Rarely does a player from a fourth place team draw the type of respect that has been garnered by Pasadena City College women's basketball forward Alisa Shinn. The 6-foot-3 sophomore was named South Coast Conference North Division Player of the Year for the 2017-18 season by conference coaches. She is the first Lancer to be chosen SCC MVP since Dominique Scott in 2010-11.
From Crescenta Valley High, Shinn is just six points away from reaching 1,000 points in her Lancers career with at least one playoff game left to accomplish the feat. Only three Lancers have ever reached four figures, including another CVHS product and state regular season MVP Jeanine Deno (1,025 points, 2006-2008), PCC Hall of Famer and state MVP Dionne Pounds (2003-2005, 1,056 points) and 2009 state tournament MVP Kinyada Johnson (1,097 points, the school's all-time scoring leader). Shinn is the school's 10th MVP in South Coast history, nine coached by PCC head coach Joe Peron. Shinn is currently No. 5 on the All-Time Scoring List, just three points behind Kim Smith (997, 2008-2010).
Shinn is averaging 21.3 points and 13.5 rebounds, both tops in the entire SCC. She is the first Lancer to pass 400 rebounds in a season (417 to date) since Biljana Bosanac, another conference MVP, in 1992-1993 (445). In the 10 conference games, Shinn was even better with averages of 25.7 points, 14.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.4 blocks.
She has reached 30 or more points in a game, a PCC record seven times, and passed 21 or more rebounds five times, also a PCC record (set by current teammate Mercy Odima this season). Shinn has the second-highest scoring game in PCC history with 41 points v. conference champ LA Trade Tech. Twice she has pulled down 25 rebounds, third highest ever. And on Wednesday night in the team's playoff victory over San Diego City College, Shinn tied the Lancers' postseason record for most points (35) and set a new PCC standard for rebounds in the playoffs with 23.
Odima, a 6-2 freshman center, and sophomore point guard Samaiyah Abdullah each joined Shinn on the All-SCC North Division First Team. Frosh guards Jade Lin and Elise Ortega were selected to the All-SCC North Second Team. The conference handed out 24 awards despite only six teams in the division.
Odima averaged a double-double this season, currently at 11.2 points and 12.5 rebounds a game. Abdullah led the entire SCC in assists with a modest 4.5 per game plus 8.4 points and 1.9 steals averages. Lin averages 7.7 points and 2.8 assists while being tops on the team in 3-point baskets with 47. Ortega proved to be one of the team's best defensive players and averages 6.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2 steals a contest.