Bellaire players, coaches and cheerleaders celebrate their district championship. Photo by Jim Schoensee

BELLAIRE - They just keep winning. After dropping a game to Onaway on Jan. 16, the Bellaire girls basketball team has won 13 straight contests, including last Friday's 47-46 win over Central Lake in the district finals.

"The kids played with a lot of energy," Bellaire head coach George Mason said after the game. "They wanted it, and they went after it." Bellaire trailed 12-8 after the first quarter. They were down 16-12 with just over 6:00 to play in the second when Central Lake's leading scorer and shot blocker Jasmine Hines picked up her third foul, sending her to the bench for the rest of the half.

"The foul trouble hurt us a little bit," Central Lake head coach Al Becker said. "They (Bellaire) had no problem taking it to us."

"It helps our confidence when she (Hines) is on the bench," Bellaire senior Molly Poel said. "She's an amazing player."

After Hines was forced to sit, Bellaire went on a 14-5 scoring run, with senior Logan Edgecomb scoring 10 points in that stretch and Poel adding the other 4, to lead at halftime, 26-21.

"Logan did a great job of getting some rebounds and put backs that were huge," Mason said.

Bellaire kept that pace in the third quarter, as they extended their lead to 43-32. Poel had 10 points in the third quarter.

"You're not going to stop Molly," Mason said. "She was just incredible tonight."

But in the fourth quarter things got interesting - really interesting.

Suddenly for the Eagles, baskets became harder to find than parking spots, and Central Lake was able to slowly chip away at Bellaire's lead.

With 4:36 to go, the lead was down to four, 43-39. But then neither team scored again until Heidi Hicks hit a free throw with 1:47 left to pull within 43-40.

Finally, with 1:30 left, Amanda Egert scored the Eagles' first points of the fourth quarter on a pull up jumper in the lane. It would prove to be the Eagles' only field goal in the fourth quarter. With :43 seconds to go, Edgecomb hit two free throws to push the lead back to seven, 47-40.

The Trojans refused to quit, however, and scored on their next possession. Then, they forced two consecutive turnovers in Bellaire's backcourt and scored baskets off each to move within 47-46.

Bellaire was able to move the ball up the court on their next possession, however, and Central Lake couldn't stop the clock with a foul until only 2.1 seconds were left. On the ensuing missed free throw, the Trojans simply didn't have enough time to advance up the floor for a potential game winning shot.

"It was a great finish," Becker said. "We just came up a little short. We made a valiant comeback, but came up a touch short."

The win gives Bellaire their first district title since 2004, and this one feels extra special coming against their arch rivals, Central Lake, and because it's the last girls basketball game that will ever be played in that gym.

"You always like to beat your rivals," Mason said. "They were 19-2 ... We were the underdogs every time we played them, so that makes it that much more special."

"The seniors wanted it (the win) really bad," Poel said. "It's a great feeling to do it senior year."

On the other side of that coin, there are the Central Lake seniors (Nikki Korb, Nikki McMichael, Sarah Leathers, Jessica Douglas and Jackie Smith), who capped off a terrific season on Friday.

"They're top notch kids all the way through," Becker said. "I couldn't ask for five better kids. As a coach and as a friend, I hate to see them go. They're top notch kids all the way around."

Bellaire 42, Ellsworth 36

The Eagles played their way into the championship game by downing Northern Lakes Conference's Ellsworth 42-36 on Wednesday, Feb. 20 Bellaire earned the victory with a 13-7 fourth quarter surge that broke open a 2929 tie at the end of three. Ellsworth held a 24-23 lead at the end of the first half.

Strong rebounding on the defensive end of the court was a key factor in the Eagles' comeback effort.

"Ellsworth was 5-of-8 from the three point line, but we were able to overcome," said Mason. "We out rebounded them 36-27, and we didn't give them any second shots."

Poel paced Bellaire with a double-double game that included 16 points and 13 rebounds. Edgecomb chipped in with 8 points and 12 rebounds and Megan Comben had 7 points and 5 boards. Kara Liverance recorded 5 assists and 5 steals.

Ellsworth was led by Katelyn Seaney, Kelcie Drenth and Kysha Keehn with 8 points apiece.

Phil Trombley contributed to this report.