NEWPORT BEACH : Playing for Love of Game, not the Score

Winless going into their final game, the Newport Mesa Dolphins of the girls 10- and 11-year-old basketball league had their first, brief glimpse of victory Sunday afternoon.

Their final opponent, The Unknowns, had not arrived for the season finale at 3 p.m., setting up the possibility of a forfeit.

When talk of forfeit hit the court, the girls jumped up and down yelling, “We won!”

“It’s kind of sad because we wanted to play,” said player Siri Herzog. “But it’s cool because we totally have a chance to win now.”

But the outcome is still in doubt. The game may be rescheduled, according to coaches for both teams, because The Unknowns were apparently misled by their schedule sheet.

Come victory, defeat or postponement, the Dolphins and the Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach girls who play with them have learned that final results are not the reason they play basketball.

What really matters for the nine-member team of fifth- and sixth-graders, whose league is part of the National Junior Basketball Assn., is having a good time, playing as a team and doing their best, members said.

“It’s just fun to go out and play--it doesn’t matter if you win,” said Heather Clark, 10, of Newport Beach. Team members said that even though they didn’t win a game this season, they always played to win.

Offense has been the most difficult part of the game for this group of first-time basketball players, said April Ross, 10, of Costa Mesa. In a typical game, the Dolphins score about eight points, said her father, Coach Glen Ross.

“If they scored in double-digits, they had a really good game,” said Stewart Clark, father of player Heather Clark.

Tom and Lenore Welbourn of Costa Mesa, whose daughter, 10-year-old Katie, is on the team, said it doesn’t seem to bother the team members that they haven’t won.

“Whether they get a basket or not, we’re cheering them on,” Lenore Welbourn said.

Ross said that the girls, except his daughter, April, had never played on a basketball team before. Katie Welbourn said she had never played the game until joining the team.

“I just thought it’d be fun to meet new people and learn new skills,” she said. “And I think I’ve done pretty good for just starting out.”

“We’re getting better every week,” Glen Ross said. “I don’t think anybody’s upset we haven’t won a game.”

Despite the losing streak, the girls have kept their team spirit and enthusiasm.

“Nobody quits; they just get out there and play hard,” Glen Ross said.

Parents also think the Dolphins are winners and have learned valuable lessons. They said being involved in the sport has helped their children to work as a team, learn basketball skills, build self-esteem and accept losses without crying.

And parents said that by next season, the Dolphins will be in their glory--as a winning team.

“I think they’re having a building year,” Sue Clark, Heather’s stepmother, said of this season. “Next year they’re going to be awesome.”