BREMERTON — Nizhoni Wheeler and Krista Johnson combined to score 14 of Port Angeles’ 16 points in the final period as the Roughriders pushed past Bremerton on the road.
With the win, Port Angeles clinched at least a share of its second straight Olympic League title.
A loss by Kingston (10-3, 11-4) in the Buccaneers’ final three games, or a Riders win against Sequim or Port Townsend, will give the hardware to Port Angeles.
“We struggled offensively for most of the game against Bremerton’s zone, our shooting confidence was low, and our rebounding and loose ball effort left a great deal to be desired,” Riders coach Michael Poindexter said.
Port Angeles (13-1, 15-3) held a slim 21-19 lead at halftime, thanks to Maddie Boe and Maddy Hinrichs combining to score 11 of the team’s 13 second-quarter points.
Johnson knocked down a corner 3-pointer off an inbounds play to break a 32-32 tie and give Port Angeles a 35-32 lead heading to the fourth quarter.
Wheeler had the hot hand, hitting 7 for 8 from the field and 2 for 2 from the free-throw line on the night, for a team-leading 16 points.
Johnson had 15 points, Hinrichs 10 and Boe had 6 for the Riders.
“In the second half, we did a much better job of getting the ball inside, and Krista found her three-point comfort zone in the game’s final eight minutes,” Poindexter said.
Bremerton senior leader Sawyer Kluge had 21 points, including cashing in 9 of 10 from the free-throw line.
Poindexter was pleased with how the Riders defended the Knights’ standout performer.
“Kylee Jeffers had an outstanding game defensively, guarding Sawyer Kluge in the second half when we went to a man-man defense for most of the half, and gave great effort rebounding and on loose balls all night,” he said.
Port Angeles visits Sequim (9-4, 9-8) next Friday.
Port Angeles 51, Bremerton 39
Port Angeles 8 13 14 16—51
Bremerton 7 12 13 7— 39
Individual scoring
Port Angeles (51)
Wheeler 16, Johnson 15, Hinrichs 10, Boe 6, Hofer 2, Jones 2.
Bremerton (39)
Kluge 21, Beach 6, Heriford 5, Derda 4, Noting 2, Smith 1.
Port Townsend 50, North Kitsap 49
POULSBO — Senior guard Jewel Johnson capped a fourth-quarter road comeback for Port Townsend, hitting the game-winner with 12 seconds to play.
“[It was a] great upset win,” Redskins coach Randy Maag said.
Port Townsend trailed 42-35 entering the fourth, but limited the Vikings to just seven points in the final frame.
Jayde Richardson compiled her third straight double-double, leading all scorers with 22 points and collecting 11 rebounds for the Redskins.
Johnson had 11 points and seven assists for Port Townsend (5-9, 8-10).
Megan Lee scored a season high eight points for Port Townsend, while Trisha Reeves (11) and Anne Meek (eight) had solid rebounding numbers for the Redskins.
Port Townsend has locked down a seventh-place or better finish in the Olympic League, which secures the Redskins a district play-in game against a Nisqually League school.
The Redskins host Bremerton (5-8, 6-9) on Tuesday.
Port Townsend 50, North Kitsap 49
Port Townsend 12 10 13 15— 50
North Kitsap 14 13 15 7— 49
Individual scoring
Port Townsend (50)
Richardson 22, Johnson 11, Lee 8, Rutenbeck 4, Meek 3, Reeves 2..
North Kitsap (49)
Baugh 21, Snyder 9, Makenzie 7, Brown 6, Lemmon 4, Hamblet 2.
Chimacum 37, Life Christian 36
TACOMA — Chimacum senior post Lauren Thacker scored a buzzer-beater to give the Cowboys their second win of the year.
“Lauren Thacker took a heavily-contested 16-footer that swished as time expired,” according to Chimacum coach Trevor Huntingford.
“It was an awesome way for these girls to get a win,” he added.
Chimacum had never held a lead in the game until Thacker’s shot, and the team trailed by seven, 24-17 heading into the fourth quarter.
“The girls ran their press more effectively, erasing a nine-point half time deficit by causing turnovers and hitting clutch shots,” Huntingford said.
Down by one with 5.4 seconds left, the Cowboys inbounded the ball on the Life Christian baseline to Megan Dukek. Dukek passed it forward to Thacker who took the big shot.
“Lauren had a big game doing all our scoring early and keeping us in the game,” Huntingford said.
“In the fourth, everyone’s defense was on point and Kiersten Snyder hit some huge shots.”
Snyder scored 10 for Chimacum (2-9, 2-11).
