“It wasn’t pretty,” commented Bellwood-Antis Lady Blue Devil head coach Nick Lovrich after watching his team’s win over Mount Union, “but we’ll definitely take it.”
Steph Hatch was the only Lady Blue Devil that scored in double figures, but thanks in large part to the rebounding of Katie Gardner and the defense of Rachael Meredith, Bellwood was able to escape with a 43-34 victory over the Lady Trojans in a second cycle Juniata Valley League basketball game on Tuesday night.
Rachael Meredith gave Bellwood control of the game early. Her two quick buckets to start the game coupled with Emily Worthing’s fast break lay-up catapulted the Lady Devils to an 11-9 lead after one quarter of play.
After combining for just 2 points in the first quarter, Bellwood’s inside duo of Katie Gardner and Steph Hatch finally got back on track in the second quarter. Running a high-low zone offense against the Lady Trojan’s 1-3-1 zone defense, the Lady Blue Devils looked to feature their two main offensive weapons in the post. Together, the two scored 8 of their team’s 10 points in the second period, giving their squad a 21-17 halftime lead.
After halftime, Mount Union finally seemed to catch on to Bellwood’s game plan. The Lady Trojans packed their zone deep down into the post, suffocating the Lady Devil offense in the paint. The new scheme was able to slow down Hatch and Gardner, holding them to only one Gardner free throw in the third period.
With the zone sagging into the post, the outside shot was left open for the Lady Devil guards. Emily Worthing stepped up and drilled a three pointer and Ashley Smith and Ashley Edevane hit jumpers from inside the arc to keep Bellwood’s lead at four points, 29-25, after three quarters of play.
The fourth quarter was all Lady Blue Devils. Rachael Meredith hit a runner in the lane and two free throws and Gardner and Hatch each recorded two put-backs off offensive rebounds to put the game away, giving Bellwood a 43-34 victory in its first game of the second cycle of the Juniata Valley League. Steph Hatch (10 points, 7 rebounds) and Katie Gardner (9 points, 12 rebounds) led the Lady Blue Devils, who with the win opened the second cycle of the Juniata Valley League with a victory which improved their record to 8-6 on the season.
“Katie and Steph have both been struggling with their shots lately,” said Lovrich, “However, they don’t let that hinder how hard they play. They both do the little things that help this team. That is really evident in their rebounding efforts.”
Rachael Meredith and Emily Worthing made up the supporting cast for Bellwood as they scored eight and seven points respectively.
“Rachael really did a nice job defensively on their point guard,” added Lovrich, “She was all over her the whole game and kept her from setting up the offense.”
Mount Union was led by Erin Mansberger, who scored 13 points.
The Lady Blue Devils will play next on Thursday night when they host the Lady Damsels of Moshannon Valley in a Juniata Valley League contest to be held in the Bellwood-Antis High School Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 7:30.
Junior Varsity
Bellwood’s Lauren Carter scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds and teammates Samantha Erickson and Susan Ridgeway scored 15 and 10 points respectively as the Lady Blue Devil jayvees upped their record to 9-3 with a 57-33 win over Mt. Union.
Bellwood-Antis 43 Mount Union 34
MOUNT UNION (34): Lane 2 0-0 4, Mansberger 4 5-7 13, Benson 5 1-1 11, Corbin 1 0-0 2, Endres 0 1-2 1, O’Donnell 1 1-4 3. TOTALS 13 8-14 34.
BELLWOOD-ANTIS (43): Worthing 3 0-0 7, Edevane 1 2-2 4, Gardner 4 1-4 9, Hatch 5 0-0 10, Meredith 3 2-3 8, Smith 1 0-0 2, Sprankle 1 1-1 3, Erickson 0 0-0 0, Carter 0 0-0 0, Ridgeway 0 0-0 0, Swanson 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 18 6-12 43.
Score by quarters
Mount Union 9 8 8 9 – 34
Bellwood-Antis 11 10 8 14 – 43
3-Point Goals: Mount Union 0; Bellwood-Antis 1 (Worthing).
Records: Bellwood-Antis: 8-6 (1-0 in Juniata Valley League second cycle); Mount Union 6-9 overall (0-1 second cycle)
