PORT ANGELES — The NWAC basketball season tips off in just 10 days for the Peninsula Pirates women’s team.
The preseason coaches poll is out, and the Pirates are ranked third, which might raise a few eyebrows given all the talent they lost from last year’s squad.
Peninsula finished 24-3 last season, falling to Lane College in the Final Four. Over the past two years, the Pirates are 28-0 in North Division play and 46-6 overall.
So why the high ranking after losing four starters? One reason is 6-foot-3 post Alecsis Smith, who averaged 15 points and 8 rebounds per game in limited minutes due to injury — still dominating when she was on the floor.
6’3″ post Alecsis Smith is expected to be a preseason All-NWAC selection for the Peninsula Pirates.
Ryana Moss, the 5-foot-6 sophomore guard from Neah Bay, is the only returning starter, averaging 7 points a game last year and expected to take on a bigger scoring role.
Corlese O’Brian, a 5-6 sophomore point guard, made 10 starts last season, averaging 6 points per game, while Makena Patrick, a 5-9 sophomore forward, added 7 points and 5 rebounds a night.
Former Neah Bay Red Devil Ryana Moss returns as the only starter from last year’s 3rd-ranked Pirates squad.
Eight newcomers round out the roster, including 5-9 freshman Kimberlee Brown, an avid fisherman from Orem, Utah; 6-foot freshman Aspen Fraser from Copper Hills, Utah; 5-9 transfer Malia Garcia from Skagit Valley College; 5-3 guard Madison Smith, a track sprinter and Pirate legacy from Las Vegas; and 5-6 guard Marley Myers of Columbia River High in Vancouver — who local fans might remember for her 11-point game against Port Angeles in last year’s state tournament.
The Pirates open the season November 14th at 7th-ranked Columbia Basin, with a 3:00 p.m. tipoff — you can hear that game right here on KONP Newsradio.
It’s also a big night in the District 3 girls soccer tournament — the Sequim Wolves travel to Bainbridge to face the top-seeded, undefeated Spartans at 6:00 p.m., while the Port Angeles Roughriders take on #4 North Kitsap in Poulsbo, also at 6:00.
Sequim sophomore Addie Eastburn, featured on the KONP Newsradio postgame show, looks to help the Wolves upset top-seeded Bainbridge tonight.
You can hear the Roughriders game live on KONP, with pregame coverage beginning at 5:45. Winners and losers will face each other Thursday night at either North Kitsap or Bainbridge.
Port Angeles head coach Dan Horton aims for his second straight win over North Kitsap in tonight’s District 3 playoff matchup.
Millie Long
Former Port Angeles Roughrider Millie Long starting at point guard for Fresno St last night hit for 14 points, dished out 5 assists, pulled down 4 rebounds had 4 steals in the Bulldogs 87-38 win over Fresno Pacific.