“It is truly amazing how happy these kids are to come to practice everyday and work despite our win-loss record; this is well deserved and I couldn’t be happier for them,” Huntingford added.
Chimacum 37, Life Christian 36
Chimacum 5 4 8 20— 37
Life Christian 12 6 6 12— 36
Individual scoring
Chimacum (37)
Thacker 16, Snyder 10, M. Nisbet 4, S. Nisbet 3, Cerna 2, Nordberg 2.
Life Christian (36)
Youngblood 10, Anderson 9, Donaldson 5, Long 5, Ricker 4, Midgett 2, Kaegler 1.
Sequim 65, Klahowya 31
SILVERDALE — The Wolves ravaged the Eagles from the start, storming to a 26-6 lead on the road after the first quarter.
Sequim (9-4, 9-8) was led by 16 points from Elise Beuke while Jordan Miller added 11 and Alexas Besand had 10.
The Wolves remained tied with Olympic (9-4, 11-6) for third in the Olympic League.
They will host fifth-place North Kitsap (7-6) on Tuesday.
The top four Olympic League teams advance to the Class 2A West Central District Tournament.
Sequim 65, Klahowya 31
Sequim 26 12 15 12— 65
Klahowya 6 10 7 8— 31
Individual scoring
Sequim (65)
Beuke 16, Miller 11, Besand 10, Cummins 9, Williams 6, Guan 5, Lester 4, Stofferahn 4.
Klahowya (31)
Severns 12, Hartford 9, Ladner 3, Hunnicutt 3, Cooper 2, Sturgeon 2.
Clallam Bay 49, Crescent 22
CLALLAM BAY — In their last home game of the season, the Bruins beat the Loggers in North Olympic League play.
Clallam Bay was led by Chelsea Ritter, who was playing only her second game of the season.
“She was our top scorer with nine points,” Bruins coach Kathleen Winter said of Ritter following Friday’s game.
“She came off the bench and did exactly what I asked her to do, rebound and put it back in the bucket.”
Kyla Wilson added eight points for Clallam Bay and Mariah LaChester had seven.
The Bruins shot 18 of 31 from the foul line.
“This is our fourth time playing each other, so both teams really start to figure the other team out,” Winter said.
“They are a very aggressive team and we had been working all week on protecting the ball trying to get to the foul line.”
Winter also praised the defense of Jeddie Herndon and Inga Erickson.
Haley Holgerson led Crescent with six points, while Shannon Williams and Lauren Hartley added four apiece.
Clallam Bay plays at Forks on Wednesday, while Crescent hosts the Port Angeles C team Monday.
Clallam Bay 49, Crescent 22
Crescent 3 5 6 8— 22
Clallam Bay 14 14 8 13— 49
Individual scoring
Crescent (22)
Holgerson 6, Williams 4, Hartley 4, Hutto 3, Lester 2, Bertelson 2, Casad 1.
Clallam Bay (49)
Ritter 9, Wilson 8, LaChester 7, Herndon 6, McCoy 6, Signor 6, Maines 4, Erickson 3.
Boys Basketball
Sequim 68, Klahowya 26
SEQUIM — Sequim was able to get everyone on the roster (minus the injured Rory Kallappa) on the scoreboard against cellar-dwelling Klahowya.
The Wolves led 14-3 after the first, 33-13 at halftime and 52-17 after three.
Alex Barry led Sequim with 17 points on 6 of 13 shooting, with nine rebounds and three steals.
Vance Willis had 13 points while shooting 6 of 10 from the floor and added eight rebounds and four steals.
Reserves posting points for Sequim included Bailey Early with six, Jesse Francis with five, Josh Cibene and Josh McConnaughey with four apiece, and Alex Rutherford with two.
The Wolves (11-2, 13-4) visit North Kitsap (7-6, 9-7) on Tuesday.
Sequim 68, Klahowya 26
Sequim 14 19 19 16— 68
Klahowya 3 10 4 9— 26
Individual scoring
Sequim (68)
Barry 17, Willis 13, Christensen 9, Early 6, Francis 5, Pinza 4, Johnson 4, McConnaughey 4, Cibene 4, Rutherford 2.
Klahowya (26)
Brewer 8, Gotchall 8, Holquin 1, Schnuit 6, Knuckey 3.
North Kitsap 62, Port Townsend 61 OT
PORT TOWNSEND — North Kitsap’s Michael Urquhart hit a foul shot with time expired in overtime as the Redskins lost a heartbreaker at home.
