Bellevue Girls Advance in SeaKing District Tourney Over Lakeside
By Steven Dion
| Tuesday- February 17 | 2015 | Girls | 3A | SeaKing | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellevue College | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| Bellevue | 18 | 8 | 24 | 12 | 62 | |
| Lakeside | 8 | 8 | 8 | 19 | 43 | |
Bellevue Senior Dejah Rogers
Tuesday night at Bellevue College featured four SeaKing matchups including a clash of top girls squads in Bellevue and Lakeside. The Lions picked up a 40-31 victory over Seattle Prep on Saturday to advance to the second round of the winner’s bracket. Leah Krautter’s Wolverines earned a first round bye to place Bellevue directly into this game. Advancing to the next round in the district tourney was on the line for the victor of this contest.
Bellevue jumped out to an early lead as the disruptive perimeter defense forced turnovers and created open looks on the offensive end. Mandy Steward showed her shooting range by knocking down jumpers after intercepting passes on the defensive end of the floor. Kimijah King led the Lions in scoring by strong takes to the cup despite strong defense in the paint. A stark difference in the contest was the sure-handedness of Bellevue. They pulled down rebounds stronger and were able to pluck away loose balls more regularly. After garnering a ten point lead after the first quarter, Bellevue was on its way to a blowout. However, Lakeside finished the second quarter strong and was able to retain a ten point deficit going into halftime.
The Wolverines continued to build their lead early in the third as their variety of scoring options made a presence. Steward tacked on eight, Ann-Marie Jacobs added four points, and five other Bellevue contributed to the huge 24 point third quarter. With eight minutes remaining and a 50-24 lead, the fate of the game was sealed. However, Lakeside continued to battle and the support showed by those on the bench fueled the Lions to a strong final frame. Their tenacity on defense including hitting the deck for loose balls paid dividends on offense. Kelly Keene knocked down a corner three and after Lakeside intercepted the ensuing inbound, found Keene in the same spot for another triple in the matter of seconds. The Lions would outscore BHS in the fourth quarter by a 19-12 margin, but the Wolverines walked away with the win.
The Final Score: Bellevue 62 Lakeside 43
Top Performers:
Bellevue
Mandy Steward-18 points
Lakeside
Kimijah King-16 points