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Published February 4, 2011
Whatever it takes
Bonny's passion for winning sparks La Salle to 20-0 record
By
SCOTT SPRUILL
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
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La Salle's
Savannah Bonny has led her team
in scoring each of the past three seasons
and has led the Lightning to a perfect record
in their first year in Class 1A.
SARA GETTYS/Yakima Herald-Republic |
Savannah Bonny makes it sound so simple. Winning is
what makes her go, the rest is just numbers and noise.
But what unrelenting noise it is.
La Salle's senior guard has accumulated more than 1,100
career points with two league MVP awards, earned all-state honors in soccer
and run on three state-championship relay teams in track. Whatever she
chooses, she excels at.
It's a resume meant for framing, but it doesn't
identify her. Winning does.
"Savannah is so passionate about winning," said La
Salle's girls basketball coach Alyssa Goins. "She's a one of a kind. I don't
ask things of her, Savannah just does. More than anything, she wants to
win."
There's plenty of that going on at La Salle.
In Bonny's four years in the soccer program, the
Lightning never lost a league match -- 42-0 -- and the 2008 squad won the 2B
state title. In three previous basketball seasons with her contributions, La
Salle placed first, second and third at state.
But now, and perhaps most impressively, Bonny has
ushered her team to the 1A level and driven La Salle to a 20-0 record and
No. 3 state ranking in its new classification.
The SCAC West has been introduced to a team with all
the La Salle traits that produced six straight 2B state trophies
--
relentless defense, quick-strike transition game and plenty of poise under
pressure.
"Moving up, I thought it would be a good challenge for
us," Bonny said. "I was kind of on the fence about it at first because we
weren't sure about what we had. But I've been impressed with our freshmen,
we actually have height now and we have a lot of scorers. I thought we could
handle moving up, but nobody thought we'd be unbeaten this long."
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Bonny, who is
5-foot-7, outleaps a 6-1 opponent
for a rebound during the 2008 Class 2B
state tournament in Spokane.
Photo
courtesy of La Salle High School |
Bonny is La Salle's leading scorer for the third
straight year, averaging 14 points while ranking second to follow senior
Lauren DeGooyer -- with whom she's played with since second grade -- in
rebounds. assists, steals and blocks.
But to appreciate the full measure of Bonny's
cut-it-loose style and her zeal to do anything to help the team, you have to
see her play. See the tenacity and ferocity that are her personal
intangibles.
"Savannah is famous for her Superman dives," Goins said
with the smile of a fully appreciative coach. "She completely lays out and
launches herself at the ball. She's so athletic and tough, she can do some
amazing things."
Goins' favorite picture of Bonny is from her freshman
year in the state tournament. In the semifinals against White Pass, Bonny,
all 5-foot-7 of her, is seen outleaping a 6-1 girl to rip down a rebound.
"She is this far off the ground," said Goins, showing a
vertical range with her hands of nearly two feet. "We love that picture
because it says it all about Savannah."
Bonny was mentored that season by her older twin
sisters, Alexis and Megan. Given that they recently helped Washington State
University's women's rugby team win a national title, there's a clue where
Savannah gets her fearlessness.
Which can, on occasion, gets her in trouble.
First there was the concussion she absorbed just before
state her sophomore year. Goins was cautious with her in Spokane, but La
Salle still managed to place third a year after losing seven seniors off a
24-0 title team.
The next season Bonny collided with a White Swan
player, splitting open a gash on her left ear that required 14 stitches. Two
weeks later, she launched herself into a pew against the east wall at Queen
Gym and scared the daylights out of everybody.
"Everyone thought I lost my eye. I needed five stitches
in my (right) eyebrow and three more here," she said, pointing to a spot an
inch below the eye. "Coach wasn't too happy about that one.
"People were running to me, so worried, and I was just
thinking, 'Why did I do that?,'" she said with a laugh. "Why, why, why?"
She knows. Goins knows. And now the SCAC knows.
To sacrifice all for the team.
To win.
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