Rogers girls hand Bellarmine Prep first 4A SPSL loss behind late surge, Barrett’s 26 points

Going up against an opponent who is undefeated in league play, you better bring your best. Raigan Barrett and Rogers High School delivered.

In front of a raucous crowd, Rogers used a fourth-quarter surge and the lights-out shooting of Barrett, a Washington softball commit, to knock off Bellarmine Prep, 64-59, Friday night in Puyallup.

“Our team showed up tonight, and our intensity was just out of this world,” said Barrett, a junior who hit four 3-pointers in the second half and finished with 26 points. “It was even better that it was senior night, and that we could do that for our seniors. That was really fun.”

Barrett spent the beginning of the fourth quarter trading buckets with Bellarmine Prep standout guard Callie Stevens, who transferred from Sumner this year, but the Rams (13-5) pulled away after Lions post Julia Bordeaux fouled out midway through the period.

Without Bordeaux’s inside presence, Bellarmine’s offense quickly became one-dimensional.

“Our kids just did a great job defensively and blocking out,” Rams coach Amy Looker said. “Bellarmine has some very strong offensive threats, and we knew if maybe one goes off and we kept the rest in check, we’d be OK. We stuck to the game plan and did a great job.”

Barrett then stuck one final 3-pointer to put the game officially out of reach.

“Raigan has a very strong offensive skillset, and she did a great job rebounding tonight, too,” Looker said. “It’s fun to have the duo between Jazmyne (Lillie) and Raigan, because they can both attack, and (Maddie) Egan scrapes up the offensive boards when they miss. It was just a good team win tonight.”

Lillie added 10 points and Egan chipped in 11 to pace a well-balanced Rogers offense that saw eight different players score on the evening. But, Looker said the momentum really swung on the other end of the court.

“Just explaining to them, (Bellarmine is) going to get no offensive boards,” she said. “Let them take one long shot, and you grab the rebound, and let’s go up the floor in transition. Just keeping the ball moving on offense, I felt like we got a lot of really open looks that fourth quarter.”

Stevens scored a game-high 27 points for Bellarmine (15-3), single-handily keeping her squad in the game at times with a combination of scrappy inside buckets, long jumpers and putbacks. Bordeaux was the only other Lions player to break into double digits (11 points) before Rogers put the game out of reach.

The victory keeps the Rams a game behind Curtis for second place in the competitive 4A SPSL with just two games remaining – including a huge head-to-head battle on Jan. 31.

“I know that we can go ahead and win out, and find our intensity every game,” Barrett said. “Just keep this momentum and let us set a fire inside.”

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

BP – Makiah Reed 10 points, Callie Stevens 27, Reyelle Frazier 11, Julia Bordeaux 11.

R – Jazmyne Lillie 10 points, Raigan Barrett 26, Brennah Llanos 2, Kaylie Stallcop 5, Jenai Ancheta 5, Maddie Egan 11, Kalle Steffen 2, No. 11 2.