BELLEVUE — Sometimes basketball is as simple as making baskets.
The Glacier Peak girls basketball team was reminded of that Saturday afternoon at Bellevue college in a 48-38 defeat at the hands of Lakeside in the 3A state regional game that was their last of the season.
The Grizzlies just didn’t make enough baskets. Though their defense and rebounding stifled the Lions at times throughout the game, Lakeside is the team advancing to the 3A state quarterfinals at the Tacoma Dome next week.
“We fought. We battled,” GP coach Brian Hill said. “We gave it all that we could. We came up a little short.”
Lakeside coach Patrick Chinn breathed a sigh of relief after the final buzzer sounded.
“We are absolutely thrilled to get out of a game against those guys with a win,” Chinn said. “That’s a good basketball team.”
Though much of it was due to his team’s pressure defense, Chinn recognized that the Grizzlies shot especially poorly.
“I don’t think we got their best shot,” he added
For a brief moment it seemed like Katie Hawkins, who will play basketball at Santa Clara next fall, would will the Grizzlies to victory.
Hawkins missed the final 5 minutes, 26 seconds of the second half, sitting on the bench with two fouls, but she scored 14 of her game-high 18 points in the second half. The 5-foot-11 point guard had six points in a 8-1 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters, including her first 3 of the game that made the score 29-28.
The problem for the Grizzlies was seemingly no one else could put the ball in the basket with the exception of senior Julianne Gere who was second on the team with eight points, coming primarily on putbacks.
“That’s kind of the nature of the way Lakeside plays,” Hill said. “They want the game to be sloppy and scrappy. Defensively they really try to throw you off of your offensive game.”
The Lions certainly threw off seniors Taylor Rasmussen and Torrey Hill, who combined for zero field goals. The Grizzlies duo contributed in other ways, however.
After missing a 3-point attempt, Hill chased down her own offensive rebound and fed the ball to Hawkins, who gave the team its only lead of the game at 35-34 with 4:54 left in the game.
But the Grizzlies couldn’t get the stops they needed the rest of the way.
“It did (think we had it) for a split second, just because we had a run, but right when we turned the ball over, I knew that if we didn’t get a stop on the next possession that our run would end,” Hawkins said.
Their fourth-quarter run may have been more significant if the Grizzlies could have got going early, but the less than lively environment in the afternoon game at Bellevue College didn’t do the team any favors.
“It was kind of uncomfortable at the beginning because it didn’t feel like a state game,” Hawkins said.
The Grizzlies were rattled initially by the Lions full-court pressure, giving up three turnovers in the first quarter in the backcourt. GP quickly fell behind 8-0 in the first four minutes before coach Hill called a time out with 4:17 remaining in the first.
Long-range shooting was off the mark for the whole GP roster, which opened the game 0-for-6 from beyond the 3-point arc and finished with three total makes.
The Grizzlies made up for their lack of offense with defensive pressure on the other end, including their own full-court press.
Lakeside’s 5-foot-11 post Danielle Estell proved the toughest matchup for the GP defense. She displayed a nifty turnaround jumper on the way to 10 first-half points and a co-team-high 15 on the game. Kaylee Best also scored 15 for the Lions.
The Grizzlies lose Hawkins, Rasumussen, Torrey Hill and Gere (four of their top five scorers) to graduation. Coach Hill is proud of the school’s first-ever freshman class that qualified for state in its final two seasons.
“Since the beginning they’ve established Glacier Peak girls basketball as a quality program, who plays hard with a lot of fight and doesn’t mind the underdog role,” coach Hill said.
“The four seniors, they really helped build our program … they like to battle. It’s going to be tough to replace them.”
Jon Saperstein covers high school sports for The Herald, follow him on twitter @jonsap and contact him at jsaperstein@heraldnet.com. At Bellevue College
Glacier Peak87815—38
Lakeside136920—48
Glacier Peak— Baird 0, Hawkins 18, Rasmussen 4, Hill 0, I. Smith 2, Gere 8, Mensing 0, Fausey 4, Manning 0, Weathersby 3. Lakeside—Kantor 0, DeJong 2, Cheledinas 6, Igawa 2, Best 15, Koh 0, Noah 0, L. Estell 0, Ummat 0, Mason 5, Walker 2, D. Estell 15. 3-point goals—Best 2, Hawkins 2, Mason 1, Weathersby 1. Glacier Peak 18-7. Lakeside 18-7.
At Bellevue College
Glacier Peak0000—0
Lakeside0000—0
Glacier Peak—Baird, Hawkins, Ruiz, Rasmussen, Gaffney, Hill, I. Smith, S. Smith, Gere, Fausey, Manning, Weathersby. Lakeside—xxx. 3-point goals—xxx. Records—Glacier Peak x-x overall. Lakeside x-x.
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