It has been a hair raising, nail biting week for the Highline Thunderbird basketball teams. The Highline men and women both had competitive games against Lower Columbia Community College and Tacoma Community College.

Both the men and women had upsetting games against Lower Columbia on Jan. 24, but they were quite the war. Both teams played fierce the entire game. The Highline men were neck and neck with Columbia the whole game, but eventually the Red Devils pulled away to a 79-66 victory. The woman battled till the end but fell to the Red Devils in a lopsided 78-39 match.

Tacoma Community College was a different story. On Jan. 28, both the men and women showed up at Tacoma’s house, ready to win. On the men’s team sophomore guard Keon DeWalt scored 10 points in just 10 minutes, helping the Thunderbirds beat Tacoma 79-69.

DeWalt said, “I was ready to work and I was ready to win against Tacoma. I wanted to show up and beat them. It’s been a long few weeks at Highline, especially mid season gets especially hard but the way we have been prepping for this game. I knew we had it.”  

The woman crushed it at Tacoma, winning 63-45. The woman showed up like it was business and handled the match, notching another victory for the team.

Both Highline teams don’t look like they’re messing around this season, showing up to games ready and wanting to win – you can see it in their eyes. 

DeWalt added, “This team has been exciting and exciting to play for. Seeing all the growth and hustle and work this team has put in is exciting. We have been jelling and flowing. Our game has jumped and improved so much. The rest of the league will be fun.”

Highline may have the weekend off but that does not mean that they are done by any means. The Tbirds will be back playing in front of their home crowd on Feb. 4, ready to fight and compete with their next game against Green River Community College.

That will be a game you won’t want to miss as this will be the second time Highline faces Green River, with the Thunderbirds falling short in their previous matches. So be sure to come and support the men’s and women’s teams as they seek redemption against the Gators.

The men play at 5 p.m. and the women play at 7 p.m. at the Thunderdome.