Lady Dolphins take their game to the championship tournament

For the first time in Shoreline Community College history, the women’s basketball team has made it to the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) basketball tournament.

The team will head to Kennewick, Wash., where the tournament is being held, with a 12-4 league won-loss record and an overall record of 20-6. Although the they finished in second place, the team was the only one to finish with 20 overall wins in the North Division, and one of only eight teams to accomplish the feat. It is the first 20-win season in team history.

The team will face the Highline Thunderbirds, who finished their season with an identical 12-4 league record. The game will take place on Court Two at Tri-Cities Coliseum on Friday, at 8:00 a.m.

Match up against Highline

The Thunderbirds’ scoring leader was Rebekah Proctor, who averaged 13.2 points per game. Michelle Aurelio led the team in rebounding (11.4).

Highline finished 12-4 in the West division, just as the Dolphins did in the North, but their overall record was much worse at 13-13.

As a team, the Thunderbirds scored 1739 points, while allowing 1860. The Dolphins, on the other hand, scored 1766 points and allowed 1582. The Thunderbirds averaged one more steal than the Dolphins per game (11.7 to 10.7), but according to Cybersports USA their defenses are about even. Both score a 54% on defensive efficiency.

On neutral courts, where the team plays on a court neither home nor away, the Dolphins had a record of 2-1, while the Thunderbirds were 1-6. That could mean good news for the Dolphins considering that both teams are going to play on a neutral court Friday morning.

Win and continue

Should the Dolphins win on Friday they would play again on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. If they lose, they will play on Saturday at 8:00 a.m. The tournament is double elimination and will be played until Monday evening, when the championship game for the women’s side is at 6:00 p.m. For the men, the championship will be at 8:00 p.m.

All-Stars at Shoreline

 Dolphin Ebonee Newson was named the NWAACC North Division’s Most Valuable Player on Tuesday, after leading the league in scoring with 24 points per game.

She was also selected as a member of the first-team All-Star team.

Newson led the team in scoring as well as rebounding, averaging 12.7 per game. Throughout the season Newson proved to be a force in the post, and her talent led the women’s head coach, Petra Jackson, to wonder why she wasn’t playing for a four-year college team.

Amanda Merkley, who was second on the team in scoring (14.2), made the second-team All-Star team for the second time.

On the men’s side of the court, the team had two All-Stars as well. Bobby Johnson made the first-team All-Star team, leading the Dolphins in scoring with 21.2 points per game. He shot 63.4% from the field, well ahead of Melvin Lyons’ 54.1%, which was second on the team. Mandell Jones made the second-team All-Star team, as he was second on the Dolphins in scoring with 17.1 points.