By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
Last night at Bellevue College, the Bishop Blanchet Bears faced off against the Seattle Academy Cardinals in a girls 3A district 2 loser-out game.
The opening quarter saw back-and-forth battle. The Bears won the tip, but the Cardinals quickly stole the ball before Blanchet took it right back and set Brooke Campbell up for the first two points of the night. Seattle Academy’s Fiona Berhane followed with a put-back to put the Cardinals on the board. From there on out, the teams exchanged baskets, from 4-4, 6-6, 8-8, 10-10, until Blanchet’s Stella Na drained a three-point shot to give the Bears a 13-10 lead. With 1:03 remaining in the first quarter, the Bears called a timeout. Following the timeout, Campbell scored again to push Blanchet’s lead to 15-10. Seattle Academy’s Grayson Zilliax responded with a three-pointer that would cut the lead down to 2 as Blanchet took a 15-13 lead into the second quarter.
Zilliax quickly connected on a jumpshot to start the second quarter that would tie the game at 15. Na and Campbell would ignite a 9-0 run for the Bears, which led to a timeout. After the timeout, Zilliax cut the lead down to 24-17 with a layup before Blanchet’s Bridget Barnett and Seattle Academy’s Isley Whitehead traded three-pointers to bring the game to 27-20 in favor of the Bears. Blanchet closed out the quarter with a 5-0 run to end the first half with a 32-20 lead.
The second half started with a Cardinals turnover that Campbell turned into a quick basket to extend Blancet’s lead to 34-20. Blanchet would continue to build momentum until Seattle Academy called a timeout with 5:39 left on the clock. After the timeout, Zilliax managed to score a layup, but the Bears would go on another run, this time scoring six unanswered points leading to another timeout. After the break, the Cardinals’ Calla Nelson chipped in two points, bringing the score to 42-26, but slowly but surely the game was getting out of reach for Seattle Academy. Na took two trips to the free throw line, where she would convert 3 of the 4 points, and Campbell followed with a basket on their next possession, extending Blanchet’s lead to 47-26. Despite being 21 points behind, the Cardinals weren’t giving up on the court, and right before the buzzer, Seattle Academy’s Dallas Dixon sank a jumpshot. But it was Blanchet with all of the momentum, as they went into the fourth quarter with a comfortable 47-28 lead.
In the final quarter, the Bears’ momentum continued, and the Cardinals seemingly could not keep up. Na started off strong with a three-point shot that pushed the lead ahead to 50-28. In hopes of slowing down Blanchet, the Cardinals called a full timeout with still 6:18 left in the quarter. After the timeout, the game continued to go south for Seattle Academy. Dixon was sent to the line but unable to convert any points, keeping the score at 50-28.
Blanchet went on a 6-0 run, led by Francesca Marona, Na and Campbell, to bring the score to 56-28. However, this time the Cardinals responded with a 6-0 run of their own, highlighted by a three-point shot by Whitehead to cut the lead to 56-34. Campbell was then sent to the line, where she would convert 2 points, making the score 58-34.
The two teams would exchange scores as the pace of the game picked up. Trailing 60-37, the Cardinals had a late fourth quarter push, with an 8-0 run, cutting the deficit to 60-45 in favor of Blanchet. In the closing seconds, Blanchet respectfully began to pass the ball around to run out the clock until Zilliax sent Marona to the line, where she made both baskets to seal a 62-45 victory for Blanchet.
Blanchet was led by Campbell, who finished the game with 28 points, and Na, who chipped in 19 points. Seattle Academy was led by Whitehead, who finished the night with 16 points.
After the game, Blanchet head coach Mia Augustavo-Fisher was proud of the way her team performed, given what was at stake.
“I’m so excited. I’m so proud of our players. They’ve really stepped up. They’ve been super coachable the entire year. And they make me excited about the game,” said Augustavo-Fisher, “When I think of high school, I think of them having a good experience on and off the court, and obviously playing in big games like these. It is a perfect scenario where you’re competing at Bellevue College. I am just so proud of them that they even have this experience, and I am grateful for that.”
Photos/Aaron Allen
