by Lavi Aulck
Sports Editor

Heading into the final stretch of the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) regular season, SCC’s men’s and women’s basketball teams are in very different situations when looking at the postseason.

During the February 13 contest against Olympic Community College, the men were in a near “do or die” situation in the chase for the fourth and final playoff spot in the NWAACC North division. With only four games remaining on the schedule, the team sits four games behind fourth place Bellevue Community College (BCC) and a postseason birth.

The team won a crucial home game against BCC on February 9, with offense provided by four players in double figures. Freshman guard Stephan McCall led the way for the Dolphins with 15 points off the bench. JaRon Brown, Corey McClain, and Robert Niles-Clewis each added 14, 13, and 12 points respectively in the 78-71 win.

The women’s team, meanwhile, will have to put their playoff hopes on hold until next year. Heading into the February 13 contest against Olympic Community College, the team had five games remaining on the schedule while sitting five and a half games from a playoff in the NWAACC North.

Despite the fact that his team won’t be playing in the postseason, first-year head coach Derek Witt believes that SCC has made great strides from not having a women’s basketball team for nearly the entire season last year.

“While we realize that they keep track of wins and losses for a reason, we all know that what we have done this year will not necessarily be seen on the score sheet,” said Witt. “It is something that will be there for future teams to build on- we have given this program a needed boost of stability.”

Adding to the program’s stability is the team’s recent improvements. After being outscored in their first six league games by a total of 107 points (a near 18 point average), the squad only totaled a deficit of 51 points over their next five games (a near 10 point average) and picked up SCC’s first NWAACC win since 2006 in a victory over Edmonds Community College.

“(Over this season,) these young ladies have grown by leaps and bounds,” said Witt. “They have been tremendously resilient and watching them grow on the floor as players and learn what it takes to compete at this level has truly been amazing. We feel we are really moving in positive directions as individuals as well as a cohesive team.”