Three teams are making their way to the island on Friday to participate in the first "War on the Shore" varsity girls tournament. Ocracoke will host the Cape Hatteras Hurricanes, the East Carteret Mariners, and the Gateway Christian School Crusaders for the 4-game play-off for the tournament championship. 

The games start Friday night at 6:15 with Hatteras vs. East Carteret, followed by Ocracoke vs. Gateway Christian at 7:30. The tournament will continue Saturday morning with a 9 a.m. consolation game and the 10:30 a.m. championship game. 

These will be the first games of the season for the Lady Dolphins.

"We're extremely excited," said Coach Adam Burleson. "The girls have been working really hard since the day after volleyball ended. I think they're ready." 

This will be the second basketball tournament in Ocracoke history. The first was last year, after the new gym opened. Ocracoke sports fans turned out to support the boys and girls tournament last December. 

Coach B. is happy that the teams can make it here this weekend in spite of Highway 12 being closed. The Friday evening games were re-scheduled a little later and the Saturday games are now a little earlier to accommodate the extra travel time. Gateway's team is coming all the way from Virginia Beach; they'll be back in December for the varsity boys' tournament that Ocracoke is hosting on the 14th and 15th.

"Teams want to come here – we've got a little bit of a reputation for good home crowds," said Coach B. "We want everyone to show up this weekend."

The Ocracoke Boosters will have the concession stand open, WOVV 90.1 will broadcast the game live, and the team will hold a 50/50 raffle during the games. On Saturday morning, the Ocracoke Cheer Club will have a breakfast sale to raise money for their new uniforms. The Dolphins basketball season has begun!

The next home game will be December 11th. Check out the Ocracoke Current calendar page for a schedule of all the season's games.