BY OLY ARCHIBALD
PORT ANGELES — What a difference a week can make in high school basketball.
A week ago tonight, the Roughrider girls were facing elimination from the district tournament, trailing North Mason by five points with four minutes left in the game. This was the same Bulldogs team the Roughriders had just blown out in Mason County, 58-33.
Fortunately for the Roughriders, the emotional spark from Teanna Clark and Lindsay Smith helped turn the tide as they started hitting three-pointers. Lexie Smith dominated the paint, either scoring or drawing fouls. Smith scored seven of her 13 points from the free-throw line.
The Roughriders rallied back for a 46-41 win.
They then struggled for three quarters against Eatonville until the green jerseys turned it up in the fourth quarter, as though Leigh Morgan was playing again. The Roughriders went on a historic 27-11 run, upsetting the Cruisers 48-44.
Aside from too many first-quarter turnovers against Bainbridge, the Roughriders played with more positive energy and a “step on their neck” mentality, leading the Spartans from start to finish to win the District Championship.
Having played as underdogs against Eatonville and Bainbridge, the Roughriders now get to find out what it’s like to play as the favorite.
The Roughriders have the better talent on paper compared to No. 15 seed Cedarcrest (17-7), their Sweet 16 regional opponent on Saturday morning at the UPS Fieldhouse.
The Red Wolves, members of the KingCo 2A league, started their season 4-6 but have won 13 of their last 14 games. However, they have no wins against teams in the Sweet 16. The No. 10 seed Roughriders (17-6) have beaten three Sweet 16 teams—Bainbridge, North Mason, and Eatonville—and have also won 13 of their last 14 games.
The Red Wolves average 42 points per game while allowing 35. The Roughriders average 47 points per game while giving up 34.
Cedarcrest doesn’t have a player averaging double figures. Their leading scorer, 5’10” junior Avery Dice, averages nine points and seven rebounds per game, while 5’4″ freshman Stella Metcalf averages eight points per game.
Cedarcrest 5’10” junior Avery Dice leads the Red Wolves in scoring, averaging 9 points and 7 rebounds per game.
In the three district tournament games, Lindsay Smith averaged 16 points per game, and Teanna Clark averaged nine—identical to their league season averages. Lexie Smith nearly doubled her scoring output in district play, averaging 11 points per game.
The winner of Saturday’s game will advance to Yakima for a Wednesday tip-off against the loser of the No. 2 Ellensburg vs. No. 7 Columbia River game.
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A caravan of green will head to Olympia after the Roughriders’ game on Saturday morning. Former Roughrider and Pirate Millie Long and her GNAC Champion University of Alaska Seawolves will have a 3:00 p.m. tip-off against Saint Martin’s in Lacey. Long has had a record-breaking senior season as the Seawolves’ starting point guard, averaging 13 points per game.
Former Peninsula Pirate and current Saint Martin’s player Keeli Jade Smith will face former Roughrider-Pirate Millie Long on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in Lacey.
Suiting up for Saint Martin’s will be former Peninsula Pirate Keeli Jade Smith. Peninsula Pirates head coach Allison Crumb and the Pirates team will be at the game.
Also on the sidelines will be former Roughrider cheerleader Julia McDonald, now a cheerleader for Saint Martin’s.
Former Roughrider Julia McDonald (Left) will be cheering on the Saint Martins womens basketball team Saturday afternoon.
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NWAC action continues tomorrow night at Peninsula College, where it will be Sophomore Night. We’ll have a complete scouting report on both games tomorrow.