Brian Kelly
bkelly@ptleader.com

The Quilcene Rangers had a tough week on the road in girls basketball, falling to Mary M. Knight High 51-15 Tuesday and 62-22 Friday at Oakville High.

Against the Owls, Quilcene Coach Mark Thompson noted the roster was thinned by players who were out sick. And that was just the start of it.

“One got injured in the first quarter,” Thompson recalled, with the Rangers down to five players, “and another fouled out in the third quarter.”

That left Quilcene with just four players for the rest of the game.

The depleted lineup pushed forward Ashley Jones into the point guard position.

(Savannah McBride, a shooting guard, has stepped in to play point guard for the Rangers this season).

Thompson said Jones, a senior, brought needed experience to the game.

“We’re lucky to have her because we have a lot of young players — four eighth-graders, and they all play — and we need some upperclassmen leadership to kind of bring the ball up the court,” the coach said.

The Owls defense proved problematic for the Rangers.

“We struggled with their press not having the ball-handling we normally have,” Thompson said.

Jones led the Quilcene offense and finished with nine points. She also collected at least 10 rebounds, Thompson said.

On the bright side, the team’s youngest members got a lot of valuable playing time in the contest.

Against Oakville, the Rangers also found themselves against a surprisingly aggressive defense.

“We just weren’t ready for their man-to-man full-court press,” Thompson said, adding it wasn’t something he had seen in game film from the Acorns’ first two games.

“I saw both their games on film and they didn’t show a man-to-man press; they played zone,” he said.

The Acorns pressed the whole game, with Quilcene paying the price.

“Once we broke, it was just turnover after turnover and layup after layup,” he added.

Thompson said the Rangers have had a challenging start this year, with practices impacted by illness and the Thanksgiving holiday break at the start of the season.

“Not to make excuses, but it’s been tough to find practice time against all the things you’re going to see,” he said.

McBride led the Rangers against Oakville with eight points, while Jones added five points.

The two losses dropped the Rangers’ record to 1-2.

Two games scheduled against Clallam Bay in the first two weeks of the season were canceled after the Bruins fell short of eligible players.

This week, the Rangers were scheduled to play Wishkah Valley High School on the road Monday, with a rematch with the Owls coming Friday at home in Quilcene.