BC WOMEN FINISH 7th at NWAACC TOURNAMENT
March 8, 2012

Sophomore Sanda Milovic photo by Rich Dworkis

The Bellevue College women’s basketball team headed east to participate in the NWAACC Basketball tournament on Friday, March 2.  The first event was the tournament banquet where several Bulldog players were recognized for their achievements this year. Kelsey Sparks was voted first team for the North Region, while Sanda Milovic was once again voted to the second team for the region. Taylor Wofford was voted defensive player of the year.  All three will participate in the Sophomore All Star game on March 11 at Pierce College.  Additionally, Wofford and Courtney Batts were recognized on the All-Academic Sports Team for Winter Sports.  Congratulations to all the Bulldog players that were recognized.

Saturday morning, March 3, the Bulldogs were up early for an 8 a.m. contest with Clackamas.  Both teams have been ranked all season, so it would be a great matchup to get the tournament going. In the first half the teams traded baskets, but the Bulldogs were able to move out slightly 28-21. The Bulldogs wouldn’t hold the lead long, finding themselves trailing at the half 37-35.  “It seemed our entire team was in foul trouble in the first half,” said Bellevue women’s head coach Brent Hermanson, “we just kept reaching for the basketball picking up bad fouls.”  In the second half, the Bulldogs continued to battle, even coming within four points with a minute left in regulation.  Bellevue had the momentum and the ball, but were unable to convert, and then picked up a critical foul in the back court that put Clackamas on the line. Even with Kelsey Sparks and TyShana Burgess putting up 19 points each, and Burgess’s eight rebounds, Clackamas won the game 74-65, and the Bulldogs moved to the losers side of the bracket for day two.

On Sunday, Bellevue faced the number four seed from the west, the Tacoma Titans.  The Bulldogs hit the court, playing hard in the first half, and made the statement they weren’t ready to go home after two days.  The Bulldogs were clearly firing on all cylinders, taking a commanding lead into the half 42-26.  “I was proud of the team’s effort, especially after the disappointment of day one, it can be easy to lose focus and let the next game slip,” said Hermanson. In the second half, the Bulldogs continued to outpace the Titans, and closed out the game with a 74-55 victory and the chance to move on to day three, with the opportunity to play in the 12 p.m. time slot, rather than the early bird position. Three Bulldog players scored double figures for the game: Sanda Milovic with 10 points, and Sparks and Brittany Barrington each contributing 12 points.

Bellevue faced possible elimination again on day three, going up against another West region team, but this time it was the number one seed Centralia. The first half went as expected with both teams battling hard, but Bellevue eventually pulled away to take a 35-22 lead into the half.  The Bulldogs returned to the court after intermission with renewed energy and finished off Centralia 71-49. Three Bulldogs were again be in double figures led by Burgess with a game-high 21 points and seven rebounds, followed by Barrington, 13, and Sparks, 10.  Once again all the Bulldogs saw action in the contest, and everyone was able to contribute to another Bulldogs victory.  With the win the Bulldogs could move on to day four to take on the winner of the Umpqua -Clark game for 7th or 8th place.

On day four, Tuesday, March 6, for the second year in a row, the Bulldogs faced off against the Umpqua Riverhawks.  At this point in the four-day tournament, it gets down to which team can bring energy to the contest and sustain that energy throughout both halves. In the first half it was all Bulldogs, even though the Riverhawks kept it close for about 10 minutes, the Bulldogs kept the pressure on and took the lead into the half 38-20.  “We told our players that Umpqua likes to push the ball up the court and that we had to make them defend, and not give up early opportunities in the break. To our women’s credit, they were able to do exactly that,” said Hermanson. The Bulldogs kept control of the game in the second half, closing it out with a 68-45 win and a 7th place finish in the tournament. Once again everyone contributed and played minutes for the Bulldogs, who were led by Milovic with 16 points and DeMarea Caples with 11.  “It’s always nice to win your last game,” said Hermanson.  “It’s a great thing for our program to be able to place at the tournament, for our players that everyone was able to participate in our last three games, and for our (North) division that both Bellevue and Skagit were able to place,” add Hermanson.  The Bulldogs held their final three opponents below their scoring averages for the season which contributed to the victories.

The Bulldogs finish the season with three straight wins and a final season record of 25-6, the best record since coach Hermanson has been at Bellevue.  “We’ve made progress every year: in 2008-2009 we finished 17-14; 2009-2010 we finished 19-9, in 2010-2011 we finished 23-7 and were the only North team to place at the tournament finishing 5th, and this year we finished with a record of 25-6 and a 7th place finish,” said Hermanson. “It’s been a great season and one that would not be possible without the help of the administration and the assistant coaches I’ve been lucky to assemble. Coach Carly Fromdahl, Coach Angela Jensen and Coach Paulette Martin have done a tremendous job this year, and I owe them a great deal of thanks.”