“They threw it long, the ball was tipped and Urquhart threw up a wild three and they called a foul and he hit the first one,” Port Townsend coach Tom Webster.
Port Townsend’s Paul Spaltenstein had tied the game with a pair of free throws with three seconds left in OT.
Cody Russell had sent the game to overtime after hitting a 3-pointer with three seconds to play in the fourth quarter.
Russell led all scorers with 23 points but was forced to sit for much of the third and fourth with foul trouble.
He also added seven assists, five rebounds and three steals.
Spaltenstein added 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals and Sean Dwyer had nine for Port Townsend (4-10, 6-11).
The Redskins visit league-leading Bremerton (13-0, 15-2) on Tuesday.
North Kitsap 62, Port Townsend 61
North Kitsap 16 8 14 17 7— 62
Port Townsend 15 19 4 17 6— 61
Individual scoring
North Kitsap (62)
Graebner 20, Lemmon 17, Perry 12, Dennis 7, Ellingson 3, Benson 2, Urquhart 1.
Port Townsend (61)
Russell 23, Spaltenstein 17, Dwyer 9, King 6, Coppenrath 2, Delagarza 2, Charlton 2.
Clallam Bay 49, Crescent 29
CLALLAM BAY — The Bruins put themselves in good position to claim the North Olympic League’s second postseason berth by beating the Loggers on Friday.
Crescent jumped on Clallam Bay early, taking a 16-10 lead after one quarter.
“They were pretty hyped up because they knew it was basically a playoff game,” Bruins coach Kelly Gregory said of his team.
But the Bruins calmed down and switched to a 1-2-2 zone defense after one of their six players got in foul trouble, and held the loggers to 13 points over the remainder of the game.
Kelly Gregory, the coach’s son, led Clallam Bay with 18 points to go along with nine rebounds and five steals.
Freshman Sam Signor added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and point guard Casey Randall finished with seven points, four rebounds, nine assists and five steals.
Travis Walker paced Crescent with eight points, while Martin Waldrip and Kaleb Dodson each contributed six points.
The Loggers travel to Port Angeles to play the Port Angeles C team on Monday.
Clallam Bay, meanwhile, plays at Forks on Wednesday.
Clallam Bay 49, Crescent 29
Crescent 16 6 4 3— 29
Clallam Bay 10 17 12 10— 49
Individual scoring
Crescent (29)
Walker 8, Wolfer 3, Waldrip 6, Kjerulf 2, Dodson 6, Peppard 4.
Clallam Bay (49)
Signor 14, Gregory 18, McKay 1, Randall 7, Ritter 4, Cowdrey 5.
Wrestling
Forks 51, Hoquiam 18
HOQUIAM — Forks traveled south with the Evergreen League title on the line in a matchup of two Evergreen 1A teams with 5-0 league records.
The Spartans came home with the championship, earning a 51-18 win over the Grizzlies.
“The match started with Hoquiam earning a pin at 195 pounds but from then on Forks cruised to the win,” Forks coach Bob Wheeler said.
Bob Wheeler said.
Forks won 10 of the 13 contested matches and forfeited the 106-pound match.
Winners by pin for the Spartans were Garrison Schumack at 126, Javier Contreras at 145, Abisai Garcia at 152, Gavin Castaneda at 182, Luke Loveless at 220 and Joel Ward at 285.
Boys Swimming
Port Angeles 125, Olympic 56
PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles swimmers achieved three individual state qualifying times and six more individual district standards at this meet at William Shore Memorial Pool on Thursday.
The Roughriders are 6-0 on the season with all coming in Olympic League meets.
Avery Koehler qualified for state by finishing first in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 58.05 seconds. Teammate John Macias was just behind Koehler, qualifying for state in 58.09.
Macias also qualified for state after winning the 100 breaststroke in 1:05.40.
District qualifiers included Tristin Butler, who finished first in the 100 freestyle in 56.6; Efren Ruiz-Pedrosa, third in the 100 free in 58.91; Jay Liang, first in the 500 free in 5:40.07; Lucas Watkins, third in the 500 free in 6:20.83; Ryan Amiot, fourth in the 200 freestyle in 2:11.87; and Wei-Yan Fu, second the 100 backstroke in 1:06.56.
Port Angeles had 10 seniors recognized for participating in their final home dual meet: Lane Levine, Colton Olson, Ryan Becker, Koehler, Charles Shilling, Cole Urnes and Lucas Watkins and exchange students Arthur Alves, Ruiz-Pedrosa and Agustin Muller.
The Riders will host the divisional invitational on Tuesday, the last chance for athletes to qualify for the postseason.