With a birth in the NWAC Tournament clinched, the Lady Clippers are essentially in preparation mode as they try to gain momentum going into the final three games of the season. It looks like the Clips are going to hit the tournament with some wind in their sails as they won their two games of the week against Pierce and Centralia.
"I think this win set us up well for Green River and for the tournament," said Freshman Forward Lawren Decrane after the team's tough 57-51 win against Centralia. "We have a lot of motivation going into these games, and some people doubt us but we've been winning so far so I feel like we have that underdog feeling as a team."
Having gone down to only seven players in recent weeks, the emphasis has been on playing as a team and helping each other out. With the recent results, it has shown that the team's bond is stronger than ever.
The Clippers' first game of the week came against the Pierce Raiders and, as it has been in recent games, it was all Clippers from start to finish. The first quarter was an explosion of offense as the team shot the ball well and got off to a 25-9 lead by the end of the quarter with all seven players notching at least one point. From there, it was smooth sailing for the Lady Clippers as they dominated every aspect of the game once again. Whether it was shooting (44% from the field as compared to Pierce's 27%), rebounding (48 to 30 in favor of the Clippers), or defending (forcing 17 turnovers), WBB played a complete game.
"This was a great team win. One of our big focuses from LCC was to make sure when we're on the court that we're all on the same page, we're all going to execute, we all know what the game plan is. I think we did that with flying colors this game. So that was a big morale boost," said Assistant Coach Chantel Dixon about the team's performance.
The team's Big 3 came up big this game with Monroe Mastro leading the team with 22 point for the game, and Taylor Teeple and Jaynee Tanner netting 18 points each. Also, Mandy Andree-Cordell had a spectacular game off the bench as she recorded her first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
"It feels great [to perform at this level]. I feel like we're able to come together more as a team and find our flow. It's nice," said Andree-Cordell about the team's performance against the Raiders.
The following game against Centralia did not come as easily for the Lady Clippers as the Trailblazers came in fighting for the last tournament berth in the region. The game started off positively for the Clips as they had an eight-point lead after the first quarter and were able to hold Centralia to only seven points in the second quarter. However, the second half of the game was marked by runs by one team, followed by a run by the other. Throughout the latter half, Centralia kept chipping away at the Clippers' lead and got to within four points of tying the game.
Despite not shooting the ball well overall, it was the tough defensive play from the whole team that was able to hold off the Blazers in the final minutes. Taylor Teeple led the team in points for the game, notching 21 points and 9 rebounds, and Vy Tran was clutch in the latter half of the game with 14 points of her own and 7 boards.
"We've gotten better at when we go on a bad run because basketball is game of runs," said Head Coach Darah Vining. "We have to come back together to be able to make that push forward and our team is figuring that out. Taylor Teeple started us off from the beginning with the energy that we needed to be able to take off. When we started to fall low going into the second half, it was next woman up to step up to the plate and that was Vy Tran. When we get into our lows, we always look for someone to pull us out; sometimes it's a team effort, sometimes it's a certain player. Those two stood out today for us to be able to finish this game."
SPSCC finishes off the regular season with a game against the Green River Gators on Wednesday, Feb. 26 in an important game for tournament seeding. For more information, be sure to visit www.spsccathletics.com.