BULLDOGS TAKE THIRD PLACE
December 17, 2007

Off to a rough 1-4 start, the BCC Women’s Basketball team (3-5) got a pair of much-needed victories, and took home third place at the 2007 Southern Region Crossover Tournament at Mt. Hood Community College.

Bellevue’s first round opponent was Blue Mountain Community College on December 14.  Behind a strong defensive effort, the Bulldogs claimed a 29-21 halftime lead, and held off a late second half run by the Timberwolves to claim a 57-52 victory.  Sophomore center Marissa Bower led all scorers with 17 points to go along with her 8 rebounds, while first year point guard Kaneshia Brooks tallied 14.  5’4” guard Whitney Beyerlin tallied a career high 11 rebounds in the winning effort.

Next, BCC faced a familiar opponent in Lower Columbia College in the semifinals.  The Bulldogs fell 38-56 in Longview last weekend, in a game where they never seemed to get in sync offensively.  Bellevue hung tough with the Red Devils (6-2), but couldn’t quite pull out the victory, falling 43-47.  Brooks was solid again, leading the Bulldogs with 11 points, while Bower turned in 9 points and 8 rebounds.  The Bulldogs recorded a season high 15 steals in the loss, led by guards Alicia Tennyson and Danielle Bue with 4 apiece.

In the third place game, the Bulldogs squared off against Green River Community College.  BCC stormed out of the gate, racing to a 33-23 halftime lead.  The Gators responded by clamping down defensively, holding Bellevue to just 19 second half points.  In the end, it wasn’t enough, and the Bulldogs held on for a 52-49 victory.  Freshman Ashanii Jenkins was a force down low, playing a brilliant all-around game with 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 steals before fouling out.  Bower was effective as well, scoring 12 points to go along with 12 rebounds and 5 assists.

For the season, Bower is averaging a double-double, turning in 15.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per contest.  Jenkins has also been a threat inside, and is averaging 13.0 points and 7.8 rebounds.

The Bulldogs will return home to take Wenatchee Valley College on Thursday, December 20 at 5:30pm.  After taking a break for the holidays, the Bulldogs will play their final pre-league games of the season at the Edmonds Community College tournament December 27-29.