The 2022-23 Basketball season is nearly over, and both the boys and girls Bellarmine teams are on the verge of the playoffs. Let’s have a look at where they stand as the season enters its final stretch.

Girls: 

The Varsity team has been incredibly hot. Led by seniors Taylor Teeple and Gabi Miller, juniors Kiara Stone and Jada Travis, and sophomores Keiara Curtis and Stella Wiggins, the girls boast an excellent starting five and a deep bench capable of taking them very far this year. They play a fast game, able to beat their opponents across the court, forcing turnovers, and consistently putting up points. Only twice this season have the girls failed to score at least 50 points, and they currently lead the league in points scored. In fact, their 1,171 points in 19 games are second in the state, only behind 17-1 Woodinville (ranked #1 by MaxPreps) who have scored 1,234.

With two games to go, the girls team has a conference record of 9-2 and an overall record of 14-5. Their only two league losses are against #1 Sumner and #2 Emerald Ridge. At 10-1, Sumner (ranked 13th in the State by MaxPreps) has likely locked up the league title, but Bellarmine made a big statement with a win in their rematch last week. Emerald Ridge (#22 in the state), is tied with Bellarmine at 9-2, but holds the tiebreaker, due to their win over Bellarmine. The Lions are currently ranked 16th in the state, and made big statements in the past two weeks with wins over Eastlake (#11) and Lincoln (#4 for 3A). Bellarmine also played an extremely close non-league game against #2 ranked Camas, who won by 9 in December, but Bellarmine has since gotten on an even hotter stretch of basketball. Bellarmine has eight wins in a row and has yet to lose in 2023. Right now they look unstoppable, heading into their final two regular season games against South Kitsap (8-8) and Puyallup (5-12). Their 20 point win against fourth place Olympia sealed up their spot in the top 3 in the league. There’s still a chance Bellarmine could sneak into second place in the league, but they would need help. If the Lions take care of business and win their final two games, and Emerald Ridge loses to Olympia (11-8) or Rogers (10-8), then the Lions would move ahead of ER and into second place.

After that it’s the playoffs, and Bellarmine is primed to make a run. They are likely going to pull off an undefeated month of January, and while they struggle on defense against good teams, the Lions can score as much as anyone else in the league, and will be in every game they play come postseason time.

Boys:

Unfortunately for the Boys Team, things haven’t gone as smoothly as for their female counterparts. The season has been a struggle, as Bellarmine lost three three-year starters to graduation last year. Considering how little varsity experience this team has, it’s impressive that they’ve been able to put together a decent season. Their offense rides with seniors Matteo Smith and Malik Momoh, and junior Dylan Wiggins. If those three get going, the offense can hang with anyone. Defensively, Bellarmine has struggled with guarding the basket, preventing three pointers, and taking the ball away. The reality is Bellarmine just doesn’t have a very big team, and when faced against teams with bigger, taller, stronger athletes, it’s difficult for the Lions to stop them.

In the standings, Bellarmine is currently in a 3-way tie for sixth place, with a league record of 5-6 (8-11 overall). Their five wins have come against #3 GK (7-4), #4 Rogers (6-5), #6 Puyallup (5-6), # 9 SK (1-10), and #10 Bethel (0-11). Losing to #7 Emerald Ridge (5-6) in December was a tough loss that prevents Bellarmin from moving into the top half of the league, but there is hope on the horizon. The Lions final two games are against Puyallup and South Kitsap, two teams who Bellarmine has already beat. If Bellarmine handles them again, they’ll improve to 7-6, a winning record on the season, and lock up a spot in the playoffs for at least one more game. There’s lots of scenarios of how Bellarmine can increase their place in the standings. In a league where only two teams (Curtis and Olympia) stand out as amazing, anything can happen. Here’s my prediction for how the league plays out and how the Lions find their way into better standings.

Bellarmine (#8) (5-6):  at South Kitsap and Home versus Puyallup

Bellarmine beat SK by 24 and Puyallup by 11. I think they win both of these games and improve to 7-6.

Graham-Kapowsin (#3) (7-4): Home versus Bethel, at Sumner.

Because Bellarmine has a win over GK, we can still technically move ahead of them if we win out and they lose out. However, it seems unlikely that a winless Bethel gets their first win this late in the season. Anything can happen, but I’m gonna predict GK to beat Bethel at home and take down  Sumner as well. GK finishes 9-4, two games ahead of Bellarmine, and locks up 3rd place in the SPSL.

Rogers (#4) (6-5): Home versus Curtis, at Emerald Ridge.

Rogers is a game ahead of Bellarmine, but Curtis will beat them, meaning it will be up to a road game at Emerald Ridge to determine if Rogers will have a winning record this season. Rogers beat ER at home by 4 on January 7th. I think ER gets revenge, beating Rogers, who will finish the season 6-7, on a four game losing streak, one game behind the Lions.

Summer (#5) (6-5): at Puyallup, home versus GK

Sumner could move from 5th to 3rd if they win out, but Puyallup beat them by 17 at home the first time they played, and GK has a better record, so these final two games will not be easy. The only way for Bellarmine to pass Sumner is if the Spartans lose out, because Sumner beat Bellarmine twice. Coming off a loss to Curtis, Sumner needs to bounce back against Puyallup, but I don’t think that will happen. I think Sumner loses out and falls to 6-7. One game behind the Lions.

Puyallup (#6) (5-6): Home versus Sumner, at Bellarmine

Puyallup has already played both of these teams once. They beat Sumner by 17 and lost to Bellarmine by 11. Obviously anything can happen but judging from those results I think Puyallup will beat Sumner again at home, and lose to Bellarmine again on the road. Puyallup finished 6-7, one game behind Bellarmine. If they do beat the Lions, they’d be 7-6 and could potentially move into 4th place, but I don’t see that happening.

Emerald Ridge (#7) (5-6): at Olympia, home versus Rogers

ER and Bellarmine are tied at 5-6, but for Ridge to stay ahead of Bellarmine in this scenario, they would need to win out, and unfortunately for them, that probably isn’t happening against 10-1 Olympia. I think Ridge loses to Oly, but beats Rogers, a team that beat them by four points on the road earlier this season. The home crowd puts ER over the top, and they finish at 6-7, one game behind the Lions.

In this scenario, Bellarmine would finish at 7-6, in fourth place, while Rogers, Sumner, Puyallup, and ER would finish in a four-way tie at 6-7. This is pretty much the best case scenario for the Lions, as it puts them in the top half of the league and would actually make a home playoff game a real possibility. Obviously a lot has to go their way, but there is nothing unrealistic about these projections. Of course, if Bellarmine fails to beat SK and Puyallup, we could finish as bad as 5-8, which would put us in 8th place. That might get us one extra game, but it would almost certainly be a road game against a top team in the state, which would be tough to watch.

Still, Bellarmine can move from 8th to 4th if these final two games go their way. Let’s hope it works out in our favor.