Bellevue College’s hopes of advancing in the NWAC women’s basketball tournament evaporated during a cold-shooting third quarter, contributing to a 71-43 loss to Wenatchee Valley in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
The Bulldogs (23-6), the No. 2 seed in the North Region, trailed 33-26 at the half, but their hopes of a comeback faded when they managed just one field goal in the third quarter. Wenatchee Valley outscored BC 16-5 in the decisive third quarter to take a 49-31 lead into the final period.
Bellevue will play Centralia in the consolation bracket at noon on Friday.
The Bulldogs, who had won 11 of their previous 12 games, never got untracked. They made just 17 of 53 shots for 32 percent and were outrebounded 40-22.
“Everything we tried to throw at them, they adjusted. They got the open shots. We just didn’t like ourselves,” said Bellevue coach Mel Stubblefield. “”They’re a very, very good team. They’re deep, everyone comes in and contributes. They’re a well-coached team.”
Shelby Kassuba had 14 points for the Bulldogs before leaving with an apparent ankle injury with 3:15 remaining. Mikayla Jones added 11 points, but was just 3-of-19 from the field, including 0-of-5 from three-point range.
Wentachee Valley (26-5) opened the third quarter with a 14-3 run, holding the Bulldogs to just three free throws en route to a 47-29 lead.
The Knights were 28 of 53 from the field, including a blistering 64 percent in the second on 16-of-25 shooting. Drew Carlos had 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds and Talyssa Swan added 14 points, going 6-of-6 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line.
“All the way around, we just didn’t come out. We didn’t attack, we couldn’t hit our shots,” Stubblefield said. “To have our worst game of the year be at NWACs is not a good feeling.”
Wenatchee Valley, the No. 1 seed in the East Region, erased a 12-10 deficit by outscoring the Bulldogs 12-2 over the final 4:00 minutes of the first quarter, including a three-pointer at the buzzer that put the Knights up 22-14.
Erin Hamilton scored on a drive to pull the Bulldogs within 24-18, but Wenatchee Valley responded with six unanswered points to boost the lead to30-18 with 4:48 left in the half.
Kassuba’s basket with five seconds left in the half brought BC within 33-26.
Wenatchee had a 24-13 rebound advantage in the first half, including eight offensive rebounds that it converted into 10 second-chance points.
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Last Updated March 10, 2016
