PORT ANGELES — West Central District basketball playoff action begins for the North Olympic Peninsula’s largest high schools on Monday.
The Port Angeles boys (12-8) face Clover Park (10-12) in a loser-out game at Foss High School in Tacoma at 2:45 p.m.
A Roughriders win brings about a matchup with Olympic League champion Bremerton back at Foss at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday.
Across town, the Sequim girls (10-10) will take on Franklin Pierce (15-8) Monday in a loser-out contest at Curtis High School in University Place also at 2:45 p.m.
A win by the Wolves would set up another Sequim-Port Angeles showdown Wednesday.
Boys Basketball
Port Angeles vs. Clover Park
TACOMA — Limiting the impact of Clover Park senior Phillip Winston will be key to a Roughriders victory.
Port Angeles coach Brent Stephens has seen Clover Park’s last two sub-district games (losses to No. 10 White River 63-56 and Renton 53-51) and knows containing Winston will be tough, but thinks his team is ready for the challenge.
“I think we have had some good preparation in facing [Bremerton standout] Deonte Dixon, so we have had some chances to try and stop a real dynamic player [like Winston],” Stephens said.
“He’s an attacker and a slasher, and we’re going to have to deny him the basketball and keep him away from the rim.”
Winston scores more than 25 points per game for Clover Park and comes from solid basketball genes.
Winston’s father Andre, played college hoops for Utah, his brother Andre Jr. plays for Portland State and his cousin David Crisp transferred from Clover Park and is a key contributor this year for the Class 3A No. 1-ranked Rainier Beach Vikings.
Winston scored 23 against Sequim in last year’s Class 2A state tournament.
Next up offensively for Clover Park is 6-foot-4 forward Anthony White, who contributes 8.2 points per game followed by 6-2 forward Eric Obee at 7.7, Robert Miller at 7.2 and 6-4 senior Alex Coronado at 6.7 per game.
The Warriors best win of the season came in a 67-65 double overtime victory over No. 9 Sumner in early January.
Girls Basketball
Sequim vs. Franklin Pierce
UNIVERSITY PLACE — The Wolves will face the Franklin Pierce Cardinals, the fourth seed out of the South Puget Sound League/Seamount League sub-district.
After beating Tyee 41-31 in the first round of sub-district play, Franklin Pierce was blown out by No. 3 Sumner 51-26 in the sub-district semifinals and lost the third/fourth-place game 69-33 to No. 10 Renton on Friday.
Wolves coach Evan Still scouted Friday’s Franklin Pierce-Renton game and noticed one glaring deficiency for the Cardinals: a lack of height.
“They are small,” Still said. “They have two girls with some size on the bench, and Renton had a lot of size but Franklin Pierce still didn’t put them in.”
Entering the basketball into the post will be key for Sequim’s offensive attack.
“We’re looking to get the ball inside, pound it down low to Alexas Besand and Elise Beuke and try to get it started from the inside,” Still said.
“Franklin Pierce didn’t front the post much if at all on defense, they stayed behind the offensive player and didn’t get much weakside help, so if they do that again we will try and attack that.”
He doesn’t think the Renton loss captured how good of a team the Cardinals, who twice held different league opponents to just 10 points, can be.
“I really don’t think it was the best representation of their level of play; they looked a little sluggish out there [Friday] night.” Still said.
The Cardinals started out on defense in a 1-2-1 zone, switched to a 2-3 and finally went to man-to-man as Renton pulled away after an 11-11 tie after the first quarter.
No players on Franklin Pierce are scoring in double figures, but 5-foot-7 senior Erica Walker led the team in scoring during the regular season with a 9.5 points per game average.
Walker also led the team in steals with 3.5 per game.
Collectively, Franklin Pierce swiped 17.9 steals per game during the regular season.
Ly Vuthy averaged 8.1 points and 2.9 steals and Mary Patterson scored 7.3 points and had 2.5 steals per game for the Cardinals.
Still feels his team can be successful despite the recent loss of the team’s second-leading scorer, 6-foot junior forward Caitlin Stofferahn.
Stofferahn tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee just 28 seconds into Tuesday’s 53-38 victory at Bremerton.
She will have surgery in early March and then begin the lengthy rehabilitation process for such an injury.
“Caitlin was popped in the face recently against Klahowya and missed most of that one and basically all of the Bremerton game,” Still said of the two Wolves wins.
“We have had some time to play without her and we did well.
“We feel like we are a pretty deep team and haven’t lost confidence [without Stofferahn].”
If Sequim wins the Wolves will face Port Angeles at Wilson High School in Tacoma at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
