The Spartans played in the shadow of greatness Friday night, tipping off against Holy Names Academy before some very special guests: alumnae from the famous 1987 Bainbridge High girls state championship team.
The ’87 champs were recognized before the start of the game, in which the visitors managed to outplay the BHS varsity girls basketball team 46-32, handing down the island team’s 10th loss of the year (7-10 overall, 4-9 in conference).
With two games left on the regular season schedule, the BHS girls are ranked in 10th place in the Metro standings, tied with Ballard. Bishop Blanchet boasts the top spot (13-0 in conference), Rainier Beach and West Seattle nip their heels tied for second (10-3) and Seattle Prep sits at third (9-4).
Friday’s game connected the current squad to history in another way, as well, in addition to the guests of honor, as the collected stats made official senior Taylor Tye’s place among storied Spartans past.
Tye is the 12th-most prolific scorer in the program’s history, having racked up 835 points in her 82 games (prior to Friday). The mightiest Spartan remains Brittany Gray (2005-2009), who, in her 100 games, totaled a whopping 1,668 points.
The presence of the alumnae was very exciting for the team, said Spartan Head Coach Henry Guterson.
“I know the players really liked having them here,” he said. “Bainbridge basketball has an incredible history: multiple state championships, multiple state placements. As much as we can bring that history home and make a difference for the players, the more the better.”
The excitement was evident on the court — for a time.
Against Holy Names, the Spartans came out charging hard and got on the board first, though an extremely tight first quarter saw the game enter the second with them only up 8-7.
Quickly after that the guests began to pull away, but only just barely. The Spartans did their best against the Cougars’ steady man-to-man defense and the first half closed at 22-17, Holy Names.
The third was a tough quarter for the Spartans. They just couldn’t get anything going. Momentum was blocked at every turn and some big shots went way wide, thus the game entered the final quarter with BHS down 28-24 and the Spartans were left further behind from there.
About the change of fortune in the third, Guterson said only, “It was just one of those games.”
“Our shots weren’t falling,” he said. “Some were good looks; others I think were rushed. I thought Holy Names took a higher percentage of shots and they worked for good looks more than we did.
“Holy Names does a great man-to-man defense,” he added. “We have to be able to be disciplined on offense and look for a good shot. And yes, even our good shots weren’t falling tonight — which obviously hurts, when you’re not knocking down jumpers. We usually do knock them down. We are a great three-point shooting team and even the good shots weren’t going in tonight.”
Simply an off night? Perhaps. But Bainbridge can’t afford another of those this late in the season if the team hopes for any kind of decent postseason seeding. The emptying of the hourglass is something the coach said he and the players are well aware of.
“In terms of seeding, these next two games are really big,” Guterson said. “Tonight’s game was, too, but there are 16 teams in Metro [and] the bottom four have to play just to get into the next big tournament. The top six automatically advance to districts.
“It would be nice to get a home game in that first round in the Metro League Tournament,” he said. “If we win our final two, we have a good shot.”
The Spartans will finish the regular season at home in a Senior Night scuffle at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3 against Eastside Catholic.
There was no lack of motivation among the Spartans, Guterson said, even with the sun getting low on the horizon. He remained optimistic that the team could manage a decent postseason showing.
“I think we always want it,” he said. “I don’t question our effort tonight in any way. It’s just about offensive execution and making shots.”
