PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — The
Bellevue (Wash.) girls basketball team traveled 1,250 miles to get to the MaxPreps Holiday Classic, and the Wolverines captured what they came for.
Bellevue recorded four straight victories, including a 51-50 triumph over a more-than-game
San Juan Hills (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) squad in the finals, to improve to 8-1 on the season and capture the Esmeralda Resort Division of the 119-team, 11 division tournament.
Following three straight blowouts by a combined 172-65 count, Bellevue was given a hearty tussle by the Stallions (10-3), who trailed 11-8 after the first quarter which proved to be the difference. The three-point margin was the largest at the end of any quarter.
San Juan, however, started to pull away in the fourth quarter, behind the play of
Jordan Coleman with 19 points,
Abby Conklin had 13 and
Annika Van Galder 12. The Stallions opened up an eight-point lead before Bellevue chipped away.
Finally, tournament MVP
Mandy Steward put the Wolverines back in front 49-48 on a deep 3-pointer with about a minute to go. Two more free throws by Steward made it 51-48 with eight seconds left before Bellevue avoided a possible game-tying 3-pointer with a foul. Conklin made two free throws to cut it to 51-50 with about 7 seconds to play.
After a turnover, San Juan Hills had a chance to win it, but Bellevue forced a turnover right at the buzzer to escape with the championship.
Steward and
Shelby Cansler led the Wolverines with 15 points apiece and were named to the All-Tournament team along with 6-foot-1 sophomore post
Mackenzie Keeter, the team's leading rebounder throughout the tournament.
Erin McGowan and
Dejah Rogers were also superb for the Wolverines, who went 25-4 last season, losing in the state semifinals under then second-year coach Leah Krautter.
"We're getting a lot of excellent players from our youth programs so we're getting better and better," Krautter said. "Winning the championship was great. I was happy how we fought back in the fourth quarter. We just kept chipping away and Mandy made some big shots. I thought we did a good job of containing (Conklin), but (Coleman) definitely gave us trouble."
Enjoy the slideshow of the championship game, with photos captured by the unconquerable John Downey.
Bellevue's Shelby Cansler wins the opening tip against Abby Conklin.
Photos by John Downey
San Juan Hills senior Jordan Coleman with a nice left hand.
Mandy Steward with a sweet one-hand floater.
Erin McGowan ready to set flight with a 3-pointer.
Annika Van Galder had 12 points for San Juan Hills.
Bellevue's Elisa Park goes up under heavy duress from Evelyn Fox.
Bellevue's Shelby Cansler goes up with a left-hand layup of her own.
All-Tournament selection Mackenzie Keeter.
San Juan Hills senior Abby Conklin takes shot with strong defense from DeJah Rogers.
San Juan Hills senior Jordan Coleman.
Erin McGowan (4) with a nice feed into the post.
Teams shake hands after five long days, one hard battle.
San Juan Hills post-game photo.
The 2013 MaxPreps Holiday Classic Esmeralda Resort Division champion Bellevue Wolverines.
