The Bellarmine Girls Basketball team took on Mt. Si at TCC on Saturday, Feb. 25, in a winner-to-the-dome game. The Lions were seeded at 11, while Mt Si was ranked 14, so Bellarmine was the favorite. Still, in the regional round of the playoffs, anything can happen.

The Lions starting lineup was the same as it’s been for most of the season, with Keiara Curtis, Jada Travis, Kiara Stone, Stella Wiggins, and the lone senior Taylor Teeple opening the game. Right off the bat, the Lions got going, with Stone scoring an impressive 13 points in the first quarter, en route to a 23-10 lead at the end of the quarter. For a team that has often started slow, it was one of their best starts to a game all season.

Bellarmine slowed down the pace in the second quarter, and Mt. Si was able to keep the game within reach, at one point pulling within 8 points. A few fouls kept the Wildcats viable, including a foul against Bellarmine with one second left in the half, but a 38-27 lead at half seemed strong enough to last.

Going into the third quarter the Lions looked to put away the Wildcats and Keiara Curtis was up to the task. She immediately got hot and seemingly could not miss from beyond the arc. Sophomore Stella Wiggins dominated the boards down low and gave the Lions multiple second shot chances. As well, the Lions forced turnovers from the wildcats and good team defense led to just six points in the whole third quarter for the Wildcats. After going on a 18-6 run the Lions led 56-33 with just 8 minutes to play in the first state matchup.

Keiara Curtis continued her hot shooting in the fourth, racking up a thirty piece with a few minutes left to play. Mount Si looked for a late miracle but the Lions did not let up and as the clock ticked it became more apparent the Lions would go to the dome. The subs came in and played well, and the Lions closed out an easy win, 73-43. 79% of the Lions points in the game came via some version of the name K(i)e(i)(a)ra. Keiara Curtis led the team with a whopping 30, while Kiara Stone scored 19 and Keira Leingang dropped 9 off the bench. The other 15 points were split between Teeple (6), Wiggins (5), and Travis (4).

The Lions will move on to play #6 seeded Davis from Yakima who just suffered a huge loss by a score of 86-59 against Tahoma. Davis vs Bellarmine will be held at the Tacoma Dome on Wednesday March 1, at 3:45 p.m. It will be a loser out game and although Bellarmine is the #11 seed will come in with good chances against the Pirates who are ranked lower than Bellarmine according to Max Preps.

Other notable games in the Girls bracket includes a huge upset from #8 seeded SPSL Emerald Ridge who beat #1 ranked Woodinville by 9, Camas held on and beat Kamiakin by 4, and Eastlake who beat Sumner by 12. Down the road Bellarmine could play Eastlake if they take down the Pirates on Wednesday.

Overall, it was a complete performance by the Lions and at their strongest they proved they can beat any team. However it will be interesting to see if the Lions’ sharp shooting will be able to keep it up in the Dome, which could alter their perception of the hoop.

Last year, this caused problems for the Lions who had an abysmal shooting performance and had a first game exit in the dome. Hopefully this year it will not be as much of a factor and the Lions season will not come to an end on Wednesday.

Go Lions!