The Todd Beamer girls basketball team was a defensive force all season long, and they put on one last show as they took third place in the state tournament with a 49-41 win over Bothell.

It wasn’t the game they wanted to be playing in on Saturday for the second consecutive year. They were banged up, but they never folded.

“It was upsetting yesterday,” Todd Beamer coach Corey Alexander said. “But we went through the same thing last year. We know we had unfinished business to do, so we bounced back and played hard for each other.”

The Titans had their best shooting performance of the tournament, making 40 percent of their shots.

Beamer’s Makenna Woodfolk led the way for the Titans once again. She was disruptive inside as she hauled in five offensive rebounds in the first half, and she hit five of six free throws and nearly had a double-double by halftime with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Bothell’s Taya Corosdale was efficient from the field, making five of her eight shots. She led all players at the half with 12 points and finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds.

The first half was tightly contested, and the Titans held a 30-27 lead at the half.

Both teams struggled to score in the second half, but in different ways.

The turnovers increased and the number of shots fell for the Titans, but they maintained their shooting percentage.

Meanwhile, their defense became a problem for the Cougars. Bothell made 22.2 percent of their shots the second half.

Beamer only led by two points after three quarters, but their lead climbed to 11 points multiple times in the fourth quarter.

The Cougars were 2-for-11 from the floor in the final quarter and were held to five points. They never shot a free throw in the fourth.

Brenda Akoto hit a 3-pointer for the Cougars to bring the score to 49-41 with 50 seconds left, but neither team scored from there as Beamer cruised to victory.

Bothell took fifth in the state tournament with the loss.

“Defense wins ball games,” Corey Alexander said. “In an open arena like this, sometimes your shots aren’t going to fall. But if you always play defense, then hopefully you can get to a championship.”

Woodfolk finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead Beamer. Jahpera McEachin was the second-leading scorer with 10 points. Bria Rice finished with nine points and Nia Alexander finished with eight.

Makenzie Bond rounded out the scoring with six points.

“In a game that they can say it’s not first place or it’s whatever, they came out and played for each other,” Corey Alexander said. “Bria stepped up big this game. Makenna is always playing strong. Nia knocked down some shots. Jahpera, she’s been outstanding for the last couple of weeks guarding the best players. The team just came together and put a good ball game together today.”

The Titans exhibited tough defense in their first two games as well.

Against Skyview, they never allowed more than 12 points in a quarter. Even with their offense struggling, they led in all but the 16 seconds of the game that it was tied 0-0. They forced the Storm into 24 turnovers as they won 40-35.

Central Valley also struggled to shoot from the floor against the Titans, making only 30 percent of their shots. However, the Bears overcame their offensive woes with a strong performance at the free throw line, making 20 of their 24 attempts.

Central Valley defeated Beamer 55-37 and went on to defeat Snohomish 57-48 for the state championship. They finished undefeated at 28-0.

With Beamer’s win over Bothell, they accomplished more than many teams ever will with consecutive top-three finishes in the state.

“I don’t think there will ever be another class like them,” Corey Alexander said. “We had an awesome senior class. I’ve been spoiled. These girls, the beautiful thing is they played together. When you have a team like that with a whole bunch of talent, sometimes girls can be individuals. These girls played hard for each other the whole time.”

Nia Alexander, Woodfolk and Rice will be the starters graduating from Beamer this year. Nia Alexander is going to play for the University of San Francisco next year, Woodfolk is headed to the University of Hawaii and Rice is headed to the University of Colorado.

Reserve players Lexus Oden, Sophie Afework and Ebonee West are also graduating.

McEachin and Darion Brown will be returning starters from this year’s team. Bond, the team’s third-leading scorer, will also only be a junior next season.

Beamer finishes the season with a 25-3 record.