DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
FLATROCK – The Braves’ defense has been smothering all year, but even to Bellmont’s standards, the start of Saturday night’s game was surprising.
The visitors held Heritage without a point in the first quarter, jumping out to a 28-0 lead after eight minutes. A bucket early in the second quarter for the Patriots by Olivia Lybarger was the only solace for the home team as the score rose all the way to 40-2 near halftime.
Juniors Lanie French and Kate Kitson combined for 21 points in the opening half and created non-stop turnovers on the other side of the court with pressure in the half-court.
With the running clock throughout the second half, the Braves still managed time to score twelve points in the third quarter, with Oni Krueckeberg and Ashley Bleke scoring ten of the team’s dozen points.
Heritage did not lose their fight, much to the delight of head coach Jason Miller, who knew that his team was never going to hang with one of the top teams in 3A. The Patriots outscored Bellmont 5-4 in the final quarter.
Kitson, French, Ashley Bleke and Krueckeberg all reached double digits, with French’s 14, all in the first half, leading all scorers.
Coach Andy Heim will be pleased with his team’s performance at the line, where they went 14 of 18.
Olivia Lybarger had four points to lead the Patriots. The loss dropped them to 2-4 on the year, with the team scheduled to have the week of Thanksgiving off, giving them time to prepare for the December 2nd game at Lakeland Christian.
Bellmont will host Adams Central Tuesday, but much of the focus for Bellmont fans will be the upcoming home game against Homestead on Black Friday.
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