It's all love, it's all family - and it's all over as Ellensburg girls complete perfect season with WIAA Class 2A title

YAKIMA - Excited Ellensburg forward Katie Blume took the pair of scissors, snipped a piece of the nylon net and beelined right toward her coach.

She gave Jeff Whitney the memorabilia, as if to say thanks.

As if to say - "We all love you!"

The Bulldogs finished off one of the most impressive seasons not only in the Class 2A ranks, but in recent memory in any classification.

The defeated Burlington-Edison, 52-32, to claim the first WIAA girls basketball championship in school history.

"Such a team moment," Blume said. "A family moment."

This championship run has been in the works for few years - and many thought this was the year Ellensburg broke through.

But it hasn't been an easy one. A few players battled injuries and other ailments. Whitney had his own serious health issues to tend to.

"It's definitely been a hard year for all of us - the ups and downs that we've faced as a team," said Bulldogs senior guard Dylan Philip, named the tournament most valuable player. "But it's brought us together even more."

Maybe that was the fuel accelerator needed to play this level of defense - some of the best this state has ever seen.

Oddly enough, Burlington-Edison top guards Sydney Reisner and Amey Rainaud sank 3-pointers in the first 21/2 minutes to give the Tigers an early lead.

Almost immediately, the Bulldogs switched from their 1-3-1 zone to man-to-man pressure.

It was a sight to behold, thought Tigers coach Brett McLeod. His team loves breaking down those looks.

"They did a great job in that," McLeod said.

Burlington-Edison went nearly nine minutes without a field goal in the first half, which was plenty of time for Ellensburg to build a big lead.

The top-ranked 2A squad went on an 18-0 run. Six different players scored, including ninth grade point guard Jamison Philip (game-high 13 points), who scored on back-to-back trips to give the Bulldogs a 21-7 lead.

Through three quarters, Ellensburg's defese reduced the Tigers to a 3-point-shooting squad. Six of their seven field goals came from long range.

"Offensively, we are not as much of a threat as some teams," Dylan Philip said. "But because of our defense, we are able to get in transition and convert points.

"All of the energy starts with our defense. I think we have more fun playing defense."

And now the 26-0 Bulldogs are the first undefeated Class 2A state champion since Chelan, which went 27-0 in 2003-04, defeating Pullman for the state title.

"We are like a family," Philip said. "And we wanted to win so badly."