Area Sports by Michael Dashiell

A day earlier, coach Tiffany Darling was giving her team a verbal lashing for not enough effort on the court.

On Saturday, the Pirate women took it out on winless, hopeless and hapless Edmonds team.

Sam Flett had 20 points, nine rebounds and six steals while Brittany Bridges added 19 points and 10 rebounds as Peninsula clobbered Edmonds 89-52.

The win gives Peninsula (4-4 in NWAACC, 8-9 overall) an even mark halfway through conference play.

After posting wins against league leaders Skagit Valley and Seattle two weeks ago, the Pirates lost a heartbreaker to Whatcom and then got blown out at Everett this week, prompting Darling’s impassioned instruction.

At least for a half, it worked. The Pirates held Edmonds to just 19 points on 29-percent shooting while building a 27-point halftime lead.

The lead ballooned to 42 points (73-31) in the second half before Edmonds made the final score slightly less comical with a 21-16 run.

Peninsula’s Kaylee Baumstark chipped in with nine points and 10 rebounds in nine minutes off the bench. Starting point guard Britney Yamane had 12 points and four assists.

Newly minted starter Krystal Tolliver hit for 14 points, five rebounds and five steals in just 20 minutes of action.

Maddison Amos led the Tritons with 13 points.



Trojans triumph as Pirates lose shooting stroke

It could have been worse — but not much.

Peninsula was outscored 47-22 at halftime and trailed by as many as 40 points in the second half as league-leading Everett trounced the women Pirates 94-55 on Jan. 23.

Flett scored 15 points and Tolliver added 10 as Peninsula managed to shoot just 19-of-72 (26 percent) from the floor.

Everett dominated play early thanks to 6-foot-4 post Bryna Trescott and four other quick starters. Keena Hopkins was omnipresent in the contest, racking up 17 points, 13 assists, five blocks and five steals.

Kristina Schumacher led the Trojans with 25 points while Brooke Russell chipped in with 20 points.

“I was very unhappy with our effort,” Darling said. “That’s a talented team and it’s going to be tough to keep up with them but I felt like we waved the white flag way too early. I purposefully sat some of my big studs trying to prove a point, once the game was out of reach, that they didn’t deserve to be on the floor.”

Everett out-rebounded Peninsula 56-45.

Bethany Holt led Peninsula with five blocks while Flett had nine rebounds.



Comeback falls short as Whatcom prevails

“Probably one of the biggest comebacks I’ve ever seen as a player or a coach.”

And that was from the coach on the losing end.

Coach Darling saw her Pirate women throw themselves into a 19-point hole only to come back to within a pair of free throws of sending the game into overtime, but came up short on one freebie and a last-second three-pointer as Whatcom topped the Pirates 72-69 on Jan. 21.

Sam Flett had 27 points in the contest but it was the points she didn’t have at the end that nearly completed the comeback.

With a few seconds left and Peninsula down two, Flett was fouled and needed to make both to send the game into overtime.

Flett came up short on the first one, and after sinking the second, Peninsula had to foul. Whatcom dropped in two free throws of their own, and Flett managed to free herself for one more three-point try.

It hit the back of the rim and rattled out.

For much of the game Whatcom dominated the inside play, out-rebounding Peninsula 52-35.

“We just could not find any kind of offensive rhythm,” Darling said. “(With) only one day between games, a long road trip … we had tired legs.”

Responding with five of the Pirates freshest sets of legs, Peninsula mounted a huge comeback.

Yamane finished with 14 points while Tolliver added 11 points and four steals.

“(It was) a valiant effort to come back — we just dug ourselves too big of a hole,” Darling said. “Now we have an uphill battle as playoffs are concerned. What I like is that we’re getting better. We just didn’t match up well with Whatcom.”



NWAACC North Division standings (as of Jan. 27)

Team Conf. Over.

Everett 7-1 14-6

Seattle 6-2 13-6

Bellevue 5-3 10-10

Skagit Vly. 5-3 13-6

Olympic 4-4 7-11

Peninsula 4-4 8-9

Whatcom 4-4 8-10

Shoreline 1-7 3-14

Edmonds 0-8 0-17



Wilson leaves Pirates

Sophomore Kathleen Wilson, a 2006 graduate of Neah Bay High School and Peninsula’s leading scorer at 14.9 points per game before losing her starting role, has left the team.

Wilson was demoted to a reserve role with the team in the past two games and decided to leave the team last week, coach Tiffany Darling said.

“She made the decision to no longer be with us,” Darling said. “After this game (a 39-point loss to Everett Jan. 23) I challenged her, basically told her she needs to pick up her game and show a little bit more commitment. She turned in her gear and decided not to return.”

Wilson scored a season-high 28 points Dec. 17 against Portland and was shooting 37-percent from three-point range.

Her departure leaves just two players (Allen, Holt) remaining from the 2006-07 Pirate squad.