PORT ANGELES — The Peninsula College women have had a rough start to their season, but they had a decent week, beating S. Puget Sound 58-44, their second win in nine days after an 0-8 start.
“It was a really good game minus our turnovers. They took good shots. It was a really good effort,” said coach Alison Crumb. The Pirates had a good defensive game, holding the Clippers to 26.7 percent shooting from the floor. “They did a good job making things difficult.”
The good news for the Pirates: They had four women in double figures. The bad news: They got zero points from their bench. Leading the Pirates in scoring was Tiffani Smith with 18. Ashlynn Sharp scored 17 with five assists and four steals, Jamellia Clark had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Jocelyn Moore 11 points.
Smith shot 7 for 10 from the floor while Sharp hit three 3-pointers.
The Pirates overcame a slow start and blew away the Clippers 38-12 in the second and third quarters.
Crumb said the Pirates will be getting Yamelei Rodriguez back this week from injury. Rodriguez played heavy minutes for the Pirates last year. And another player should become eligible this week, joining Payton Caci, who just became eligible. Crumb expects more production from the bench when the team gets healthy and the bench gets deeper.
“We might be playing with a full deck finally,” Crumb said.
Crumb said that while it’s been a tough preconference for the women, they are treating the beginning of conference play as a whole new season.
“We’ve been trying to power through it and weather the storm. We’re headed in the right direction,” Crumb said.
Peninsula (2-10) begins North Division play at 5 p.m. Wednesday against Shoreline.
NOTE: Tristan Johnson, a 2017 Neah Bay graduate, is a member of the South Puget Sound squad. She did not play Saturday night, however, due to an injury.
Peninsula 58, S. Puget Sound 44
SPS 16 6 6 16 — 44
Peninsula 8 20 18 12 — 58
SPS (44) — Campana 18, Harn 10, Bergquist 9, Collins 4, Moloney 3.
Peninsula (58) — Smith 18, Sharp 17, Clark 12, Moore 11.