Not having a superstar can be a blessing in disguise for a high school basketball team.
The Bellevue Christian Vikings girls basketball team has put together an undefeated 5-0 record in non-league play thus far, relying on stingy defense and ball movement to get results on the hardwood. The strategy served the Vikings well in 52-51 victory on the road against Coupeville on Dec. 6. Bellevue Christian third-year head coach Mark DeJonge said his team is a resilient group.
“We’ve had some games where we had to work through some things and have struggled a little bit, but we fought through it. One thing that I really like about our team is that we have a no quit attitude and the effort is always there. The girls know that if we play hard all the time that good things are going to happen,” DeJonge said.
The Vikings have advanced to the Class 1A Tri-District tournament the past three years, but haven’t been able to clinch a berth in the Class 1A state tournament in Yakima. The Vikings advanced to the state tourney in 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
“We had a nice run of state appearances and that’s always the goal to see if we can get back there. I think we can for sure and I think we are right there,” DeJonge said. “Our team has a good basketball IQ. We pride ourselves on team defense.”
Vikings senior starter Shelby Hall said the sky is the limit for her team during the 2014-15 season.
“I’m just really excited to see what this season brings us. Maybe we could even win league. That would be really awesome,” Hall said.
DeJonge said its easy to be optimistic when each player on the roster is selfless.
“On any given night it can be a different player stepping up for us. That is one of the things we pride ourselves on. When other teams are trying to scout us that’s probably a good thing because you never know where the big plays are going to come from,” DeJonge said. “Everyone on our team knows any night can be their night and they all play an important role in that.”
Bellevue Christian junior Emily VandenBrink said no one cares who gets the credit.
“One of our best attributes is that we all mesh together really well and everyone is really positive,” VandenBrink said. “That totally effects everything because each of us know that we don’t have to take it all by yourself. We always give each other really good passes. That’s what really matters when it comes down to it.”
Shaun Scott: 425-453-5045; sscott@bellevuereporter.com
