Bellevue point guard Anna Wilson dribbles down the court during a non-league game against Inglemoor.
Allison Thomasseau, king5.com, January 7, 2016
The leader. The silent assassin. The coach’s dream. The muscle. The rebounding machine.
No, it’s not a weird version of the Breakfast Club. It’s parts and pieces of the Bellevue girls basketball team.
“That’s what’s been so successful”. “Everyone has their own role, and every role is so important, whether it’s on or off the court.”
The five senior Wolverines are as different as you can get, but this year they come together with one common goal: Take home a state title.
There’s a lot of reasons why you should expect to see undefeated Bellevue with a state tournament trophy.
They’re big – six girls on the nine-player roster are at least six foot.
They’re talented – three players are going Division I next season.
But the most important reason why the Wolverines (11-0) are ranked No. 1 is team chemistry. Bellevue head coach Leah Krautter said this is the most cohesive group she has had in her five years with the Wolverines.
“No one on the team is selfish or worrying about themselves”. “It’s always been about team success."
Defense wins championships
Bellevue’s put up big numbers this season. The Wolverines broke 100 points for the first time in school history when they beat Juanita 104-56 Dec. 9. Then they put the cherry on top of the record beating Sammamish 112-27 a week later.
Even though the Wolverines are averaging over 80 points per game, Bellevue will tell you it’s about defense first.
“What we want to do defensively is make teams feel uncomfortable,” Krautter said. “We want to cause chaos.”
Meet the Wolverines
Bellevue has been a perennial power the last few years, making it to state semifinals the last three seasons. However, the Wolverines lost five players from last season’s fifth place team, and this year’s squad is completely different.
Transfers, one being point guard Anna Wilson, changed the face of the season.
Wilson (13.1 points, 3.9 assists, 2.9 steals), a Stanford commit who moved from Virginia at the beginning of the school year, learned leadership ability from her big brother Seahawk Russell Wilson.
During Bellevue’s first close game against Oaks Christian (Calif.) during the Nike Tournament of Champions, Wilson was the one to stay cool and collected.
“We just have to stay calm,” Wilson told the team during the final time out. “We got this.”
The seniors were quick to mention their supportive bench. When the rotation players aren’t on the court, they find it hard to contain their bench energy, or “benergy”.
Inspired by Monmouth basketball’s bench celebrations, the Bellevue team has also come up with its own cheers, including the football hike, human defibrillator, and bow-and-arrow.
With energy and depth powering the way, Bellevue hopes this will be the year the Wolverines break through state semifinals.
“State is the only thing I haven’t done, so everyone’s goal is to focus on state and winning as a team,”
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