The women’s basketball season came to a rough conclusion with their losses to Peninsula and Skagit Valley in the final week.
The first of these two games against Peninsula was hardly a contest. Bellevue kept the game close in the first quarter, but after that it was all Peninsula. The Bulldogs went from being up two at the end of the first quarter to losing by 25 points by the end of the game. Despite double-digit scoring efforts by Natalie Amos and Ashley Anderson, Bellevue shot 39 percent from the field, including four of 17 from three-point range. Their 45 percent from the free throw line was hardly better, as they scored just nine of their 20 attempts. The other big difference came in the assist column. Peninsula demonstrated superior teamplay, creating 23 assists as opposed to Bellevue’s nine.
Bellevue’s loss to Peninsula made the Skagit Valley game that much more important. If Bellevue were to win, they would be in playoffs. Being down 21-7 at the end of the first quarter was a bad omen, but the Bulldogs managed to keep it competitive. They outscored Skagit in the second and third quarters by nine each, putting them up by four going into the final quarter. However, Skagit Valley came back in the end and won 71-66 which secured a spot in the playoffs.
Despite a loss, this showing was much better on Bellevue’s side. All five of the starters scored double-digit point totals. Amanda Luckett led the campaign with 16 points and 13 rebounds to boot. Anderson and Jorie Lambert both scored 14, while Amos and Dakota Laut both scored 10. However, this game was still far from perfect. They matched their previous 39 field goal percentage from the previous game, and the big reason it was competitive was due to Bellevue’s defense holding Skagit to a similar number. The other glaring point of weakness was that Bellevue scored only two points off the bench that game. For comparison, Skagit scored 39. Depth is always an important factor in a team’s success, and one game turned out to make all the difference.
Since they missed playoffs, the women’s season came to an end with a record of 8-6 in conference play and a total record of 12-14. Despite being mediocre in most statistics compared to the rest of the League, there is something to be said for how well they performed in the second half of the season. When transitioning from the first half of the season to the second, a clear improvement was observed. They improved nine places in rebounds per game as well as the rebound margin per game. The Bulldogs improved 10 places in assists per game and 12 places in opponent’s field goal percentage. While they did not increase the number of blocks they got, they were still fourth in the conference.
Overall, Bellevue didn’t make the playoffs, but they definitely showed bright spots throughout the season. Four of their five regular starters were freshmen this year, which means they will be eligible to return. This includes Amanda Luckett, who consistently proved to be a threat throughout the season.