PORT ANGELES -- Three Olympic Peninsula prep basketball teams and two college teams begin play in the state tournaments at the Yakima SunDome and Spokane Arena this week, with the Neah Bay girls going for their fourth state 1B state championship.
Port Angeles girls
Port Angeles, 18-7, is the No. 12 seed in the 2A girls tournament to be held in Yakima. The Roughriders will play No. 5 seed Archibishop Thomas Murphy (18-5) at 2:15 p.m. Thursday. This is a loser-out game. If the Riders win, they play No. 3 seed Prosser (19-2) at 12:15 p.m. Thursday and then would play again Friday in either the winners' or the consolation brackets.
The Riders made it to Yakima by holding off a late rally by Renton in the state regionals 51-39. After Mikkiah Stevens hit a 3-pointer with four minutes left in the game to make it 46-30, it appeared Port Angeles had the game in hand, but Renton responded with two quick 3-pointers and a three-point play to cut the lead to 46-39.
The Riders went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line over the final two minutes with Becca Manson going 4-for-4. Teanna Clark made three 3-pointers in the first half and scored 16 points by halftime.
Neah Bay girls
Neah Bay, 21-2, remains the No. 1 seed at the state 1B tournament, but the Red Devils had a close call against their old rival Lummi in the state regionals.
Lummi actually had a 41-40 lead inside of a minute of that game, but the Red Devils' Angel Halttunen hit a clutch basket with 45 seconds left to give Neah Bay a lead it wouldn't surrender. Neah Bay went on to win 43-41.
Neah Bay, which is also ranked No. 1 in Ratings Percentage Index, moved straight to the state quarterfinals with the hard-fought win over Lummi. The Red Devils will face the winner of No. 7 Pateros (17-6) and No 10 Pe Ell (16-7) at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Win or lose, the Red Devils will play Friday, either in the consolation bracket at 12:15 p.m. or the state semifinals at 7:15 p.m.
Neah Bay boys
The Neah Bay boys lost their regional game 64-51 against Almira-Coulee-Hartline on Saturday, but since they were a No. 7 seed, they remain alive in the state playoffs and go to Spokane. The Red Devils just have to play an extra game.
Neah Bay plays in a Round of 12 game against No. 10 seed Sunnyside Christian at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in a loser-out game. If the Red Devils win, they move on to double elimination and will face No. 1 seed Lummi at 10:30 a.m. Thursday. Win or lose, they will remain alive for a game Friday, either in the state semifinals at 3:45 p.m. or the consolation bracket at 9 a.m.
Peninsula College
The Peninsula College women won their fifth straight North Region championship last week -- and their 54th straight North Region game -- and as expected are a No. 1 seed. The Pirates (22-4) will play the No. 4 seed out of the East Region, Treasure Valley (18-10), at noon Saturday. If the Pirates win, they would play the winner of Umpqua (21-8) and South Puget Sound (19-7) at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Elite Eight.
The men qualified as the No. 4 seed out of the North. The Pirates (7-22) got a bit of a break in their seeding as they avoid No. 1-ranked Everett, No. 2-ranked Green River and No. 4-ranked Umpqua in their opening game. They will play Treasure Valley (16-9), the East Region champion, at 2 p.m. Wednesday. While Treasure Valley did win the East, the Cardinal went 3-8 outside of their region.
If the Pirates win, they play the winner of Clark (17-12) and Lower Columbia (20-6) at 2 p.m. Thursday in an Elite Eight matchup.
All of the college games will be held at Columbia Basin College in Pasco.