Senior schools ‘em

Photo by rocky ross

FINDING SOME SPACE. Bellarmine Prep’s Mechela Barnes finds a narrow passage to the basket against Wilson defenders.

Expressing a buoyant sense of optimism this season, the young Wilson girls basketball team, with more victories than in the past three years combined, took on the league’s best team, Bellarmine Prep, last week in front of the largest crowd to see a girls basketball game in years at Wilson.

The Rams, under second-year coach Michelle Birge, knew they would have to come out with a lot of energy – and did. But they also knew the Lions with four all-league players in the starting lineup, would pose some problems – and did.

The thorniest problem was one Mechela Barnes, a slight 5’9 senior guard, whose numbers (24 points, 14 rebounds and a steal) and experienced court presence led the Lions on a night when they were without their star, all-state guard Sarah Hartwell.

Bellarmine prevailed, 62-50, in a fast-paced – sometimes  chaotic – assembly of action, brought to order by the elder stateswoman on the floor, Miss Barnes.

At the game’s conclusion, Bellarmine was still undefeated in the Narrows League with a 8-0 record heading into a game against South Kitsap, and Wilson was to take its 5-4 league record into its game at Mt. Tahoma (7-1), though the result of those games were not available as Tacoma Weekly went to press.

Barnes, a team captain, who leads the team in scoring with a 16.3 average, took her game up another notch in the absence of Hartwell, who missed the game with a concussion suffered earlier in the week in a game against Shelton.

“She (Barnes) has been a great leader for us all year,” coach Kevin Meines said. “You lose the best player in the state (Hartwell) and obviously it can be disruptive to the things you like to do. Mechela gave us a lot of offense, defense and rebounding tonight. But that’s nothing new.”

Another Lion senior, Shelby Swoffard, in her first season as a starter, contributed 11 points, including three 3-pointers.  Nyzhe Primas, a sophomore starting in place of Hartwell, scored 10 points, including her only 3-point attempt and was five of six from the free-throw line.

Bellarmine appeared to be establishing its typical imperious style of play against another Narrows League opponent (they have not lost a league game since Dec. 5, 2007, when Mt. Tahoma beat them, 70-69), taking an early 11-3 lead, but the Rams, as they would all night when the Lions would go on a run, brusquely rejected that plan.

They closed the first quarter, trailing just 15-12.  They came within one point, at 17-16, early in the second quarter before the Lions went on a 10-2 run to finish the half.

The Rams battled on defense, especially in the lane, but on the offensive end could not convert on a half-dozen chances around the basket or on their free throws.

The Lions opened up a 42-26 lead by the end of the third quarter, as the Rams continued struggling with their shooting. A gritty run by the Rams in the fourth quarter cut the lead to eight points, before shots by Barnes and Simonne Potts closed it out.

“They played hard,” Meines said of the Rams. “We did not move the ball well and we were not seeing things very well. I think it was evident we missed Sarah. But, we got the win.” 

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