Bellarmine girls cruise past Skyview in 4A district tournament

Bellarmine Prep’s Lions continued the trend on Saturday at Wilson High.

It was good to be wearing the dark jerseys for the girls Class 4A West Central/Southwest bi-district quarterfinal basketball games.

Facing the Greater St. Helen’s League champion Skyview Storm, Bellarmine pulled away late in the second quarter, extended the margin after halftime and cruised to a 56-44 victory that catapults the Lions into the bi-district semifinals next Thursday and secures Bellarmine a spot in the state tournament regional round.

Skyview will play (Tahoma/Camas) on Tuesday at 7:45 p.m. at Foss for one of four remaining regional berths. Bellarmine, which secured its regional spot with the win, plays Todd Beamer in the semis 7:45 p.m at Foss.

The Titans earned their regional slot and spot in the bi-district semifinals with a 57-41 quarterfinal win over Kentwood on Saturday.

Bellarmine Prep (18-4) got there by sharing the wealth against the Storm (13-6).

The Lions won by double digits on a night when their top two scorers were held to half their normal offensive output.

Callie Stevens came into this one averaging 19 points a contest, and just a couple of weeks ago went for 46 against Graham-Kapowsin. She finished with just 10.

Julia Bordeaux averages 15 points a game. She scored just eight against Skyview.

Between them, Stevens and Bordeaux made just six shots, though Stevens was five of six from the free throw line to help her get into double digits.

“That’s actually a really good sign,” Stevens said. “You’ve got to trust that your teammates will make those shots, and they did.”

With the big two struggling to put the ball in the basket, others stepped up. Caitie Burns had a game-high 14 points for the Lions from her post position. Diminutive guard Riley Cusack added 12.

Cusack’s sister Rowan contributed seven points, including a play on which the 5-foot-1 guard drove hard to the basket amongst all those taller players, bounced a layup high off the board and in and got fouled. She made the free throw with 6 minutes, 15 seconds to play in the first quarter that gave Bellarmine the early 5-2 lead.

“They inspire me,” Lions coach Kim West said of her pair of junior twins. “I’ve played a lot of games, against some of the best in the world, and they inspire me. They are relentless. They give us extra possessions (defensively).”

Bellarmine led this one at the end of every quarter.

The Lions built a 16-10 advantage after one, extended it to 28-20 at the half and 45-33 after three periods. Bellarmine had pushed the advantage to 16 points on a Burns free throw with 6:28 left in the game.

That was the high-water mark.

The Storm actually had a chance to get back into this one down the stretch. But after Madeline Hendricks cut the margin to 53-39 with 4:53 left, Skyview then missed seven of its next eight free throws while the Lions went scoreless.

By the time Hendricks made two from the line with 1:24 left, it was far too late to mount a surge.

“This feels great,” West said. “We snuck one by. Not every game are you going to score your average. There’s going to be defense on you. It’s post-season play, the best defenses in the state.”