By Halle Nottage
In a unique, frustrating turn of events, the entire NWAC basketball tournament on both the men’s and the women’s side has been postponed due to the Novel Coronavirus outbreak. The NWAC tournament was suspended due to a student at Everett Community College testing positive for the disease, which happened after the campus had been shut down by Everett CC officials in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As of right now the future of the tournament remains unclear, with NWAC officials working hard to find a solution. The tournament has not been cancelled, and according to the Herald.net, NWAC executive director Marco Azurdia has stated that he would like to see the tournament resume next weekend, March 14-15. However, he has also noted that there are several questions that need to be answered, “What we’re trying to do is figure out where we go next in terms of the tournament. What is available? Does one site have the ability to handle both the men and the women? Do we split them up? And than what happens if we’re able to go to a location, than a day or two before something else happens?” There is no ultimatum that has been given yet about the fate of the tournament, but it has been made clear that NWAC officials are doing everything in their power to try and ensure that the tournament goes on.
One of the main goals that is shared by every basketball team that competes in the NWAC, both men’s and women’s, is to make it into the month of March. Making it into the month of March means that they’ve gained themselves berth in the NWAC Basketball Tournament, which means that they can make a run at becoming NWAC champions. This is no easy feat, as in order to make it into the tournament the teams have to fight and claw at one another in order to come out within the top four of their division, which both the PC men’s and women’s teams were able to do.
The PC women’s team was able to finish tied for second with Bellevue Community College, which put them in a relatively good position entering playoffs and for the drawing of games for the NWAC tournament. To make sure that the team is ready to overcome any adversity they may face during the tournament, head coach Alison Crumb has said that there are several things that need to happen, “I think our team just needs to play really hard and physical and limit unforced airs and mental mistakes. If we can do that, we have a shot to beat anyone, but we have to limit mental mistakes”. In addition to the things that need to be worked on, the team is also coming in with several advantages that will enable them to play to the best of their ability, according to Crumb, “Our team chemistry is really strong, and we have great leaders. We have lots of players that were here last year and know how tough it is to win a championship and compete at this level. They are very driven and connected, and that has helped us build a very tough team.”
The PC men’s team found themselves in a sticky situation towards the end of conference play, going from division title contention to having to “battle for the bottom” in a win or go home game. However, the men rose to the occasion and were able to capture the last tournament slot available to the North Division. The men find themselves in a similar situation as last year, coming in last in the division and having to face off against a tough number one seed. Headcoach Donald Rollman has a strong belief in his team and their ability, as long as they do several things right, “If we do a great job of playing hard, playing smart, and playing together then we can put ourselves in position to be successful in the tournament. One game at a time”. The men’s team overcame quite a bit of adversity this season, including the leaving of 3 players at the beginning of the season, as well as several injuries leading a few players unable to compete. However, despite the adversity that came before them, the men were able to find ways to overcome it all and end up gaining themselves a spot in the tournament, “To get this far, the guys have a done a really good job sticking together, battling through adversity and doing their best to do things the right way. All the credit goes to them, ” stated Rollman.