Karley Bellew paced the Lady Dawgs’ league playoffs run with 21 points against Pleasant Hill and 15 against Coquille. Here, she scores two of her 13 points against the Red Devils during Creswell’s Senior Night game on Feb. 9. GINI DAVIS – THE CRESWELL CHRONICLE
A 44-35 win over Pleasant Hill and a 35-46 loss to League Champion Coquille during Mountain Valley Conference league playoffs last week has the Lady Bulldogs heading to state as the MVC’s second seed.
Karley Bellew, who averages a double-double on the season at 16 points and 10 rebounds per game, scored a game-high 21 points against Pleasant Hill and 15 against Coquille.
Because the teams tied for second in league with 7-3 records, Creswell and Pleasant Hill battled on neutral ground, at Harrisburg on Feb. 14.
Creswell led 10-5 after one and 24-13 at halftime, but the Billies outscored the Lady Dawgs 16-6 in the third and the period ended with Creswell leading just 30-29.
”In the first half we came out really hard; we played great defense,” said Coach Tyler Hollingsworth. ”But in the third quarter we didn’t sustain that energy.”
In the final period, the Billies tied it 33-33 before Cali Allen scored on a transition lay-up. Bellew – who scored 11 points in the quarter – then pounded home the final nine points of the game, securing the win. ”She was 0-4 on free throws heading into the fourth quarter and was 5-for-5 in the fourth,” Hollingsworth noted.
Bellew added nine rebounds and two steals to her 21 points. Allen had 12 points and three assists; Bailey Howell added five points, five boards and six blocks.
At Coquille on Feb. 16, in the game to determine the league’s first and second seeds to state, the Lady Dawgs trailed just 5-7 after one and 13-16 at halftime but ran out of gas in the third, ending the quarter down 19-35.
”We played really hard in the first half, really good defense,” Hollingsworth said. ”But in the third quarter it was like our legs were marshmallows; we couldn’t sustain it after just one day of rest and playing hard Wednesday. We’re not super deep and we looked exhausted, while Coquille was fresh and ready to go.”
To the Lady Dawgs’ credit, though, they scrapped and fought in the final period, closing to within nine at one point. ”They made a really good effort,” Hollingsworth said.
Bellew added nine boards to her 15 points. Allen had 10 points and three assists.
The 11th-ranked Lady Dawgs travel to sixth-ranked Lakeview for a state playoff game on Friday, Feb. 23, while seventh-ranked Coquille hosts 10th-ranked Warrenton. The winners travel to the OSAA 3A state championships at Marshfield/North Bend, March 1-3.
Follow the Lady Dawgs’ progress through the 3A state championships bracket at http://www.osaa.org/activities/gbx/brackets.
