PORT ANGELES — Peninsula College was the Cinderella story of the 2015 Northwest Athletic Conference tournament, surprising the field to win the first women’s basketball title in school history.
This year’s team has every intention of doing it again.
However, if they do, this time it won’t be a surprise. Not even a little bit.
Alison Crumb, a Port Angeles native, enters her seventh year as head coach of the Pirates — and the 2014-15 NWAC Coach of the Year says it’s a new team and a new year, and she’s talking about competing more than repeating.
“The last thing we want to do is ride the coattails of last year,” Crumb said.
“This is a new year, and at this level, you lose half your team every year. So this is not going to be the same team, but we will have the same goals.
“We want to compete every day in practice, we want to respect the game and each other, and we want to be a position to win a championship at the end of the season.
“Beyond that, everything else is new, and that makes it exciting. It’s been fun to really relish in our recent success, but at the end of the day it doesn’t get you anywhere.
“We have to put in the work to get results for this year. That’s all we are worried about right now.
“Repeat is something we don’t talk about. We just talk about competing.”
And leading the team into competition this year are two all-conference returners in Imani Smith, a 5-foot-8 guard from Ontario, Calif., and Zhara Laster, a 5-9 guard originally from Maryland who now calls Port Angeles home.
Smith was Peninsula’s second-leading scorer last year with a 12-point average. She also was the team-leader in assists, averaging 2.8 per game, and steals, averaging 2.1.
Laster is an impact player, she averaged 8.3 points per game, 2.5 assists, 1.9 steals and was the team’s second leading rebounder with 200 boards in 2014-15, an 8.3 average.
Also playing a key role in the NWAC title last year were the Moss sisters from Neah Bay.
Cierra Moss, a 5-7 guard, led the team in three-point field goals with 40, and also found success attacking the basket, averaging 10.3 points per game.
Older sister Cherish Moss, also a 5-7 guard, didn’t put up big numbers last year, but came up big in key times and also played a key leadership role for the Pirates.
The Pirates’ other returners include Amanda Hutchins, a 5-9 guard from Wasilla, Alaska; Savanna Gonzales, a 6-0 post from Honolulu, Hawaii; Nika Criddle, a 5-10 forward from Downey, Idaho; and redshirt freshman Jackie Schaubel, a 5-10 freshman from Seattle.
“Our returners are strong and mentally tough,” Crumb said.
“They really have come back in shape, and you can tell they have worked on their game throughout the summer.
“We have talent coming in, but we sure have talent coming back, and that is what makes this preseason so fun.”
And, so far, the returners are setting the standard.
“Our sophomores have shown great leadership and have been great role models for our freshman athletes,” Crumb said.
“They have a ring, they have been here before, so they know what we want to do and how we can get there.
“I’m impressed with the way they have come into this season hungry for the future.”
Crumb’s coaching staff includes Mike Knowles, who returns from last year, as well as the re-additions of former Peninsula player Suzanna Dean and former NCAA Division I and European professional player Bracey Ulin.
Both Dean and Ulin have served stints as an assistant coaches for Crumb in the past.
Their recruiting effort produced a freshman class that includes Cami Butler, a 5-10 forward from Sandy, Utah; Daijhan Cooks, a 5-9 forward from Las Vegas; Alicia Dugan, a 5-9 guard from Kent; Storm Laster, a 6-1 forward from Port Angeles; Jenise McKnight, a 5-11 post from Las Vegas; Anaya Rodisha, a 5-9 guard from Las Vegas; Tai Thomas, a 5-11 post from Honolulu; and Sephora Yayouss, a 5-9 guard from Brussels, Belgium.
“In regards to the incoming players that we have, we feel like we have brought in a lot of athletic talent,” Crumb said.
“We have girls who are versatile and can play multiple positions as well as score from a variety of different spaces on the floor.
“It is probably our most talented freshman class, and now our job is to see what we do with that talent.
“Now it’s about finding leadership and seeing how we can connect the dots come season play.
“Our non-conference schedule should see a lot of different lineups and rotations so we can see how our kids do against some of the toughest teams in the NWAC.”
Peninsula opens the 2015-16 season at the Pirate Tip-off event at 6 p.m. on Nov. 6.
The Pirates then play most of their non-conference schedule on the road until returning home Dec. 17-19 when they host the eight-team NWAC North Region Crossover Tournament.
Peninsula will then begin its quest to win the third North Division title in program history when conference play gets under way Jan. 9.
Also new in 2015-16, the NWAC Championship Basketball Tournament moves to Everett, March 10-13, after 14 years at the Toyota Center in Kennewick.
