SHORELINE — In her debut season as Shoreline Community College women’s basketball coach, Petra Jackson never had to worry about shuffling her starting lineup at the last minute or smoothing over complaints about playing time.

Sounds like a coach’s dream.

Not exactly.

The reason Jackson didn’t encounter such issues was that by the end of last season, Shoreline’s active roster was reduced to five players. Well, five-and-a-half counting a part-timer who showed up when her work schedule allowed.

The Dolphins were one torn muscle, jammed ring finger, or poke in the eye away from going four-on-five. But even without a single reserve on the bench, the “Shoreline Five” somehow remained involved in the playoff chase down to the final two weeks.

The fatal blow occurred when leading scorer Amanda Merkley went down with an ankle injury with five games to go. Shoreline lost all five of those games and dropped to eighth in the nine-team North Region.

“Had Amanda been playing, we’d have definitely have finished in the top four. There’s no doubt about it,” Jackson said. “We were losing by the points she was averaging and less.”

Anything less than a top-four finish this season would be unacceptable for Jackson, who said she worked “double-time all last year” scouting the local high schools for potential recruits.

The second-year coach is confident the mix of players she brought in will procure the program’s first postseason berth. In 25 seasons, Shoreline has produced a winning league record just once.

“I told my kids, ‘We finished eighth last year, but Shoreline is going to be the team to beat this year. So you guys might as well get mentally prepared for that,’” Jackson said.

For the Dolphins to pull off the 180 Jackson’s promising, they’ll need consistent contributions from their freshman class, most notably point guard Reyna Gross and 5-foot-11 forward Ebonee Newson.

“Come next year, we’re going to have some D-I schools up here (watching) those two,” Jackson said of the Rainier Beach High School products.

As a senior, Gross averaged close to 14 points a game to lead Rainier Beach to its first Metro League title since 1989 and a 19-4 overall finish.

“She’s probably one of the gutsiest point guards I’ve ever coached,” Jackson said. “She knows how to win, coming from Rainier Beach. She’s not afraid to go to the hole, she’s not afraid to take a hit and she takes some shots. That’s what a good point guard does, because it keeps a defense honest.

“Our team is going to go how our point guard goes. If she’s calm and relaxed, that’s going to get everybody else in the flow of the game.”

Shoreline’s success will also hinge on the impact of Newson, a force in the post for a Rainier Beach squad that took sixth at state two years ago. Newson averaged 17.1 points during her senior season and a tournament-best 12.8 boards in the state playoffs.

“I put an emphasis on getting our big girls scoring,” Jackson said. “Let’s get them the ball and get them scoring and go from there.”

Merkley contributed more than 15 points and seven rebounds a game for the Dolphins last season and Jackson is looking for the 5-11 guard/forward to up her production this season.

“Amanda has a good shot,” Jackson said. “I told her, ‘I want more than that. You’re going to have to go to the hole. You’re going to have to get to the free throw line. That’s going to make you a better player.’”

Shoreline’s frontcourt also got a boost with the addition of 5-11 forward Michelle Beach, who played for an Issaquah team that advanced to the semifinals of last year’s Class 3A state playoffs.

“Michelle talks a lot. That’s one thing we were missing last year,” Jackson said. “We didn’t have anybody out there to take on that vocal part. Everyone was quiet.”

Shorecrest High School graduate Lindsey Dennis edged out Natasha Koontz for the final starting spot alongside Gross in the backcourt and can also run the point.

In mid-December, 5-10 sophomore Kamela Lyons will become eligible. Lyons led the Dolphins with 8.6 boards per game last season to go with 15 points.

“The points are going to come,” Jackson said. “We run a motion offense where the ball goes through everybody’s hands.”

The Dolphins ranked second-to-last in scoring in the entire 34-team conference last season, with an average of 53.6 points per game.

A stingy defense is what kept Shoreline afloat. The Dolphins were second in the North behind region champion Skagit Valley in team defense, at 59.4 points allowed.

Skagit has claimed the North Region title 13 of the past 15 years and is generally the front runner in the division from the get-go. Edmonds is fielding one of its stronger teams in recent seasons and Bellevue and Everett can’t be counted out.

While Jackson was comfortable predicting Shoreline will land its first playoff berth in school history, she stopped short of forecasting a region championship.

But she didn’t rule it out.

“Being optimistic, I know we’re going to finish in the top four,” Jackson said. “To be cocky and say one or two, I’m not going to do it. I’m going to let the kids prove to me and to everybody else where we should be when it’s time to go to NWAACCs. But we are going this year.”