Beverly Verduin shoots eight three-pointers in a game against Roosevelt on Friday, Feb. 1.

By Christopher Duclos

It’s not about how you start, its how you finish. The Beavers made a strong case for that statement this past week by posting perfect 2-0 records for each the girls and boys basketball varsity squads, bringing a close to the regular season.

Tuesday, Jan. 29 Boys play host to Redmond for senior night

Ballard basketball held its annual senior night game in a game for both nostalgia and victory. Seniors Nate Rauda, Ray Owens, Will Leonard, Seth Berger, Stuart MacGeorge, Carl Pearson, Thomas Christensen, Kemal Deger and Johnny Verduin were honored Tuesday night in one of their final regular season games at the Beaver Dam.

The boys made a strong statement by winning the tip-off. The tip-off was then followed by a pull-up jumper from Seth Berger. Redmond (2-18) had no chance against the Beavers from then as the game was immediately controlled in the first half. At the end of the second period, the scoreboard read 37-24 Ballard. Redmond made adjustments and came back in the 3rd quarter with the intention of catching up to Ballard’s lead. However, their efforts were denied as fatigue caught up to Redmond. The boys continued to clobber the Mustangs, ending the game with a final score of 79-56, Ballard.

Scoring summary - Seth Berger, 25 points and 10 boards; Ray Owens, 21 points with 5 assists; Nick Brown, 8; Johnny Verduin, 7; Stuart MacGeorge, 6; Nate Rauda, 6; Carl Pearson, 4; Kemal Deger 2.

Wednesday, Jan. 30 Girls face Redmond at Home in Overtime Thriller

The day after the boys take care of Redmond, the girls were up next to take on the Mustangs at home. Redmond came fired up, pushing the Lady beavers to the very end. By halftime, the scoreboard didn’t yield who the better team was as the two teams kept it close, 26-25 Ballard. By the end of the fourth quarter, Redmond was coming out on top. With a little more than two minutes remaining in the game, the lady beavers were down by 5. Questionable calls from officials did not hamper the girls from coming back as they made a late push to tie the score up into overtime, 52-52.

In overtime, Redmond applied a press offense, but the ladies stuck to their defensive fundamentals and kept the Mustangs at three points during overtime. Imani Bender stopped key drives from Redmond that may have resulted in more points.

Final score 61-55, Ballard tops Redmond in overtime.

This victory secures the lady Beavers its first postseason debut since the 2008 state squad.

Scoring summary – Beverly Verduin, 21; Nancy MacGeorge, 20; Imani Bender, 7; Sam Hall, 6; Shelby Bailess, 4; Riley Soukup, 3.

Friday, Feb. 1, Final regular season home double header vs. cross-town foe Roosevelt

Having the day off from school, Beavers fans came out in full force to cheer on their teams in the last regular season home game.

Girls took the court first. To signify their team bond, they each drew hearts on their left wrist. Friday was their final regular season game at home.

After tip off, the girls took advantage of Roosevelt’s mistakes and came up with an early lead. Imani Bender never let up on her defensive tendencies, denying the roughriders shot after shot. Roosevelt only managed to come out with three points in the first period, only to be completely shut out in the second period, 9-0. The halftime scoreboard read 25-3, Roosevelt having no chance. In the second half, some of the star seniors were given a curtain call to let some underclassmen have their court time. The substitutions led to a few comeback points, but by then the game was out of reach for Roosevelt, as Ballard continued their strong push.

With a final score of 56-22, Lady Beavers win big.

Scoring summary - Beverly Verduin, 26 points (8 three point shots); Imani Bender, 12; Riley Soukup, 6; Nancy MacGeorge, 4; Shelby Bailess, 4; Sam Hall, 4.

Up next were the boys. All four quarters were a test of endurance for both teams as they kept it close. Every monster play the boys were able to come out with was answered with equal ferocity by Roosevelt. The rivalry fueled both teams in this match-up and by the end of the first half the scoreboard read 32-31, Roosevelt with a tight lead. Both teams never broke away until late in the fourth quarter. The Beavers took full advantage of rebounds and Roosevelt’s mistakes to move ahead. Ballard held onto the lead in the final seconds to conclude with a final score of 64-57, Ballard.

At the conclusion of the boys varsity game, the score was not as lopsided as the girls varsity final score, but it was every bit as electrifying. As the game continued to remain close, fans got more involved, making life difficult for the visiting Roughriders by adding Beaver Nation noise.

Christopher Duclos is the sports writer for BNT you can follow him on twitter @thechrisduclos

Notes:

• Beverly Verduin was mentioned in the Seattle Times “Friday’s Top Basketball Performances”

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