Lady Clippers Score Upset Win Against #7 Lower Columbia, Go 2 for 2 in Week 6

The SPSCC Women's Basketball team is still in the hunt for at least a share of the West Region title as they scored two big wins against Highline and, most importantly, Lower Columbia this past week.

After getting back on track with a win last week, the Lady Clippers looked determined to keep on winning out the rest of the season to get the best seed possible come NWAC Basketball Championships time. With this in mind the ladies looked forward to some home cooking to get things going as they welcomed the Highline Thunderbirds and the #7 ranked Lower Columbia Red Devils

The first game of week came against the T-Birds and the Clippers looked to repeat their performance in Des Moines from January when they defeated Highline soundly by a score of 70-40. From the jump, the Clips came out strong on defense, holding the T-Birds to 27% shooting in the first quarter and allowed only 6 points in the first 10 minutes. This was a constant throughout the game as the Lady Clippers held Highline to less than 14 points per quarter, a 37% shooting efficacy for the game, and ended the game with 19 steals and 28 turnovers overall.

Meanwhile, the Clipper offense did their thing with starters Dakota Carson, Cristazia Cristobal, and Jaynee Tanner shot well and finished the game in double-digit points. Tanner led the charge for the night as she finished with 16 points and 11 boards, her 20th double-double of the season. Not to mention that every single player got on the scoreboard as the Clippers finished with a 46% shooting efficiency as they cruised to a 67-43 victory against Highline.

"As a team, I feel like we have finally been grouping together and finding our niche," said Freshman Guard, Cristazia Cristobal. "Before we were finding out how to play with each other because we are all new, but now I feel like we are figuring it out. We are starting to mesh really well and it's showing on the court."

The ladies had little time to enjoy their victory as their attention focused to their Valentine's Day game against the #7 ranked Red Devils who came into Olympia undefeated in divisional play. It was WBB's toughest challenge yet, but to say that they were up to the task is putting it lightly.

Much like in their first game of the week, defense was the name of the game, and the Clippers really clamped down defensively to force the Red Devils into bad shots. The Clips' defensive efforts paid huge dividends as Lower Columbia did not shoot well, ending the game with a 24% FG percentage as opposed to the Clippers' 33% for the day. Also, the Clippers really did well in forcing bad shots from beyond the arc as the Devils only sunk four out of 20 shots from three-point range.

There is always one student-athlete that rises to the challenge offensively in every game and it was Dakota Carson's turn to shine as she had a spectacular game with 20 points for the day. Carson went off from beyond the arc as she sunk five three-pointers, finishing with a 45% efficiency for the day. Furthermore, every Clipper athlete finished the game on the scoreboard with at least one bucket made and Jaynee Tanner was at the forefront of the rebounding side of things as she records her 21st double-double with a 12 point and 17 rebound performance.

At one point, the Clippers held a 15-point lead but as the game crew closer to the end, the Red Devils attempted a late comeback that forced the Clippers to really bear down and hold on. In the end, the Clips were able to hang on to a 57-51 victory in a huge upset against the top-ranked team in the West.

"It was a big week. I feel like the girls were locked in as we get closer to the end of the season," said Women's Basketball Head Coach Darah Vining. "Our theme for last week was 'trust each other and work hard' and I think playing as a full unit and trusting each other is how we were able to come away with a win."

With this victory, the Lady Clips are positioning themselves to make a late run for at least a share of the West Region title. They would need to win out the rest of the season and need some help from LCC's next three opponents in the following weeks.

Now, the Clippers have Staff & Faculty Appreciation Night Presented by ACU on Wednesday, February 18 against the Pierce Raiders at 7:30 p.m., followed by a trip down to Centralia to take on the Trailblazers on Saturday, February 21 at 4 p.m.