PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles Roughriders fell into their own trap on Wednesday night.
But they were able to climb out of it and beat North Kitsap 68-54 in a clash between two of the Olympic League’s top girls basketball teams.
The Riders’ defense created a frenetic pace and they took a 28-15 lead after a 3-pointer by Madison Hinrichs midway through the second quarter.
But then the Riders got caught up in the speed of the game and started forcing passes and turning the ball over.
“We wanted to make North Kitsap play faster than they were skilled enough to play, and we did, and they threw the ball away and all that,” Port Angeles Michael Poindexter said.
“And then suddenly in the second quarter we started playing the same game, making passes that maybe would be successful one out of 10 times, on a miracle.
“I really thought we were way too risky in that second quarter and let them back in; way too undisciplined with fouls, and let them back in.”
Close at intermission
North Kitsap (2-2, 2-3) finished the quarter on a 12-1 run to cut Riders’ lead to 29-27 at halftime.
“We really wanted to win this game, so I think we were a little bit anxious,” Hinrichs said of the sloppy play to end the first half.
Hinrichs led all scorers with 25 points.
The Vikings stayed close for most of the third quarter, and even had a two-point lead with under 3 minutes to play in the period before Macy Walker and Shayla Northern put the Riders ahead for good.
Walker fed Northern for a layup to tie the game and then gave Port Angeles the lead with a 3-pointer.
Northern extended the lead to 44-39 with another 3.
From there the Riders rolled, finishing the game on a 32-18 run over the final 11 minutes.
“We finally stopped turning the ball over and pretty much started playing our game,” Hinrichs said.
Poindexter credited Hinrichs and Walker with settling the Riders down.
“She’s become a very mature floor leader for us,” Poindexter said of Hinrichs.
“And Macy Walker had a nice overall game, too.
“Those two really calmed us down when we needed it.”
Walker finished with 13 points.
Northern had 12, including another timely 3-pointer after North Kitsap had trimmed Port Angeles’ lead to 57-52.
Poindexter said Northern’s shots were the result of good execution.
“One of the things that I talked to them about is running our offense,” he said.
“Those shots that she was hitting came out of our offensive motion and were the exact shots we were working to get.
“When we were patient, we got those shots.”
Poindexter credited North Kitsap for some of the Riders’ struggles.
“I really like [Vikings coach Tim French]. I like their program. They’ve come a long way in two years,” Poindexter said.
“They’re very competitive, right near the top of the league.
“Kristin Brown had 18 points, she had a nice game. And I bet that’s the lowest scoring Rebekah Baugh has had all year, easily. She’s their top scorer.”
Baugh was held to seven points.
The Riders (5-0, 5-1) will be tested again tonight when they play at Bremerton, which is also undefeated in league play.
“We talk about how all games are big, because if you don’t win the ones you should, then the big game is no longer big,” Poindexter said.
“We approach it as everything matters, but we’ve been looking at these two as big games.”
Port Angeles 68,
North Kitsap 54
North Kitsap 8 19 14 13— 54
Port Angeles 15 14 18 21— 68
Individual scoring
North Kitsap (54)
Lemmon 10, L. Baugh 2, Clark 1, Brown 18, R. Baugh 7, Snyder 6, Nold 9, Sanchez 1.
Port Angeles (68)
Frazier 6, Hinrichs 25, Northern 12, Walker 13, Johnson 4, Jones 1, Lee 2, Hofer 5.