Two of the Pacific Northwest’s top community college hoops squads are gearing up for another run at division and conference championships.
Peninsula’s Pirates kicked off their preseason with the Pirate Tipoff event on Nov. 4 with scrimmages, 3-point and dunk contests and other fanfare.
The preseason began in earnest Nov. 19 when the Pirates traveled to Gresham, Ore., to take on Mount Hood, and Nov. 20 in Longview in a doubleheader with Lower Columbia; results were not available at press time.
See athletics.pencol.edu or nwaacc.org for full schedules and rosters.
PC men
The defending Northwest Athletic Conference North Division champion Pirate men are coming off their best year under Mitch Freeman, now in his fourth year as head coach. The 2015-2016 Pirates went 18-11 overall and 11-3 in conference play.
They were ranked No. 2 in the NWAC going into the postseason when they were upset by Chemeketa in the first round of the playoffs.
Freeman returns include Darrion Daniels, a 5-foot 11-inch guard from Las Vegas, Nev.; Alex Baham, a 6-foot 5-inch guard from Wasilla, Alaska; and Omar Lo, a 6-foot 9-inch guard from Los Angeles, Calif.; as well as red-shirts Alex Losee, a 6-foot 6-inch forward from South Jordan, Utah; and Jalon McCullough, a 5-foot 10-inch guard from Fairbanks, Alaska — both of whom still have two years of eligibility.
The freshman class includes Kevin Baker, a 6-foot 8-inch forward from Kent; Blake Cosgrove, a 6-foot 5-inch forward from Portland, Ore.; Zach Day, a 6-foot 4-inch forward from Las Vegas; Jarrod Felix, 6-foot 2-inch guard from Poulsbo; Cole Rabedeaux, a 6-foot 1-inch guard from Poulsbo; Sam Velez, a 6-foot 9-inch forward from Draper, Utah; Trent Warren, a 6-foot 6-inch guard from Melbourne, Australia; and Elijah Williams, a 6-foot 2-inch guard who is originally from McDonough, Ga., but who played high school basketball at Franklin in Seattle.
Also new to the Pirate team this year is Colby Jackson, a 5-foot 10-inch sophomore transfer from Las Vegas, who played at the University of Alberta last year.
The Pirates’ first home appearance following this weekend’s scrimmages will be at the First Federal Pirate Classic, set for Dec. 3-4.
PC women
Led by head coach Alison Crumb, the Pirate women won the first women’s basketball NWAC championship in Peninsula College history in 2015. The Pirates followed that up in 2016 with a second-consecutive North Division title and made it all the way back to the final in 2016, where they fell to Lane.
Peninsula went 25-6 overall and 13-1 in conference play in 2015-2016.
The 2016-2017 Pirates have big shoes to fill, but they’re looking strong on the practice court and will make their home debut at the First Federal Pirate Classic on Dec. 2.
Pirate fans can check out the season schedule at www.gopcpirates.com.
Crumb returns sophomores Cami Butler, a 6-foot forward from Sandy, Utah; Alicia Dugan, a 5-foot 9-inch guard from Renton; Jenise McKnight, a 5-foot 11-inch post from Las Vegas, Nev.; Anaya Rodisha, a 5-foot 9-inch guard from Las Vegas; Tai Thomas, a 6-foot post from Honolulu, Hawaii; and Sephora Yayouss, a 5-foot 6-inch guard from Brussels, Belgium.
The Pirates also will be joined by a sophomore transfer Milan Barnes, a 5-foot 8-inch guard from Eastvale, Calif., who played at Lewis Clark State College last year, as well as Jamellia Clark, a 5-foot 11-inch forward from Las Vegas, who played her freshman year at St. Francis Xavier College.
The freshman class includes Kayla Alvarez, a 5-foot 2-inch guard from Salt Lake City, Utah; Jamilla Clark, a 5-foot 11-inch forward from Las Vegas, Nev.; Hannah Geberyesus, a 5-foot 4-inch guard from Las Vegas; Yamilei Rodriguez, a 5-foot 9-inch guard from Las Vegas; Jackie Schaubel, a 5-foot 10-inch redshirt freshman forward from Seattle; and Tiffani Smith, a 5-foot 6-inch guard from Las Vegas.
