set], but we missed a couple of shots in a row off that play and went away from it even though it was actually working.”
A Baxley bucket extended the Riders’ run to 12-0, but foul trouble sent Port Angeles point guard Maddie Boe to the bench and Sequim responded.
The Wolves reeled off a 10-0 run of their own, leaving the Riders reeling, but up 28-23 with 5:50 to play.
But another reply, this time in the form of a 3-ball from the left corner from sophomore guard Katyn Flores steadied Port Angeles and put the Riders back up 31-23 with 4:47 left.
“Katyn did a good job there,” Poindexter said.
“One of the best things about her is she never goes into that head-hanging, self-pitying [behavior].
“She’s mature and we like that calm. We knew we were going to need her late.”
The Wolves had some chances to knock down open 3-point attempts down the stretch after defensive rotation miscues by Port Angeles, but the shots didn’t fall.
The Riders began a steady march to the free-throw line in the last three minutes, taking advantage of Sequim’s foul trouble.
Port Angeles hit 7 of 13 in the final frame, including 4 of 4 by Baxley in the final 39 seconds.
Baxley also had a double-double, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“I’m just really proud of the team, especially Nizhoni,” Poindexter said.
“It was great leadership by the group to finish that game out like that.
“We went with our [starting] five at the end and we said it’s your game to win or lose tonight.”
Fifth-place Port Angeles (4-6, 8-10) hosts Bremerton (1-9, 6-12) on Tuesday.
Sequim (5-6, 9-10), a game back of North Kitsap (5-5, 9-7) for third in the Olympic League, visits the Vikings on Tuesday.
The top five teams advance to district play.
Port Angeles 38, Sequim 27
Sequim 7 4 2 14— 27
Port Angeles 4 12 10 12— 38
Individual scoring
Sequim (27)
Stofferahn 16, Cummings 5, Bentz 3, Lester 2, Beuke 1, Haggerty, Landoni, Williams, Miller.
Port Angeles (38)
Wheeler 16, Baxley 10, Flores 5, Boe 3, Steinman 2, Johnson, Robideau, Lunt.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-452-2345, ext. 5250 or at mcarman@peninsualdailynews.com.
