Women’s basketball: Pirates place third at Lane tourney
Published 3:35 pm Friday, March 21, 2014
Aside from one forgettable game against the top-ranked host team, Peninsula enjoyed a successful road trip last weekend in Oregon.
The Pirates (5-5) took two of three games at the Lane Crossover Tournament in Eugene, Ore., to earn a third-place trophy.
“We played really, really hard,” Peninsula coach Alison Crumb said. “We have a long, long way to go, but we definitely took some steps in the right direction.”
And the Pirates took those steps without being at full strength. They lost Abbie Koenig and Leisl Brown for the season with knee injuries, lost sophomore starter Jesse Ellis for non-conference play with a stress fracture in her foot, and both Taylor Larson and Alison Knowles played hurt.
“We are broken right now,” Crumb said. “These girls played with a lot of heart, and a lot of effort.”
Peninsula opened the tourney with a 68-66 overtime victory against Spokane.
The Pirates outscored the Sasquatch 7-5 in the extra period.
Larson and Jasmine Yarde had 15 points apiece in the win. Larson also had a team-high nine rebounds.
Yarde sent the game into overtime with a 15-foot jumper at the end of regulation.
Rylie Holsinger led Spokane with 17 points.
In the tourney semifinal, No. 1-ranked Lane flexed some muscle in an 83-52 victory against the Pirates. Tori Mahaffie led a balanced Titan attack with 12 points — one of five Lane players in double figures — as Lane posted a 16-point lead by halftime and cruised to the win.
Yarde had a team-high 21 points and nine rebounds in a losing effort, while Jonica Durbin added four blocks and Karli Brakes had five assists.
The Pirates rebounded with a 68-62 win against Clark in the tourney’s consolation final. Yarde led four Peninsula players in double figures with 18 points. Larson added 17 while Abby Jones and Olivia Henderson had 11 points apiece.
Yarde, a sophomore guard out of Fairbanks, Alaska, earned a spot on the All-Tournament team.
Peninsula gets a break before starting conference play. The Pirates open the second half of their schedule with a Jan. 5 home matchup against Whatcom.
