Bellarmine is very excited to welcome the new girls’ basketball coach, Kimberly Butler West. Although this will be her first year as head coach at Bellarmine, she is not a stranger to the program. When she was attended Bellarmine as a student, she was a 12-letter athlete. She played basketball and soccer and ran track.

Furthermore, in past years, she has assisted coaching the girls alongside her sister, Julie Hiles, math teacher Barbie Solbakken and St. Charles teacher and golf coach Steve George.

After high school, West played basketball in college. She began at Santa Clara University with her sister, Hiles, before transferring to Oregon State. West then went on to play professional ball with the Los Angeles Sparks and in Europe. In 2012, She participated in the London Olympic Games as a member of Great Britain Women’s Basketball team.

With experience on her side and a great team, it looks like this will be an incredible season. West said, “I am confident that they [the team] shares our [the coaches’] passion for the game of basketball as well as our motivation to do great things.” She got to know the girls over the summer when they participated in the Zags’ team camp hosted by Gonzaga’s women’s team.

The girls’ schedule looks “really exciting this year,” according to West. However their main challenge will take place during the holiday tournament in Spokane over Christmas Break. There, they will face three of the top finishers in state in addition to Central Valley and Moses Lake.

Make sure to head out and support the girls this year on the “road to state!”