The Port Angeles girls and Sequim and Neah Bay boys all played their way into next Saturday’s regionals thanks to pivotal wins on Thursday and Friday.
The three teams also remained in the hunt for district championships.
The Neah Bay girls are also going to regionals, but have been relegated to battling for third place in the 1B Tri-District tournament after falling to Tulalip Heritage on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the exciting playoff runs of the Port Townsend boys and girls ended with losses to Mount Baker and Blaine, respectively.
Port Angeles 36,
Renton 32
TACOMA — The Roughriders narrowly defeated the ninth-ranked Indians for the third time in the last two seasons Thursday night at Foss High School.
The Riders beat Renton by two points twice last season, once in the regular season and again in the district semifinals.
Going into Thursday’s game, Port Angeles coach Michael Poindexter believed his team would have a difficult time winning if they gave up too many offensive rebounds, committed too many turnovers and didn’t finish at the rim on offense.
“All those things happened,” Poindexter said. “We gave up 18 offensive rebounds, we turned the ball over 28 times and we missed a high number of lay-ins and short shots.
“The fact that we were still able to win by four is a testament to our players’ maturity and grittiness down the stretch.
“We looked most like our real selves in the fourth quarter, I thought.”
After scoring just 21 points over the first three quarters, the Riders’ offense awoke for 15 in the final eight minutes.
Senior Shayla Northern, was particularly effective in the fourth quarter, scoring seven of her team-high 12 points.
Northern also grabbed eight rebounds and had three steals.
“Shayla Northern had an outstanding overall game for us,” Poindexter said.
“Our team struggled to score all night with turnovers and missed shots inside, but Shayla’s 5 for 7 field-goal shooting was instrumental in our win.”
There were other offensive highlights for the Riders, despite only managing 36 points in the game.
Krista Johnson hit two first-half 3-pointers — one just before halftime — to keep the score close; Maddy Hinrichs stole the ball and then hit a pull-up jumper to end the third quarter, giving Port Angeles a 21-20 lead; and Hinrichs, Northern and Macy Walker combined to shoot 5 for 6 at the free-throw shooting in the fourth quarter.
Hinrichs, Walker and Johnson finished with six points apiece.
The Riders also got two points each from Hayley Baxley, Mariah Frazier and Bailee Jones to round out the scoring.
Holding the Indians to 32 points required a handful of solid defensive efforts by Port Angeles.
Frazier and Kylee Jeffers teamed up to make Renton’s Taylor Farris work hard for her game-high 18 points. Farris came into the game averaging 23 points.
In the Riders district semifinals win last year, Jordan Armstrong scored 16 points for the Indians. On Thursday, Hinrichs and Maddie Boe held her to just four points.
Hinrichs led Port Angeles with five steals; Frazier pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds, and Jones grabbed seven.
“Every player on the floor contributed to the victory in some significant way,” Poindexter said.
He added that two other positive aspects in the win was the physical energy the Riders exhibited in chasing loose balls and rebounds, which Poindexter said only increased throughout the game, and the “mental and emotional resilience in the face our offensive struggles and Renton’s relentless pressure.”
Port Angeles (16-4) is guaranteed a spot in regionals, but will first attempt to win a West Central District title.
The Riders faced fourth-ranked White River on Saturday and, win or lose, will play again Monday.
Port Angeles 36, Renton 32
Renton 8 8 4 12— 32
Port Angeles 5 10 6 15— 36
Individual scoring
Renton (32)
Farris 18, McMillan 6, Fahie 4, Armstrong 4.
Port Angeles (36)
Northern 12, Hinrichs 6, Walker 6, Johnson 6, Baxley 2, Frazier 2, Jones 2.
Tulalip Heritage 44,
Neah Bay 36
MOUNT VERNON — The third-ranked Red Devils suffered just their second loss of the season Thursday and were knocked out of contention for the 1B Tri-District title.
Neah Bay coach Nate Tyler hopes the loss will end up helping his young team.
“Nobody wants to be told what they’re doing wrong,” Tyler said.
