For 16 minutes, Sequim’s Wolves gave their Bremerton visitors everything they could handle and more.
After halftime, however, the Knights turned the tables and turned a four-point halftime deficit into a 54-47 Olympic League victory.
Lynzie Joslin and Kelsey Langston led Sequim with 10 points each, but a poor third quarter (four points) and an inability to solve Bremerton’s second-half zone defense spelled doom for Sequim (3-4 in league, 4-7 overall).
“They were up and playing defense … (but) they stopped moving the ball,” Sequim coach Lisa Corbit said of her Wolves’ squad. “For a couple of minutes they fall apart and play individually. It’s hard to recover from that.”
The Wolves came out on fire, outscoring the Knights 8-2 in the first four minutes of play. Langston’s lay-up with a minute in the first quarter gave Sequim a 14-6 lead. But Bremerton slowly chipped away, taking advantage of sloppy Sequim passes — the Wolves had 19 first half turnovers — and hitting the offensive boards.
Still with Langston hitting five consecutive shots and Yolanda Chinn keeping check on the Knights’ top scorers, Sequim kept a 32-28 advantage at halftime.
After the break, Bremerton upped the energy on the floor, hitting three consecutive shots to tie it early in the third quarter. Sequim couldn’t respond as they suffered through a dreadful third quarter, shooting 1-of-10 from the field, 0-for-3 from the free throw line, committing nine turnovers and seeing Chinn, a force on both ends of the court, pick up her fifth and final foul. Bremerton took a 42-36 lead after three quarters.
The Knights, led by Naomi Abad’s 15 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals, simply held the Wolves at bay for the final eight minutes to pick up their third league win (3-4, 5-6 overall).
“The first 14 minutes of the first half we saw great things; the transition defense … works when they run it,” Corbit said. “If they can improve two to three minutes each game, we’ll peak at the right time.”
Langston had eight rebounds and three steals to go along with her 10 points. Sarah Moores had nine points, nine rebounds and five assists while teammate Laine Briggs gathered 11 rebounds. Joslin scored 10 points on just four field goal attempts while Chinn had seven points and five rebounds.
“Yolanda is so strong; no one can stop her,” Corbit said. “She’s guarding good players. (When she does that) she rises up and raises her game.”
The Wolves’ Jan. 8 game against North Mason was postponed because of poor weather in Belfair; the make-up date is scheduled for Feb. 5 at home.
Sequim was scheduled to host Peninsula (5-2 in Olympic League play, 6-4 overall) Jan. 15 — results for this edition were unavailable at press time. The Wolves take on Olympic (6-2, 6-4) in Silverdale Jan. 18.
Game notes:
A phantom point? Official scorers had Sequim scoring 15 points in first quarter, although it looked as if they scored just 14. Bremerton coaches argued for the point and didn’t get it, but the Knights wound up not needing it … the Knights had 16 steals to Sequim’s six, and forced 36 Wolves turnovers. That and 20 offensive rebounds helped Bremerton take 21 more shots in the game, proving to be the difference. Both teams shot 29-percent from the floor … the Knights missed all four three-point shots they took Friday night.
Olympic League standings (as of Jan. 14)
• 2A division
Team Lg. Over.
Kingston 5-3 6-6
Sequim 3-4 4-7
North Mason 2-4 3-7
Port Townsend 2-5 4-7
Klahowya 0-6 0-10
