Peninsula women can’t keep pace with Whatcom

Published 2:57 pm Friday, March 21, 2014

By Ryan Hueter

The Buccaneer

Peninsula College

Thirty minutes of outstanding execution on offense and defense were not enough to overcome 10 minutes of pedestrian performance.

The Whatcom Orcas outlasted the Peninsula College women’s basketball team, topping the Pirates, 78-51, on Feb. 16.

“We played a great 30 minutes of basketball and competed with a very good team,” Peninsula coach Alison Crumb said. “We just ran out of steam and man-power to stay in the game.”

Whatcom out-rebounded the Pirates (2-11 in division, 5-17 overall) by more than a twofold margin, 55-26, which Crumb said was a key factor in the outcome.

“Rebounding was huge, but again, we were outmatched from the beginning,” Crumb said “At one point, we had five guards on the floor, and when they have three girls over six-feet tall, we’re in trouble.”

Despite the lopsided final score, Peninsula was within 10 points of the Orcas (10-2 in division, 14-8 overall) at halftime, 35-25. 

Any plan to upend Whatcom unraveled, however, when the Pirates shot 27 percent from the field in the second half. 

Nevertheless, Crumb is encouraged by her squad’s performance.

“I’m actually very positive about this game,” Crumb said. “All things considered, we played a good game against a very good team. We hung around for as long as we could, but eventually Whatcom just overpowered us.”

Danika Goodwin netted 22 points to lead the Pirates. Goodwin also dished out five assists. Megan Smith drained 12 points and collected five rebounds.

Sara Paponjak led the Orcas with 23 points and 11 rebounds while Ashley Honeycutt added 20 points and 15 boards.

Peninsula will square off against the Edmonds Tritons (5-7 in division, 9-11 overall) at 5 p.m. on Feb. 19 in Edmonds.