PASCO — The Peninsula College women’s basketball team went up against two of the elite teams in the Northwest Athletic Conference this weekend and found it has a lot of work to do to be among them.
The Pirates, who have a lot of new freshmen this season, lost to defending champion Walla Walla 59-44 on Saturday and lost to Columbia Basin, a 2024 Final Four team, 61-56, in the opening weekend Columbia Basin tournament.
One of last year’s returnees, post player Alecsis Smith, had a pair of double-doubles this weekend, going for 15 points and 14 rebounds in Saturday’s loss. Neah Bay’s Ryana Moss also had a good start to the season, scoring in double digits in both games. She scored 10 to go with seven rebounds Saturday.
After a rough first quarter in which Walla Walla scored 26 points, the Pirates defense kept Peninsula in the game until midway through the fourth against the defending NWAC champions. The Pirates were down just 45-39 with 9:50 left in the game, holding the Warriors to under 30 percent shooting, but Walla Walla was able to close the game out on a 14-5 run.
Newcomer Kimberlee Brown added eight points and six rebounds.
The Pirates struggled from outside, shooting 3-for-26 from beyond the arc, and shot just 11-for-22 on their free throws.
Walla Walla 59, Peninsula 44
WW 26 9 10 14 — 59
PC 14 10 13 7 — 44
Walla Walla (59) — Sailors 23, Geerdes 12, Frass 8, Milum 7, Osterhout 4, Contreras 2, Laible 2, Johnson 1.
Peninsula (44) — Smith 15, Moss 10, Brown 8, Myers 5, Caldera 4, Ostrander 2.
Columbia Basin 61, Peninsula 56
The Pirates’ season-opener turned into an epic battle of former Neah Bay teammates.
Columbia Basin won 61-56 behind 16 points from Neah Bay’s Amber Swan and 10 from her former Red Devils teammate Ezrah Ray.
Peninsula College was led by Moss, who hit 4-for-8 on her 3-point shots and scored 14 points.
Swan and Ray were especially effective in the fourth quarter for the Hawks. Swan hit a 3-pointer and scored five points in the fourth. She also had four rebounds and a steal in the quarter, adding a crucial shot block with 13 seconds left in the game and Columbia Basin hanging on to a 59-56 lead. Ray, meanwhile, scored four points in the final two minutes of the game.
For Peninsula, Smith had another big game with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Brown pulled down nine boards and Haley Ostrander scored eight points in her Pirates debut.
The Pirates were hurt again by their outside shooting and a slow start. Excluding Moss’s shooting, the Pirates were 1-for-17 from beyond the arc. Peninsula also had just eight points in the first 12 minutes of the game.
Moss, Swan and Ray were all part of state championship squads for Neah Bay.
Columbia Basin 61, Peninsula 56
PC 8 14 16 18 — 56
CB 13 10 23 15 — 61
Peninsula (56) — A. Smith 17, Moss 14, Ostrander 8, O’Brien 6, Myers 5, Brown 4, M. Smith 2.
Columbia Basin (61) — Swan 16, Roehl 13, Ray 10, Adams 8, Tanner 7, Jamison 7.