“In order to learn from you mistakes, though, they have to be brought out.”
Tyler said the underclassmen-heavy Red Devils succumbed to big-game jitters and lost focus early.
“We went into the game with a game plan, but right after the tip off we went away from it,” Tyler said.
The Red Devils immediately started launching long 3-pointers and uncharacteristically committing numerous turnovers, and were held to just 11 first-half points.
The second half went better for Neah Bay, but also for Tulalip.
“Once we started executing, we started getting easy baskets,” Tyler said.
“The difference-maker was that while we were doing that, Tulalip was hitting 3-pointers. We couldn’t match them basket-for basket.”
The Hawks were led by Katia Brown, who went to school in Neah Bay before transferring to Tulalip, and Adiya Jones-Smith with 14 points apiece.
Kanoa Enick also reached double figures with 11 points, including 3 for 7 on 3-pointers.
Freshman Holly Greene topped Neah Bay with 10 points. She also grabbed five rebounds.
“We got good, strong play from Holly Greene,” Tyler said. “She faced adversity and pulled through it.”
Cierra Moss scored nine points and had nine rebounds in the loss, while Faye Chartraw finished with eight points and 15 boards.
Tyler was proud that his team fought hard for the entire four quarters, despite all the struggles it experienced throughout the game.
The Red Devils will face off against Mount Vernon Christian on Monday at 1:30 p.m. It will essentially be a road game because it is being played at Mount Vernon Christian.
Since a district championship isn’t on the line, Neah Bay will instead be playing for the location of its regional game.
“Taking third at the Tri-District [tournament] would be humongous,” Tyler said.
“It’s the difference between going to Olympia [Timberline High School] to play Taholah, and travelling to Wenatchee [Eastmont High School] to play Pateros.”
Tulalip Heritage 44,
Neah Bay 36
Neah Bay 5 6 13 12— 36
Tulalip Heritage 6 10 16 13— 44
Individual scoring
Neah Bay (36)
Hailey Greene 4, Holly Greene 10, Tyler 3, Moss 9, Chartraw 8, Hill 2.
Tulalip Heritage (44)
Brown 14, Jones-Smith 14, Vela 5, Enick 11.
Blaine 49,
Port Townsend 31
MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — In the 1A Tri-District tournament on Friday, the Redskins couldn’t fell victim to a slow first half and couldn’t recover, bringing an end to a playoff run that included an overtime victory over Charles Wright Academy and a four-point win against Overlake.
Port Townsend managed just nine first-half points and trailed 27-9 at halftime.
Irina Lyons scored a team-high 12 points, which included three 3-pointers, and Codi Hallinan finished with eight points, nine rebounds and seven blocks.
Jewel Johnson had six points, six assists and five rebounds, while Gabbi Hossack grabbed seven rebounds to go a long with three assists and two points. Enani Rubio pulled down four rebounds and scored two points.
Lyons, Hallinan, Hossack and Rubio were all playing the last games of their high school careers.
The Borderites were led by Taylor V’Dovec who scored 19 points and had 11 rebounds.
Blaine 49, Port Townsend 31
Port Townsend 4 5 9 13— 31
Blaine 16 11 13 9— 49
Individual scoring
Port Townsend (31)
Johnson 6, Rubio 2, Lyons 12, Hossack 2, Reeves 1, Hallinan 8.
Blaine (49)
Chau 6, Olason 5, McElwain 9, Hayes 8, Breedlove 2, V’Dovec 19.
Boys Basketball
Sequim 48,
Franklin Pierce 42
TACOMA — The eighth-ranked Wolves pulled off a close win over the Cardinals at Lakes High School on Friday night to advance to the 2A West Central District semifinal.
With the win, Sequim (19-3) guaranteed itself one of the district’s top four seeds at regionals next weekend.
Jayson Brocklesby and Erik Christensen scored two of the closely contested game’s biggest baskets in the fourth quarter.
Christensen’s only two points gave Sequim a 40-39 lead with just over four minutes to play, and Brocklesby’s basket in the final minute gave the Wolves a four-point cushion.
