PORT ANGELES – The third-ranked Peninsula Pirates women’s basketball team opens NWAC Quarterfinal Tournament play tomorrow against a strong 10th-ranked Treasure Valley Chukars squad.
The Chukars, 9–5 in conference and 18–10 overall, finished fourth in the rugged Eastern Conference. Treasure Valley advanced with an impressive 63–61 win at Walla Walla.
The Chukars are led by 5-foot-8 sophomore guard Ava Cuff, a Second Team All–Eastern Conference selection from Nephi, Utah. Cuff averages 13 points per game.
Also in the Chukars’ backcourt is 5-foot-6 sophomore guard Lilly Mallory from Declo, Idaho, who also averages 13 points per game.
Treasure Valley averages 70 points per game while allowing 60. The Pirates average 71 points per game and allow just 46.
Treasure Valley guard Ava Cuff averages 13 points per game and is a Second Team All–Eastern Conference selection.
Peninsula will again look to attack inside with Northern Conference MVP Alecsis Smith, a 6-foot-2 sophomore from Bay City, Michigan, who is averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds per game.
The Chukars have three players on their roster between 6-foot and 6-foot-2, but none average more than six points per game.
With Pirates point guard Carliese O’Brien playing with a torn ACL, Peninsula will need solid play from Marley Myers and Venzia Jackson.
At this time last year, Myers and her Columbia River Rapids were knocking off Port Angeles in the state tournament in Yakima.
When former Neah Bay Red Devil Ryana Moss has her radar locked in from three-point range, the Pirates are very difficult to beat. Moss was a Northern Conference First Team selection and is considered one of the top defenders in the NWAC.
The Pirates will also need a big tournament from 6-foot freshman Aspen Fraser, who has had an outstanding season averaging 10 points and 7 rebounds per game.
Northern Conference Second Team selection Makena Patrick is averaging 9 points and 6 rebounds per game, while 5-foot-9 freshman Kimberlee Brown has also had a strong season averaging 8 points per game.
Off the bench, sophomore Haley Ostrander and freshman Malia Garcia provide quality minutes for head coach Alison Rose. Ostrander averages six points per game and shoots 48 percent from the field.
Pirates sophomore forward Haley Ostrander gives Peninsula valuable depth off the bench.
Tomorrow’s game will be broadcast live on KONP Newsradio, with the pregame show beginning at 11:45 a.m. Oly Archibald and Greg Thomas will have the call.
A Pirate win would send Peninsula to an Elite Eight matchup Sunday at 2:00 p.m. against the winner of the Umpqua–South Puget Sound game.
Pirates guard Marley Myers, seen here on the KONP Newsradio postgame show after her Columbia River Rapids defeated Port Angeles in last year’s state tournament.