KINGSTON — Kingston had possession with a chance to send the Port Angeles girls basketball team to overtime but could not get off a potentially game tying 3-pointer as the Roughriders held on to complete a 42-39 comeback win Tuesday night.
Port Angeles struggled against the Buccaneers’ 2-3 zone defense with tall post Ellee Brockman anchoring the inside and Kingston conversely handled the Riders’ pressure defense well in the opening half as the Bucs led 25-16 at the break.
“Our first-half point total of 16 was a combination of turnovers from forced passes inside, along with struggles with our outside shooting,” coach Michael Poindexter said. “We were 1 for 13 for 3-point shots in the half.”
Poindexter said senior point guard Bailee Larson’s suggestion to switch to a triangle-and-two defense during a timeout midway through the third quarter “served us well.”
“Kingston hit only two field goals the rest of the way,” Poindexter said. “We took the lead early in the fourth quarter on two consecutive possessions ending in 3-pointers by Eve Burke and Jayde Gedelman. Kingston was able to tie the game at 34-34, but an Anna Petty lay-in off a Bailee Larson assist put us up for good. Kingston was able to get within one point at 40-39, but an Eve Burke lay-in, again off an assist from Bailee, gave us the final margin.”
Burke had another monster game for the Riders, leading all scorers with 21 points, while grabbing 13 rebounds with five steals.
Larson posted seven points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Jenna McGoff swiped three steals, part of 26 forced turnovers by Port Angeles.
The Riders (10-1, 11-4) are scheduled to host Olympic League-leading Sequim (12-0, 15-2) for Port Angeles’ Senior Night festivities at 7 p.m. today.
The Wolves rallied to beat the Riders 60-55 on Jan. 11.
Port Angeles 42, Kingston 39
PA 8 8 12 14 — 42
King. 13 12 7 7 — 39
Port Angeles (42) — Burke 21, Larson 7, Petty 7, Gedelman 3, Smith 3, McGoff 1, Felton, Mason, Williams, Sprague.
Kingston (39) — Jorgensen 20, Brockman 18, Belgarde 1.
Rainier 41, Forks 34
RAINIER — The Spartans learned a little about what they’ll likely face in the Class 2B Southwest District Tournament in a road loss to the Mountaineers on Tuesday.
“It was a good measuring stick for how we match up with the Central League,” Forks coach David Hurn said.
Rainier is 13-4 and No. 8 in the WIAA RPI. The Spartans were tied at halftime and trailed by just two points late in the contest, coming back to make a game of it after a third quarter-swoon.
“Third quarter was tough for us,” Hurn said. “They are a mostly man-to-man [defensive] team and they came out in a zone and we had some open looks but we struggled to knock them down. We shot pretty poorly and we have to figure out how to shoot better on the road.
“Defensively, we played strong. Rainier is No. 8 in RPI, they are a tough team. We held them scoreless for the first six minutes of the fourth quarter and closed it to two points with two minutes left, but they hit a couple of shots to close it out.”
Forks (7-2, 9-6) is No. 19 in the RPI and is scheduled to face No. 13 Chief Leschi at home tonight in their regular season finale.
Rainier 41, Forks 34
Rain. 14 11 11 5 — 41
Forks 9 15 3 7 — 34
Forks (34) — Johnson 14, Sandoval 8, Neel 7, Bouchard 3, Wood 2.
Crescent 40, Chief Kitsap 34
JOYCE — The Crescent girls basketball team got off to a fast start against Chief Kitsap and held on the fourth quarter to win 40-34.
It was the 11th win of the year for the Loggers.
At one point, Crescent built up a 14-point lead over Chief Kitsap, which fought back to make it close at the end.
The Loggers were led by Audrey Gales with 13. Kaylen Mason had 10 and Payton Fieldsend finished with eight, much of her points coming late.
Crescent (5-1, 11-4) next plays at Neah Bay at 5:45 p.m. Friday.
Crescent 40, Chief Kitsap 34
CK 4 10 7 13 — 34
Cres. 16 6 9 9 — 40
Sequim (73) — Gales 13, Mason 10, Fieldsend 8, Sprague 3, Clark 2, Kazlauskas 2, Dunavant 2.
Boys Basketball Crescent 65, Chief Kitsap 41
JOYCE — The Loggers honored their three seniors — Austin Sage, Brayden Emery and Hayden Ferrel — with a focused and energetic performance Tuesday night.
“We played our most complete game of the season,” Crescent coach Chris Ferrier said. “Start to finish, we were able to really play confidently and got it done.”
Ferrier said the trio was pivotal in putting the Bears away in the first half.
“Hayden doesn’t score a bunch but he is the ultimate facilitator and his defense is really underrated, he really gets after it on the defensive end of the floor,” Ferrier said.
“Austin has had an up-and-down season with some injuries and a COVID break but he really played well, he played physically and intelligently. Brayden played his heart out, he has really started to figure things out, and he has grasped how to balance his inside scoring with outside shooting and has been filling the box score. When we are able to get stops and rebound and play intelligently in transition we tend to have success, we did this tonight,” he said.
Conner Ferro-May posted what Ferrier called “the quietest 28 points and 17 rebounds I’ve ever experienced as a coach.”
“He just kept scoring, he’s so unassuming, he just puts his head down, grinds away and puts the ball in the bucket.”
Crescent (3-1, 8-4) is scheduled to visit Neah Bay on Friday.
Crescent 65, Chief Kitsap 41
CK 6 6 11 18 — 41
Cres. 20 14 16 15 — 65
Crescent (65) — Ferro-May 28, B. Emery 22, Ferrel 7, Sage 6, White 2, T. Emery, Bauers, Sprague, Borum, Watson, Owens.
Sports editor Pierre LaBossiere contributed to this article.
