{"id":33610,"date":"2026-02-14T19:14:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T00:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/?p=33610"},"modified":"2026-02-17T06:14:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T11:14:00","slug":"nothing-easy-about-braves-first-regional-since-1993-despite-blowout-victory-over-knights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/14\/nothing-easy-about-braves-first-regional-since-1993-despite-blowout-victory-over-knights\/","title":{"rendered":"Nothing easy about Braves’ first regional since 1993, despite blowout victory over Knights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

RANDY HISNER<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WZBD.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Photos by Tara Riehm & Grace Scheumann)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DECATUR – It wasn\u2019t supposed to be this easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 3A fifth-ranked Bellmont Braves rolled over a highly regarded 20-5 East Noble squad, nearly doubling them up with a 63-32 shellacking to claim a regional title for the first time since 1993.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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New storefront open in Decatur!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Though it\u2019s true that Bellmont had pinned a 22-point loss on East Noble in early December, the Knights had been playing exceptionally well of late, winning 12 of their last 13, climbing to the #7 spot in the latest MaxPreps 3A rankings, and breezing through their sectional with a 20-plus average win margin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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No matter. Bellmont\u2019s relentless defensive pressure and uncannily accurate shooting on their home floor enabled the Braves to dominate throughout the game.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Eleven points from the Bleke twins\u2014Ashley with six, Mary with five\u2014helped the Braves jump out to a big first-quarter lead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

WZBD’s Randy Hisner caught up with Oni Krueckeberg after the game. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fellow sophomore Oni Krueckeberg, who led the Braves with 16 points, got things started with a long jumper just inside the arc at the top of the key at the 6:54 mark. Back-to-back put backs by Ashley Bleke put the Braves up 6-0 before East Noble\u2019s Averi Amstutz finally put the Knights on the board with a spinning layup with 3:38 to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Braves immediately forced the Knights into the third of their six turnovers in the quarter, and Mary Bleke zipped a pass inside to Ashley for an across-the-lane layup. Shaye Ritchie hit a short jumper for the Knights to make it 8-4, but Mary Bleke converted a conventional three-point play, followed by a short baseline jumper, to stretch the lead to 13-4. With 36 seconds left, backup center Hadley Caffee hit a post up move and got fouled. When she made the free throw, it was 16-4, and the Knights were back on their heels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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