PORT ANGELES — She called. And her teammates answered.
With Port Angeles’ lead and momentum slipping away late in the third quarter, Roughriders’ senior post Nizhoni Wheeler loudly encouraged her team to “pick it up” in an important Olympic League 2A Division game against Olympic on Tuesday.
And the Riders responded, getting a defensive stop followed by a 3-pointer by Gracie Long, to kick start a 16-8 run over the final 10:05 and topple the second-place Trojans 45-33.
The win keeps Port Angeles’ shot at the second seed to districts alive and sealed at least the third seed.
The Riders (7-4, 10-8) can tie Olympic for second place if they beat Kingston tonight at home on senior night and the Trojans fall to league-champion North Kitsap.
“I think we all stayed more positive in the second half and we just helped each other out,” said Wheeler, who finished with a game-high 20 points.
“We stayed calm, we didn’t freak out. I think we just really stayed together as a team, we didn’t give up on each other. We didn’t collapse, we just stayed strong.”
Up 10-9 after one quarter and 20-16 at halftime, Port Angeles could have let down and allowed the Trojans to take control when Olympic scored the first five points against the Riders’ man-to-man defensive look out of the locker room to take a 21-20 lead.
Instead, Port Angeles responded with a 9-0 run keyed by Wheeler’s shot-clock beating 3-point shot.
But the Trojans answered with two quick buckets to trim the Riders’ lead down to four, at 29-25, and trigger Wheeler’s encouragement/admonishment.
“That’s great leadership from her [Wheeler] on the floor tonight, the best of the season,” Port Angeles coach Michael Poindexter said.
“She performed that role of letting us know that we are OK. She was on a team with Madi Hinrichs and Krista Johnson that did that and a team with the three seniors last year that did that.
“She kept her cool, she maintained her focus. She dealt well with any adversity that came along: if she didn’t hit a shot, or she didn’t get the call she wanted or a teammate made a mistake, she didn’t get caught up, she didn’t get worried and sometimes we really need that leader on the court that doesn’t get worried.”
Wheeler also stepped up in the middle of the Riders’ press break in the second half.
“We are good at breaking the press when we take our time and we are real patient,” Poindexter said. “And we don’t have the 10-second rule to deal with, so if it takes 12-13 seconds to get the ball up that’s fine. And you saw that patience and I was really pleased with it. And we have the best passer in the league in the middle in Nizhoni.”
It wasn’t all Nizhoni Wheeler, however, for the Riders. Cheyenne Wheeler was aggressive in attacking the rim and finished with 14 points.
Freshman Mikkiah Brady added six points, including a clutch 3-pointer to put Port Angeles up 39-31 with 5:38 to play.
“Best game of the year for Mikkiah,” Poindexter said.
“Really a kind of grow-up game for a freshman. Not only did she play well, but she was confident and she knew she was playing well. And you could see it in her defense, you could see it in her defensive stance, there was a new kid there, ‘Oh she’s got an attitude.’”
Up by 10 points with a minute to play, Brady also let Olympic know they weren’t going to make any attempt at a miracle comeback with a smart defensive play.
The Trojans, needing to conserve clock, rolled the ball out to nearly halfcourt without picking up the ball. Brady saw an opening and dove for the ball, tussling with Monzon for control and ultimately earning a held ball with possession going to the Riders.
“I loved that,” Poindexter said. “I hate when teams roll out the ball. We don’t want to go after her [Monzon] usually, because she can blow right past us and she’s gone. So we let her roll it, we were a little tired and we let it roll to halfcourt. So Mikkiah started to go after it and that was the highlight of my day, man. Go ahead, try and roll it out some more.”
Poindexter also liked how his team exploited its height advantage over the Trojans to clean up in the rebounding department, particularly on the offensive glass.
“I was impressed with our job on the offensive boards,” he said.
And the Riders’ use of the 2-3 zone defense also worked well.
“I thought that zone, the 2-3, we haven’t played too much of it this year,” Poindexter said.
“We’ve been living off the 1-3-1, and a little man and a little 2-3. Well, we dusted off the 2-3 and the kids rebounded in it so well. And they don’t have an inside presence so we were really able to take advantage of that.”
Port Angeles hosts Kingston tonight for senior night.
“If Olympic loses to NK and we beat Kingston, technically we would be tied for second,” Poindexter said.
“I don’t know how the tiebreaker works. I don’t care. If we are second or third it’s tweedle-dee, tweedle dum to me. We want to be in the final six [in district play]. In all likelihood, the second or third place team will have to beat Renton, Franklin Pierce or Eatonville. I don’t want fourth, because you’d have to play White River in the second round, but we got past that tonight.”
Port Angeles 45, Olympic 33
Olympic 9 7 13 4— 33
Port Angeles 10 10 14 11— 45
Olympic (33) — Monzon 11, Campana 10, K. Mitchell 4, Triggs 4, Matheny 2, A. Mitchell 2, Meadows.
Port Angeles (45) — N. Wheeler 20, C. Wheeler 14, Brady 6, Long 3, Lunt 2, McGuffey 2, Gray, Steinman, Robideau, Politika, Edwards.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
