SHORELINE — The Shorecrest girls basketball team has never made the state tournament.

This year they hope to change that by making the state tournament a specific preseason goal, something this group hasn’t done before.

It won’t be easy, but if the Scots use their experience, depth, athleticism and team speed to their advantage they could reach their goal.

“I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people this year and hopefully make it to state,” junior co-captain Jocelyn Riordan said.

Riordan, who was second on the team in scoring last season with a 17 points per game average, said her strength last year was shooting. In the offseason, she’s worked on other aspects of her game such as quickness, attacking the basket, defense and rebounding.

While Riordan, a first-team all-league player, is the marquee name, the Scots boast depth, including six seniors.

“We’ve got a pretty good supporting cast around her,” coach Jon Rasmussen said. “There’s many other people who can step up.”

In the front court the Scots have senior post and co-captain Molly Gibson, and senior forward Gina Adams as starters as well as senior post Donna Reisinger and senior forward Nicole Dodson.

Senior guard Bailey Osborn and senior guard/forward Aly Richards will share the backcourt with Riordan along with sharpshooting sophomore guard Ashley Hagood and sophomore point guard Caroline Towles.

“We have the type of team where everybody’s going to contribute a lot,” Gibson said.

Shorecrest finished third in the Western Conference South Division last year with a 13-5 record. The Scots posted a 16-7 overall record ending with losses to Sehome and Ferndale in the district playoffs.

“I’m going to rely a lot on my seniors and returning players to bring us back to what we had going last year,” third-year coach Jon Rasmussen said. “Our expectations are high.”

Rasmussen said the Scots’ team speed and athleticism are their strengths.

“They’re all pretty darn quick,” he said. “That’s why we want to get out and run the floor and push the ball.”

The area where the Scots need to improve the most is defensive rebounding, Rasmussen said.

“We can’t run if we don’t have the ball,” he said. “We’ll keep working throughout the season on it. We’re not the tallest team but we’ll try to use our athleticism to rebound and block out and go from there.”

Last year, the Scots proved time after time they had the ability to come back and win or make a game close after trailing by large margins.

“I think even when we were in some tight situations we felt we were going to win anyway,” Gibson said.

Rasmussen said “it’s the fight in the team, they’re never going to quit.” However, the goal this year is to get in front early and hang on to leads.

Jackson (Class 4A) and Meadowdale (Class 3A) are the teams to beat in the Western Conference South Division this year. Four out of the five Wesco North and South Division 3A teams make the district playoffs.

Riordan said she believes the Scots, who finished tied for third last year with Mountlake Terrace, are one of the top three teams in the league.

“I think this is the deepest team we’ve had in years,” she said. “All 11 players can hurt you.”