Lanie French knocked down four threes and led the Bellmont Braves in scoring with 14 points as the #2 team in 3A dominated the Carroll Chargers from start to finish Tuesday, winning 57-29 against their old NHC foes.
The pressure from the Braves’ defense caused Carroll problems from the very beginning, prompting Mark Redding to use his first time out in the opening 45 seconds of the contest. The Braves held their visitors to just four made field goals in the first half.
French got the Braves off to an 8-0 lead with her second three of the opening two minutes, bouncing one high off the rim and straight back down and in for a sign of what was to come for the Braves.
Kate Kitson ended the first quarter with a three at the buzzer on a nice assist from Ashley Bleke.
It was Kaitlyn Barton’s turn in the second quarter, with the sophomore knocking down two more long shots for the home team. Barton scored all eight of her points in that quarter.
French came back and drilled two more long balls, opening the scoring in the second half to reach double digits.
Bellmont extended the lead in the fourth quarter, with Ashley Bleke taking over in the lane and getting to double digits herself.
Receving first-place votes in the state 3A poll, the Braves are likely to be favored heavily Saturday against New Haven before turning to a tough mid-season stretch, where they’ll play undefeated teams like Eastside and Norwell, along with potential postseason rivals Columbia City and Angola.
Mary Bleke had eight points for the Braves in the win, while Hadley Caffee had four and Oni Krueckeberg had eight.
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