BC WOMEN KICK OFF SEASON AT EVERETT CLASSIC
November 28, 2012

Brittany Barrington had 19 points in the season-opening win over Tacoma at the Everett Classic. photo by Rich Dworkis

On Friday, Nov. 16, the Bellevue women’s basketball team traveled to Everett to participate in the Everett Women’s Classic. The Bulldog women were the defending champions, winning last year’s tournament by defeating Linn-Benton in the championship game. This year the tournament started off in much the same manner.  In their first round against the opponent Tacoma Titans, the Bulldogs were able to stay in the game for much of the first half, not playing their best basketball, but despite an early 12-point deficit the Bulldogs were able to hold a slim lead at the half 28-25.  In the second half, Bellevue extended their lead and won their first contest of the year 60-49. Leading the Bulldogs was sophomore point guard Brittany Barrington with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Kaitlynn Bunger contributed 13 points and Brenna Anderson pulled down eight rebounds.

On Saturday, the Bulldogs faced the Lane Titans and unfortunately found themselves trailing 19-1 early in the first half.  The Bulldogs outscored their opponent from that point forward, but were unable to overcome the large deficit and eventually fell to Lane 71-54. “We weren’t ready to match their effort or intensity from the start of the game,” said Bellevue’s head coach Brent Hermanson. “Lane is well-coached and came ready, while I believe we spent the first 10 minutes in the locker room,” said Hermanson. There weren’t a lot of bright spots for the Bulldogs in this game with 26% shooting from the floor and 47% from the free throw line. Another loss for the Bulldogs came late in the game when Barrington went down late in the game with a season-ending injury.

The Bulldogs then faced East Region powerhouse Spokane on Sunday, Nov. 18. Once again the Bulldogs appeared to have spent the first 20 minutes of the game in the locker room, finding themselves down 35-20 at the half.  In the second half, the Bulldogs rallied and brought the game back to a 58-58 tie with one minute remaining in regulation. However, Spokane hit a three-pointer at the end of the shot clock and when the Bulldogs turned the ball over, Spokane quickly closed it out winning 63-58.  “It’s too bad we show up late for games, we will need to find consistent effort if we intend to compete in our division and have an opportunity to go the NWAACC tournament. To say I’m disappointed in the effort would be an understatement, we simply have to play harder,” said coach Hermanson.

Next up, Bellevue hosts the annual Women’s Classic on November 30-December 2. The first opponent for the Bulldogs will be Northwest Indian College on November 30 at 8:00 pm. Other participating teams include Big Bend, Green River, Highline, Mount Hood, Skagit Valley, and Umpqua.