Cold shooting and an unhealthy serving of turnovers fed two losses for the Highline women’s basketball team last week.

Last Saturday, Highline fell to Tacoma, 65-54. 

Both teams struggled to sink their shots. Highline shot 20-59 from the field, 33.9 percent. Tacoma was only a little better at 40.6 percent, 26-64. 

Three pointers made the difference as Tacoma shot 5-22 and Highline had an underwhelming 1-16. 

The first quarter saw the two teams tied at 19-19. But Highline went cold in the second quarter, helping Tacoma to a 19-9 advantage and a 38-28 lead at halftime. 

“We started to get tired and that caused us to lose focus and allowed them to get ahead,” said Highline Guard Patrea Topp.  

Highline had only seven players in uniform, leaving only two on the bench. 

In the third, Highline played steady catch-up, with 5-10 shooting and 2-4 behind the line, outscoring the Trojans 13-11 to narrow the gap to 49-41 entering the final frame. The Trojans struggled to sink their shots hitting only 5 of 19 field goals. 

In the last quarter, Tacoma canned a couple of treys while Highline went frigid from the floor once again. 

Tacoma’s Shiho Isono was the team’s top scorer with 14 points. Center Kylie Lunday led Highline with 17 points on 11-17 shooting and 20 rebounds. 

The depleted roster has made it hard for Highline to even scrimmage, let alone stay competitive in games. Help could be on the way in the form of Misiona Ribeiro, a forward from Pauoa Valley, HI. Ribeiro is a former member of Highline volleyball in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. 

“Misiona is a great addition to the team. She brings a lot of energy and plays down getting rebounds and playing aggressive defense,” said Guard Patrea Topp.

The Lady T-Birds are currently 0-2 in conference and 3-7 overall. They are fifth in the NWAC West Division, tied with Green River and Pierce. 

The Thunderbirds have a bye week, their next game is on Feb. 2 against 0-2 Green River at the Pavilion.