Brocklesby finished with 20 points and had 11 rebounds.
Gabe Carter and Anthony Pinza both had solid all-around efforts for Sequim.
Carter scored eight points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out eight assists. Pinza scored 10 and had five rebounds.
The Wolves played Sumner in the district semifinals Saturday night, and will conclude the district tournament with a game against either fourth-ranked Clover Park or ninth-ranked White River on Monday.
Sumner upset third-ranked Renton on Friday night, 55-53, to earn the semifinal matchup with Sequim.
Sequim 48,
Franklin Pierce 42
Sequim 6 18 8 16— 48
Franklin Pierce 6 17 14 5— 42
Individual scoring
Sequim (48)
Pinza 10, Barry 3, Kallappa 4, Brocklesby 20, Christensen 2, Carter 7, Shimer 2.
Franklin Pierce (42)
Felix 11, Sandoval 2, Sutherland-Ballard 13, Shumaker 1, Miles 4, Griffin 2, Dupree 7, Jones 2.
Neah Bay 68,
Evergreen Lutheran 34
MOUNT VERNON — The second-ranked Red Devils thrashed the Eagles on Thursday to set up a matchup with Cedar Park Christian (Mountlake Terrace) for the 1B Tri-District championship.
Neah Bay (16-1) and the Lions (22-3) play Monday at Mount Vernon Christian School at 6:45 p.m.
Evergreen Lutheran stayed with the Red Devils early on and had the score tied at 17-17, but Neah Bay outscored the Eagles 51-17 through the remainder of the game.
Zeke Greene was the lone Red Devil in double figures with 13 points. He also had five steals and four rebounds.
Freshmen Abraham Venske and Ryan Moss contributed nine points each, with all of Moss’ scoring coming off 3-point shots.
Both Moss and Venske also had five offensive apiece, with all of Venske’s coming at the offensive end of the court.
Josiah Greene scored six points, grabbed five boards and blocked two shots, while Jongi Claplanhoo contributed seven points five rebounds and three assists.
The Eagles were led by Karl Leitzke’s 18 points.
Neah Bay 68,
Evergreen Lutheran 34
Evergreen Lutheran 14 7 9 4— 34
Neah Bay 17 21 19 11— 68
Individual scoring
Evergreen Lutheran (34)
Henning 3, Gayins 3, Bergemann 1, Parker 3, Strong 4, Gonzalez 2, Leitzke 18.
Neah Bay (68)
Halttunen 4, Venske 9, J. Greene 6, Z. Greene 13, Claplanhoo 7, Doherty 8, Martinez 2, Moss 9, Buttram 2, Reamer 5, Royster 3.
Mount Baker 39,
Port Townsend 31
MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — The Redskins stormed back from an 18-6 deficit after one quarter to lead 21-20 at halftime, but were unable to generate much offense in the fourth quarter in Thursday’s loss to the Mountaineers at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Sean Dwyer and Jacob King led the Redskins with eight points apiece, with six of Dwyer’s points coming on a pair of 3-point buckets.
Skyler Coppenrath led Port Townsend with five rebounds and scored four points.
The loss ends Port Townsend’s season with a 9-14 record, but the young Redskins played their best basketball at the end of the season, when they won five of their last nine games.
The near future looks bright, whether Port Townsend remains in the 2A Olympic League or switches to the 1A Nisqually League, Most of this year’s team will return next season, with post Brian LeMaster being the only major contributor being lost to graduation.
Returnees in 2013-14 include leading scorer Cody Russell; point guards Will O’Brien and Daniel Charlton; wings King, Dwyer and Paul Spaltenstein; and athletic post Coppenrath.
Mount Baker 39,
Port Townsend 31
Port Townsend 6 15 8 2— 31
Mount Baker 18 2 11 8— 39
Individual scoring
Port Townsend (31)
O’Brien 3, Coppenrath 4, LeMaster 2, King 8, Charlton 4, Spaltenstein 2, Dwyer 8.
Mount Baker (39)
Murashov 15, Roman 2, Munsell 12, Whitmyre 1, Ranson 2, Zender 7.