Among the many good things about state basketball tournaments is watching seniors go out in glory, with fans cheering and teammates hugging.

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Among the few bad ones is watching a group of exemplary final-year players leave with a loss — especially one in which said seniors struggle, perhaps because they were trying a bit too hard to provide their teammates, coaches and community with one last triumphant hurrah.

Witness Bellevue Christian 55, Zillah 40, in a Class 1A state tournament loser-out game Friday in the SunDome.

“One of the things I always preach to these girls,” Leopards coach Mindi Winters said, “is to keep up your intensity after a loss, to play with emotion. But sometimes, the emotion of a situation can hurt you.”

The situation this time was that less than 24 hours earlier, Zillah had played a stirring first half against top-ranked Seattle Christian and trailed by a mere basket in its quest for a major upset and a berth in the semifinals.

Things came undone in the final two quarters of that one, though, leaving the Leopards in a must-win situation in their quest for a fourth consecutive state trophy.

Friday, Zillah’s hopes were very much alive when Bayli Ziegler sped through the Vikings for a buzzer-beating layup and a 26-25 Leopard halftime lead.

In the third quarter, however, Zillah would make only one free throw. It would not get its first second-half field goal until only 5:24 remained in the game, and things seemed to snowball on the Leopards regarding fouls and frustration.

By game’s end, both Ziegler and fellow senior standout Rosebud Guthrie had fouled out. And BC (22-4), which will meet Lynden Christian at noon Saturday to decide fourth and seventh places, made 26 of 38 free throws to Zillah’s 14 of 21.

“We try to not be affected by things we can’t control,” Winters said, “but we probably weren’t successful at that today.”

Nonetheless, there was plenty this season for the Leopards to take pride in. They won the SCAC District championship, for example, and at 20-8 posted the program’s third successive 20-win season.

“It’s really tough to end like this,” said Winters, who has taken Zillah to state in each of her four seasons as coach. “We had a little assembly at the elementary school the other day and it was so neat to see the little kids with posters and pictures of our girls. They were asking Rosebud if she would dunk for them. That’s the thing about these girls — they’re not just good basketball players, they’re great people.”

Sophomore Alisi Uasike led Zillah with 12 points while Ziegler had 10. Michelle Teng topped Bellevue Christian with 15.