After 3-year delay, White arrives with a bang for SPSCC

BY GAIL WOOD | The Olympian • Published December 04, 2008

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Sometimes, persistence pays off. Just ask Dee Dee Horton.

Three years ago, Horton, as the women's basketball coach at South Puget Sound Community College, recruited Chelsey White. At 6 feet tall, White was a shooter, a defender and a rebounder.

Initially, White accepted the scholarship. Then, after missing almost her entire senior season at River Ridge with a blown knee, White backed out and turned down Horton's offer.

"She decided she'd just work, and she didn't go to school," Horton said.

Horton continued to recruit White, telling her the door was still open. And White always refused.

Then last summer, Horton got an unexpected phone call from White asking if she could play at SPSCC. Horton couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"She just wasn't ready to make that commitment right out of high school," Horton said. "Now, she is."

As a 21-year-old freshman, White has been the scorer, defender and rebounder Horton hoped she'd be. She has helped the Clippers to a 3-1 start going into Saturday's home opener against Linn-Benton College.

"She's been fantastic," Horton said. "She's made every practice. She's never late. She works hard. She's done everything we've asked."

In the gym and in the classroom. Horton checks grades and attendance throughout the semester.

"She's been stellar," Horton said. "Her goal should be a double-double."

White is just one of several feel-good stories about Horton's Clippers. Alicia Richardson, a 6-foot-tall sophomore forward, missed the first three games because she was attending a national leadership conference in Florida.

In her one game back, she's regained her starting spot and recently signed a national letter of intent to play basketball at Mary University in North Dakota.

Then there's Marissa Magalei, a 5-7 freshman guard from Olympia High School, who has turned into a spark off the bench with her hustle and determined play on defense.

"She's our energizer," Horton said.

With 12 players on her roster, Horton has something she lacked last season — depth. She endured much of last season with six players.