The Bellevue College women’s basketball team sailed to victory against Skagit Valley in their last bout of the season. “We played as a team [in the Peninsula game]… So we just gotta have that same mentality, same focus,” Bulldogs’ head coach Mel Stubblefield said before the game. “If we compete all four quarters, and get after it, again, hopefully, we are on the positive side.” Due to intense defense, the ‘dogs caused 17 turnovers and limited Skagit Valley’s second chance opportunities. The final score against Skagit Valley’s thin roster of six players was 71-55.
In the first quarter, the ‘dogs played intense defense to kick off the game: From nonstop full-court pressure to defensive stops, Bellevue was on it. The Bulldogs began the game with Stubblefield’s “it’s over when the game’s over” attitude. As a result, Bellevue College’s defensive pressure led to five turnovers in the first quarter. After an offensive rebound from small forward Amanda Luckett, Luckett drilled a jump shot to give Bellevue their first points. Bellevue’s rebounding proved to be effective as the ‘dogs were able to score on multiple second-chance opportunities. By the end of the quarter, the Bulldogs were down 19-18.
Bellevue freshman Rokki Brown drained a 3-pointer to change the lead to 21-19 at the start of the second quarter. After an assist off an offensive rebound from Bulldog guard Kate Rutledge, guard Dominique Bungay nailed a 3-pointer. Due to turnovers, Luckett and guard-forward Natalie Amos scored on back-to-back offensive possessions. After being down 19-18 by halftime, Skagit Valley began to show fatigue as Bellevue built up a nine-point lead by the end of the half. As a result of the short roster, Skagit was 3-of-13 from the field, which gave Bellevue the momentum for the remainder of the night. At the end of the quarter, the ‘dogs were up 36-27.
To start the third quarter, Brown made a 3-pointer after an assist from guard Addy Clabby. From then on Brown, Bungay, and Luckett extended the lead to 14-points at 6:05 in the quarter. Due to Bellevue’s defense, Skagit scored only 12 points in the third quarter, whereas the ‘dogs were leading by double digits. Going into the fourth quarter, the score was 61-39 Bellevue.
Bellevue’s bench, led by point guard Kylan Hernandez and small forward Barbora Sutara, put the game away in the fourth quarter. The final score was 71-55 Bellevue.
Brown and Bungay put on a show: Brown was 4-for-4 from the field, including two-three pointers for ten points in the third quarter. Bungay had 16 points and five assists. The bench contributed 19-points to push the ‘dogs to victory.
Skagit Valley turned the ball over 17-times and, due to turnovers, gave up 16-points to the ‘dogs.
The Bulldogs are now 7-2 (14-5 overall) and are in second place in the Northwest Division. The ‘dogs look to add on to their two-game win streak as they travel to Bellingham to take on Whatcom. Recently, the ‘dogs suffered a tough loss to Whatcom for first place on Feb.1. Bellevue will look to take Whatcom to the pound on Feb. 12.