During a timeout early in the game, Kentlake High School’s 21-piece brass ensemble is raising the roof with its rendition of “Jailhouse Rock.” But the blaring of trombones, saxophones, trumpets and the crunching and crashing of drums, cymbals, tambourines and cowbell cannot muffle the booming voice of Bellarmine coach Kevin Meines, who can be heard 10 rows behind the team bench, bellowing his concern to his players.

The situation: Bellarmine Prep, a team with the talent to win a state championship, is playing Kentlake, a capable, middle-of-the-pack team with an 11-9 record for a state tournament bid. The Lions are down, 7-2, early. Their coach has some observations: They are standing around. They are floating passes. They are hesitating.

The players on this team, particularly starters Mechela Barnes, Sarah Hartwell, Simone Potts, Grace Beardemphl and Shelby Swofford, are accustomed to Meines’ direct and full-throated critiques, be it full of vigor and amplitude.  

If there is a risk that this style can create a vacuum between desired results and actual results (the players drifting off to their happy places while the coach vents), it is not one that concerns this coach and teacher.

“These kids are great kids. Smart kids. We spend a lot of time together. We know each other,” Meines said in a recent conversation. “They have a lot to deal with, and sometimes things on the basketball court have to be brought into sharper focus for them when they are out there - if they are going to achieve everything they are capable of. And they know that.”

Back on the court, the Lions take the lead by the end of the first quarter, then with overwhelming pressure on defense and big contributions from Barnes (18 points), Potts (18 points) and Hartwell (16 points) they achieve a very focused 61-38 victory and a semifinal matchup this week against No. 3 Kentwood in the district semifinals at Showare Center (the results were not available when Tacoma Weekly went to press).

“The big three really stepped up for us and that is what you want to see in a big game,” Meines says, after the game. “We were really tentative at the start and that was something we have talked about. Going into state play, you really can’t get away with that against good teams. We have the ability to be a state championship team if we play to the level we are capable of, and that is what you saw after the first quarter.”

In addition to the vanguard of Potts, Barnes and Hartwell, sophomore guard Nyzhe Primas led a defensive effort that forced 29 turnovers by the Falcons. In fewer than half of its possessions, Kentlake did not get a shot off.

“She’s a game-changer,” Kentlake coach Scott Simmons said of Primas, who along with Hartwell and Barnes kept the Falcons’ guards from getting into any kind of flow.

“We just don’t have the ball-handlers to deal with that kind of pressure,” Simmons said.

Potts, a 5-10 junior forward, and Barnes, a 5-8 senior guard, excelled under the basket as well, despite giving up several inches to Kentlake’s 6-3 center Riley Butler. Both Lions’ players outscored and outrebounded Butler and 6-1 all-league forward Morganne Comstock.

In first-round action against Auburn, Barnes led all scorers with 21 points on 53-percent shooting. Beardemphl had six assists and six steals.

Coach Meines says he is proud of the effort on the defensive end of the floor and knows that is important moving along into the state tournament.

“We knew if we could get good pressure on these teams (Auburn and Kentlake), we would be in good position to win. I was very pleased with that. Now we need to work on our offense.”

And the Kentlake band?

“They needed more cowbell,” Meines says.

 

Wilson Nudged Out

The Wilson Rams played 64 minutes of district playoff basketball and ended up losing two games by a total of three points, a hard fate for a team that turned its season around with 12 wins, after winning just once last year.

Freshman Bethany Montgomery led the Rams with 22 points against Rogers in a 68-66 loss. Janessa Flynn added 14 points and Carsen Stanley, Kaysha Fox and Tia Briggs had nine each.

The Rams then faced Central Kitsap in a loser-out game. The Cougars, playing very physical defense, held Montgomery to just three free throws in a 40-39 win. Fox led the Rams with 10 points.