BELLEVUE WOMEN TAKE NORTH REGION TITLE, ON TO CHAMPIONSHIPS
February 26, 2013

DeMarea Caples was named to the First Team All-Northern Region team. photo by Rich Dworkis

The Bellevue women’s basketball team won their final two games of the regular season on the road at Skagit Valley College and Peninsula College on February 20 and 23, respectively, to wrap up the North Region title.

In a breath-taking, back-and-forth game at Skagit Valley, Bellevue pulled off a 60-56 win. “With the top two teams in the women’s North standings we knew the game at Skagit was going to be an entertaining and close game and it lived up to its billing,” said co-head coach Jeremy Eggers. Bellevue was up only four points at the half, then up eight points with 15 minutes to go, and then Bellevue slid down to a 17-point deficit with only six minutes to go when Skagit went on a 25-0 run. The Cardinals were hitting some three-point shots while the Bulldogs struggled to put the ball in the basket during that stretch.

“I am so proud of our ladies for not giving up and competing to the very end and giving themselves a chance to win the game in the final seconds,” said coach Eggers. “They executed down the stretch tremendously well and it showed by them executing our set play in the final seconds and Brenna Anderson burying a three-pointer in the final six seconds of the game to put us up two points. Then we were able to steal the inbounds pass and Chanel Cambronero hit two free throws to ice the game in the final 2.5 seconds.” Three Bulldogs scored in the double digits: Jori Hall with 14 points also pulled in seven rebounds; DeMarea Caples contributed 12 points and six rebounds; and Brenna Anderson netted 11.

Heading over the Sound to Port Angeles on Saturday, the Bulldogs faced a Peninsula College women’s team that was beset with injuries, but still determined to slow down Bellevue’s pace. The Bulldogs were ahead by six points at the end of the first half, 35-29, but with less than nine minutes left to play before the final buzzer, the teams were tied at 54 each when the Bulldogs began to pull away. As the Bellevue offensive kicked in, they were able to wrap it up with a 76-61 victory and the North Region crown. Cambronero flirted with a near double-double, posting 19 points with nine assists. Anderson and Hall each scored 11 points, and Rogers contributed 10.

Closing out the regular season with seven consecutive wins, the Bellevue College women’s basketball team secured the North Region title with a league record of 12-2, and season 19-8. The women travel to the Tri-Cities to participate in the NWAACC Basketball Championships, March 2-5. The first game for the Bulldogs will be on Saturday, March 2, at 10 a.m. against Tacoma. The Titans finished fourth in the West Region with a 11-5 league, 15-9 season record.

Selected to the 2013 NWAACC Women’s Basketball All-Stars from the North Region were Bellevue’s DeMarea Caples for First Team honors, Jori Hall and Airashay Rogers for Second Team, with Hall also being selected as Freshman of the Year and named to the All-Defensive Team. Co-Head Coaches Jeremy Eggers and Angela Jensen were named, along with Steve Epperson of Skagit Valley, as Co-Coaches of the Year for the North Region.