DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
A big second half in Angola for coach Andy Heim’s Bellmont Braves saw the #4 team in 3A (as of publishing time) pull away from the Hornets on their way to a 66-45 victory to round out a 19-3 regular season.
The Braves led just 28-24 at halftime, but pulled away from the 15-win Hornets in the second half with their typical, suffocating defense.
It was another big game for Marianne Bleke in the post in the win, going 6 for 13 from the field and knocking down nine free throws in twelve attempts. The sophomore finished with a double-double and a game-high 21 points.
The win was, like usual for this unselfish team, a game where four different players reached double figures. Ashley Bleke had 13, Kaitlyn Barton had eleven and Oni Krueckeberg had ten. All four of the top scorers are tenth graders for coach Heim’s team.
The 19-3 record for the Braves is nearly identical to last year’s regular season, where the team finished 20-2. Last year’s team lost to Homestead and Northrop, beating Norwell in the regular season. This year’s team lost to Homestead and Norwell and had a win against Northrop. The Braves also added Warsaw to this year’s schedule and took a quality loss to the Tigers. All those mentioned opponents of the Braves are in 4A this year.
That leaves the young Braves team as heavy favorites to advance in this year’s 3A state tournament. With state champions Norwell out of the way for the next two years because of the success factor, the time has never been riper for a deep run. The Bellmont girls’ program has just two sectional titles in the last 30 years (2002 and 2022).
Bellmont will face the winner of New Haven (2-19) and Marion (11-11) in the second Friday semifinal. That game can be heard via WZBD from Mississinewa for those unable to make the long drive to Grant County.
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