Wednesday, Feb. 16, the Bellevue College women’s basketball team traveled to Mount Vernon to take on the Skagit Valley Cardinals for what would likely be first place in the North Division. Having conquered the Cardinals two previous times this season, the Bulldogs were ready to play for division and season bragging rights.
The Bulldogs started slow, and found themselves down going in at half time 35-27. However, Bellevue came out firing on all cylinders in the second half and immediately went on a 10-0 run to take the lead 37-35. The teams traded baskets for much of the early stages of the second half, but the Bulldogs went on another run sparked by Briana Shannon to take the lead 58-48 with a little over eight minutes left on the clock. Then, the Bulldogs’ fortune turned to dust; the Cardinals went on a 24-7 run to close out the second half, handing the Bulldogs a loss with the final score of 72-65. The Bulldogs were led in scoring by Shannon’s 19 points and six rebounds, followed by Kelly Sutherland and Sanda Milovic each adding 12 points.
On Saturday, Feb. 19, the Bulldogs were back out on the road to face the North Seattle Storm. “The Storm have not had the season they had hoped for, but they are always a competitive matchup for our team,” said Bellevue women’s head coach Brent Hermanson. The Bulldogs jumped out to an early advantage and entered the locker room with lead 37-24. In the second half, Bellevue continued to build on their early lead, and at the buzzer it was all Bulldogs 72-50. “It was a great team effort, everyone played, everyone scored, and you are starting to see the growth of a really solid point guard for the Bulldogs,” said Hermanson. Freshman Shannon had an efficient night, going six for seven from the field, and two for five from the line in 20 minutes to lead the Bulldogs in scoring with 15. She added two rebounds and three steals. “It’s great to see Briana starting to play so well for us. She missed December with three breaks in her right hand, so she is just now getting into game shape,” Hermanson said.
Despite having a rough night shooting the ball, Bellevue’s big four contributed in a big way. A.C. DenHartog had 11 rebounds and 9 points; Sutherland came up with seven rebounds and 9 points; Kelsey Sparks, 9 rebounds and 8 points; and Milovic, 5 rebounds and 14 points.
On the President’s Day Holiday, Monday, Feb. 21, the Bulldogs hosted the Whatcom Orcas and it was tough sledding again for the women. Whatcom jumped out to an early lead and completely outplayed the Bulldogs in the first half. “Unfortunately, we just weren’t ready to play with the level of intensity and effort required to compete against this opponent,” said Hermanson, “Bottom line is they out-hustled us to every ball, and simply outworked us at both ends.”
In the second half, the Bulldogs made a few runs, but were never able to get over the top, and dropped their third league contest and sixth overall season game by a score of 67-61. “We just didn’t defend well at all, and were out rebounded by 19 in our own gym,” Hermanson commented. Whatcom had three players in double figure rebounding while the Bulldog’s leader pulled down only six. Scoring leaders for the Bulldogs were Milovic (15), Sutherland (15), and Sparks (13).
Next up, Bellevue hosts the Everett Trojans (10-4, 14-9) on Wednesday, Feb. 23, at 5:30 p.m. This is the last home game for the season and Sophomore night when the Bulldog women recognize sophomore athletes and their families. On Saturday, Feb. 26, Bellevue closes out regular season play with a road trip to Edmonds (6-8, 10-12), game time 5 p.m.
Last Updated November 1, 2013
