Fans will have three opportunities to catch the South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) women’s basketball team play at home beginning Thursday, December 16 as the Clippers host a three-day Northwest Athletic Conference crossover event.
The Clippers (3-1) open their series of crossover contests against Peninsula College on Thursday. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Health & Wellness Center.
SPSCC will follow with a game against Columbia Basin College at 4 p.m. on Friday, December 17 before closing out the crossovers against visiting Clark College at 2 p.m. on Saturday, December 18. All three games will be streamed live on the NWAC Sports Network.
The Clippers have not played since December 4 when they suffered their first loss of the season against Lane Community College at home. SPSCC was slated to play three games in the Bigfoot Classic at Spokane Community College December 10-12, but the event was cancelled due to inclement weather.
The Clippers, who are off to one of the best starts to a season in program history, rank among the top teams in the NWAC in several categories. SPSCC is third in blocks per game as a team (4.0), fourth in steals per game (13.3), fifth in rebounds a game (47.8), seventh in team field goal percent (40.1) and 11th in offensive rebounds a game (15.5).
SPSCC’s Jennie Goldsberry will look to extend her double-double streak. The freshman post career highs in both points (16) and rebounds (14) in a win over Shoreline Community College to open her current streak. She followed up that performance by scoring 11 points and adding 11 rebounds against Portland Community College before putting up a 14/10 effort against Lane.
Freshman Sharay Trotter leads the team in scoring, averaging 18.0 points per game. She is followed by Goldsberry (12.3 ppg), Payten Foster (9.3), Kayla Jackson (7.5), Honey Let Padasdao (5.3), Nikeshia King (4.8), Bella Hemmingson (4.5) and Brandie Tobin (3.8).
Up first at the crossovers for the Clippers will be Peninsula. The Pirates bring a 6-2 record into the crossovers and have already proven they can win three games in three days as they kicked off the season going 3-0 in the Tio Off Tournament at Wenatchee Valley College in late November, defeating Walla Walla Community College (66-41), Wenatchee Valley (61-57) and Spokane (62-58).
Peninsula, which knocked off Wenatchee Valley (43-38) for a second time this year in its most recent game on December 12, has three players who average double digits in scoring, led by Kelly-Jade Smith’s 11.7 points per game. She is joined by Emilia Long and Ituau Tuisula, who average 11 and 10.6 points per game, respectively. Tuisala is also the squad’s top rebounder at 8.8 an outing and Long leads the team in assists, averaging 3 a game.
SPSCC will face NWAC East Region member Columbia Basin (3-4) on the second day. The Hawks knocked off Green River College (51-42) on December 11 following a strong defensive performance in the fourth quarter where they outscored the Gators, 13-4.
Columbia Basin is paced on offense by Ali May, who at 10 points a game is the only Hawk averaging in double digits.
The Clippers close out the crossover event against Clark (3-5). The Penguins bring a two-game winning streak into the crossovers, defeating Northwest Indian College (78-32) and Skagit Valley College (59-48) in its most two recent games. Clark ranks fourth overall in the conference as a team in 3-point field goals made per game (8.1) and eighth in 3-point field goal percentage (31 percent).
Alexa Smith leads a balanced Penguins attack, averaging 10.4 points a game. She is followed by Haylie Johnson (9.8 ppg) and Chloe Weight (9.6 ppg).
The Clippers close out the 2021 portion of their schedule at the Skagit Valley Holiday Tournament December 28-30 where they will play Big Bend Community College, Everett Community College and Douglas College of British College in the three-day event.
SPSCC will play its first NWAC West Region game at Tacoma Community College on Wednesday, January 5. The Clippers will return home on Saturday, January 8 where they will host Green River.
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