Undefeated and nationally-ranked Bellevue beats King’s 73-33
Published 10:42 pm Monday, January 25, 2016
SEATTLE — Everyone knows the nationally-ranked Bellevue girls basketball team is incredibly talented.
That’s why King’s head coach Dan Taylor wanted his Knights to face the Wolverines.
King’s slowed Bellevue, ranked No. 17 nationally in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 rankings, down in the first quarter, but eventually the Wolverines’ shooters broke lose in a 73-33 non-league victory over the Knights Monday night at King’s High School.
“Every year we try to schedule tough non-league opponents. Why not schedule the best?” Taylor said. “Whether in the state or in the nation. It’s a good learning opportunity.
“I knew it was going to be tough. We watched plenty of game film and I knew it was going to be too much to handle. But our girls played hard. I’m proud of our girls. We got some good things out of it. We fought the entire time and didn’t give up. They’re just an athletic team with a lot of weapons and they just had a couple more that we couldn’t account for.”
Undefeated Bellevue (17-0), is ranked one spot ahead of fellow Washington 3A squad Lynnwood (No. 18) in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25. The Royals, who won the 3A state championship last season, defeated Bellevue 63-37 in the semifinals.
The Wolverines went on to finish fifth at the state tournament.
But Bellevue added two strong players prior to the 2015-16 season, with University of Stanford commit Anna Wilson, the younger sister of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, and Quinessa Caylao-Do, a transfer from Todd Beamer, who has committed to Colorado.
Lynnwood head coach Everett Edwards was on hand Monday evening to scout the Wolverines in person and get a feel for a team many predict to square off against the Royals for the state championship.
“(The Wolverines’ defense) is the key for Bellevue, I feel,” Edwards said. “You have to limit your turnovers, you have to take care of the basketball and not get many breakaways.”
Despite Bellevue not “playing, necessarily, their best game,” Edwards was still impressed with the athletes in the Wolverines’ lineup, including Wilson and
Caylao-Do.
Edwards said if the Royals are able to get out of their district tournament, which also features perennial playoff contenders Arlington and Glacier Peak, he’d love to go up against the Wolverines.
“We’ve got a long way to get there first,” Edwards said. “Obviously, our own district is very challenging to get out of. We’re very humble in realizing that. That being said, if we do get a chance to see them down in Tacoma and if both teams are healthy I like our chances. I think it’d be a great game.”
While Russell Wilson wasn’t in the gym for Monday’s game, his younger sister proved skill and athleticism run in the family. Anna Wilson, Bellevue’s 5-foot-9 senior point guard, finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Senior Shelby Kansler led all scorers with 26 points for Bellevue, which Taylor was hard-pressed to pick the most impressive aspect of.
“It’s everything,” Taylor said. “Fundamentals, execution, talent, athleticism, they move the ball well — everything you want in a basketball team. … We’ll never see a team like this the rest of the season and when we can get good things out of the game it builds our confidence.”
King’s, the defending 1A state champion, has made it to the state title game two seasons in a row, and is currently the No. 2-ranked team in 1A in the Associated Press girls basketball rankings.
Anna Parker led King’s (12-4) with 10 points. Kendall Adams scored six points and grabbed nine rebounds and point guard Daylee Hanson added seven points for the Knights.
“I think Anna Parker and Kendall Adams played really tough,” Taylor said. “They hit some big shots when we needed them. Daylee got some good assists to them. Honestly, I thought all our girls played really well. They gave it their all.”
The Knights held Bellevue to just 14 points in the first quarter and trailed 37-12 at halftime. In the second half, the Wolverines made their move outscoring King’s 36-21 the rest of the way.
“I thought in the half-court scheme of things we did some good things,” Taylor said. “We went into a zone to slow them down and make it work. And it did. … They didn’t 40-point rule — or mercy-rule or whatever you call it — us until the end.”
Taylor said the Knights will use the game to focus on areas where they can improve as they try to make another deep playoff run come March.
“We utilize it to get better, to get stronger,” Taylor said. “We highlight the good things that we did and we try not to focus on the negatives.”
At King’s H.S.
Bellevue 14 23 20 16 —73
King’s 5 7 15 6 —33
Bellevue–Annika Prins 5, Kathryn Roberts 4, Tatiana Streun 8, Quinessa Caylao-Do 7, Mackenzie Keeter 1, Anna Wilson 10, Ann-Marie Jacobs 7, Kate Parrish 5, Shelby Kansler 26. King’s–Casey Kispert 0, Maddie Nielsen 2, Kendall Adams 6, Hannah Echelbarger 3, Daylee Hanson 7, Anna Parker 10, Abbi Echelbarger 3, Claire Diede 0, Audrey Friedline 2, Callie Wright 0. Records–Bellevue 17-0 overall. King’s 12-4.
