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B-A rolls past Lady Eagles

TYRONE — Bellwood-Antis is one of the highest-scoring girls basketball teams in the area, but coach Jim Swaney raved about his squad’s defense following an easy 75-39 victory over Tyrone in the championship game of the Northern Blair Kiwanis Reliance Bank Tournament at the TAHS gym Friday night.

“I just told the kids (in the locker room) I think we’re close to becoming a really, really good defensive team,” Swaney said.

“We’re jumping the ball really well, we’re seeing help positions very well … I just think defensively we’re playing really well,” he said.

Even though the Lady Blue Devils had beaten Tyrone soundly early in the season, Swaney said he had no problem preparing his squad for Friday’s encounter.

“We think Tyrone’s a quality team,” he said. “They’ve got some shooters — the Shaw sisters can really shoot, (Kelsey) Johnson can shoot and I think (Emily) Lehman is a very underrated player.

“Even though we won the first game handily, it was 27-27 at the half,” Swaney said, “so we just kept hammering the point home that it was their tournament and not to take them lightly.”

B-A, now 7-1, certainly didn’t take the hosts lightly Friday. With touted point guard Alli Campbell (13 points) and post player Sakeria Haralson (7) combining for 20 points, the Lady Devils jumped out to leads of 18-2 and 22-6 in the first quarter and cruised to victory.

Bellwood led 37-18 at the half and, with Campbell and fellow sophomore Emilie Leidig each scoring seven points, the Blue Devils hiked their advantage to 58-32 after three quarters.

“This is a group of kids that wants to play,” Swaney offered. “They believe in themselves and they think they’re pretty good. And, we’re going to keep working everyday to get better.”

When Swaney cleared his bench, Campbell had 28 points and Haralson 15 while guards Tina Hollen (11), Leidig (8) and Riley D’Angelo (7) were contributors, too.

“Those three,” Swaney said of the guards, “are really underrated in other people’s eyes. Coaches know who they are and people who know the game know who they are, but many people just look at the boxscore.

“Riley D’Angelo might be the best longball defender around, Leidig truly understands defense and understands help position defense and Tina Hollen … I can’t say enough about her. She waited her turn in a pretty good program, didn’t start until her senior year and a lot of kids would have given up because they didn’t get instant gratification.”

Campbell, called an “extraordinary player” by Swaney, won the MVP award and was joined on the all-tourney team by teammates Haralson and D’Angelo and Tyrone’s Sydney Shaw.

“It’s a nice accomplishment,” Campbell said of the MVP, “but I couldn’t have done it without my teammates.

“It’s always a good game when we play Tyrone,” Campbell continued. “We were focused and played well together.

“We always strive to get a good start and put the game away early because it gives us momentum for the rest of the game,” she added.

The loss dropped Tyrone to 3-4 on the season and coach Luke Rhoades gave props to the Blue Devils.

“They’re a solid team,” he said. “Not only did they outplay us, they were way more physical than us, particularly in the first half. We were a little star-struck and need to get over that.”

Penn Cambria won the consolation game, 60-36, over Tussey Mountain. Makayla Clapper led a balanced offense with 12 points. PC’s Laken Guzic and Tussey’s Lexi Weimert were all-tourney selections.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

BELLWOOD-ANTIS (75): Campbell 10 6-8 28, D’Angelo 2 2-2 7, Haralson 6 3-4 15, Hollen 4 3-4 11, Leidig 3 1-2 8, Musselman 0 0-0 0, Shuke 1 0-0 2, Decker 1 1-2 4, Robison 0 0-0 0. Totals — 27 16-22 75.

TYRONE (39): Sh. Shaw 1 2-2 5 Sy. Shaw 2 0-0 4, Lehman 2 8-9 12, Ronan 0 0-0 0, Kosoglow 2 0-0 4, Johnson 2 0-0 6, Fusco 0 0-0 0, Michelfelder 0 0-0 0. Totals — 12 12-13 39.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bellwood-Antis 22 15 21 17 — 75

Tyrone 6 12 14 7 — 39

3-point goals: Bellwood-Antis 5 (Campbell 2, D’Angelo, Leidig, Decker); Tyrone 3 (Johnson 2, Sh. Shaw) .

Records: Bellwood-Antis (7-1); Tyrone (3-4).

Officials: Brandon Hoover, Bill Musser, Jeff Hesser.

CONSOLATION GAME

PENN CAMBRIA (60): Harvey 3 1-2 8, Strasser 2 0-0 4, Clapper 4 4-6 12, Guzic 2 0-0 4, Hockenos 4 0-0 8, McCarthy 2 0-0 5, Grove 2 0-0 5, Davis 3 2-3 8, Saleme 2 2-2 6. Totals–24 9-13 60.

TUSSEY MOUNTAIN (36): Weimert 6 4-6 17, Brumbaugh 4 1-2 9, Garner 0 0-0 0, Wright 0 0-0 0, Molosky 3 2-4 10. Totals — 13 7-12 36.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Penn Cambria 14 12 17 17 — 60

Tussey Mountain 6 10 11 9 — 36

3-point goals: Penn Cambria 3 (Harvey, McCarthy, Grove); Tussey Mountain 3 (Weimert, Molosky 2).

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