The NWAC delayed all league competition to Jan. 17 for men’s and women’s basketball.
The Lady T-Birds are now 3-5 having faced three game cancellations. The team is leveraging the postponement to recover and get league-ready.
The NWAC decision was made for several reasons, primarily the rise of the Omicron variant according to NWAC’s update. To date, 17 league games originally scheduled for January have been postponed. The following weeks allow school athletics to update safety protocols, avoid COVID-related forfeits, and keep schedule changes to a minimum moving forward.
Nearly all NWAC basketball games scheduled around Christmas and New Year’s Day were canceled due to COVID concerns and or hazardous weather conditions. The Lady T-Birds had three cancellations due to dangerous road conditions travelling to the Skagit Valley tournament.
“Teams were given the opportunity to not travel to tournaments in order to get them healthy and ready for league play,” said Highline Athletic Director John Dunn.
Delaying league play gives student-athletes ample time to test, quarantine if necessary, and get back into playing condition, according to NWAC’s update.
“Our goal is to get our league games played as they are the most important games on the schedule, give our student-athletes a sense of normalcy as they work towards a championship opportunity while being as safe as possible,” NWAC Executive Director Marco Azurdia said on the conference website.
The unexpected break gives Highline time for injured players to recover, and for the team to work on its chemistry, players said.
“We’re taking advantage of the extra time we have to practice, get more in shape, and build more chemistry– just work on our game individually and as a team,” said guard Catherine Sunny.
In the team’s most recent action on Dec. 18, Highline lost 78-53 to Wenatchee Valley.
Hi’ilani Aurai had a strong performance for the T-Birds. She amassed a career-high 20 points on 9-14 shooting. Center Kylie Lunday had 14 points with 7-19 shooting and 13 rebounds. Lunday remains on the NWAC leaderboards in rebounds (first) and blocks (sixth) per game.
In the midst of schedule changes, the team adjusts accordingly and remains focused in practice.
“Both teams [men and women] are now so used to change that it is just the cost of doing business these days. Clearly, it is not ideal, but there is not much choice at this point,” said Dunn.
The Lady T-Birds suit up for conference play on Wednesday, Jan. 19. against South Puget Sound. Tip off is at 5:30 p.m.