By Eric Trent
Peninsula women’s bench should be renamed ‘The Workbench’, because that’s what they do. Put in work.
Fueled by a 31-point contribution from their reserves, the Pirates delivered a back-alley beatdown, trouncing Edmonds 87-35, Saturday in Port Angeles.
The win keeps Peninsula (18-5, 8-1) in a first-place tie in the North Division with Bellevue (19-4, 8-1.)
Moss sisters shine
The Moss sisters Cherish and Cierra, turned into the bash sisters, as Cherish lit up Edmonds in the first half, draining four 3-pointers and snatching 3 steals; while Cierra dealt damage in the second-half, pouring in 14 points, dishing out 3 assists and plucking 3 steals.
“We were able to find the open looks so easily because we had good ball movement and we used our athleticism to our advantage and we quit making unforced turnovers and were finally able to get into a groove,” Cierra Moss said.
“Those second opportunities are really important, because our goal every game is to out rebound every team and gives us a new possession so we can get a different look the second time,” Moss added.
The Pirates defense also dominated, getting 33 points off turnovers, outrebounding Edmonds by 32, and garnering 25 points off turnovers. Zhara Laster, alone, grabbed 17 boards.
“We preach rebounding every day. We had a size advantage and an athletic advantage, so we felt we should have beat them on the boards by at least 20. The fact that we did by 32 is partially why the score was so heavily in our favor.
“Zhara does an incredible job at giving us more possessions. She is a real talent, and was able to help us do that again on Saturday,” Head Coach Ali Crumb said.
Pirates snap-off 26-7 run
Edmonds went on an 8-0 run to end the first quarter, bringing the score to 14-10, but Peninsula broke off a 26-7 run in the second quarter and never looked back.
“We just started shooting in rythm and people were attacking gaps, which was creating shots for others,” Sophomore point guard Imani Smith said.
“We started playig help defense, which led to Edmonds turning over the ball, and us getting more opportunities on offense,” Smith added.
Costly turnovers plague Edmonds
The Pirates’ full-court press prevailed once again, causing 27 turnovers and forcing Edmonds into bad shots for the entire contest. Peninsula capitalized by finding open shots and knocking in 24-points off 3-pointers.
“We were going against a zone, so you can get 3 point shots fairly easily in a zone where they aren’t specifically keying on someone in particular.
“The team was patient though, and found the right shots and that helps with our success rate. We moved the ball well so the shots were in rhythm,” Crumb said.
Peninsula played mostly reserves for the second-half, deploying 13 girls in total.
Reserves rise to the challenge
Edmonds had trouble even containing the Pirates backups, allowing Peninsula to build a 52-point lead to end the game.
“I thought our bench played phenomenal. We had many people going into the game and they all contributed so that was fun for our team.
“You know, the thing is that more than five people practice every day, go to weights, watch film, and attend meetings, so when we have an opportunity to reward our team with more minutes, we want to do that.
“I do think we can rotate quite a bit of players, but sometimes that is just not going to happen. When a team is in rhythm substitutions are disruptive, so it depends on the game and depends on the match ups,” Crumb said.
Cierra Moss put up 16 points, 4 assists and 3 steals.
Zhara Laster had 13 points and 17 rebounds.
Cherish Moss had 12 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.
Imani Smith had 12 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals.
Peninsula faces Olympic (8-14, 3-7) tonight at 5 p.m. in Port Angeles.
Remaining Women’s Regular Season Schedule
Feb. 17 2016 – 5:00 p.m. vs Olympic College in Port Angeles, WA.
Feb. 20 2016 – 4:00 p.m. vs Bellevue in Port Angeles, WA.
Feb. 24 2016 – 5:00 p.m. vs Skagit Valley in Mount Vernon, WA.
Feb. 27 2016 – 2:00 p.m. vs Shoreline in Shoreline, WA.
Mar. 5 2016 – 12:00 p.m. NWAC First Round Playoffs
Mar. 10 2016 – 12:00 p.m. NWAC Tournament in Everett, WA.
Mar. 11 2016 – 12:00 p.m. NWAC Tournament in Everett, WA.
Mar. 12 2016 – 12:00 p.m. NWAC Tournament in Everett, WA.
Mar. 13 2016 – 12:00 p.m. NWAC Tournament in Everett, WA.
