EBENSBURG — Patience, so goes the adage, is a virtue.

Bellwood-Antis’ young starting unit dealt with an active defense that tested the Blue Devils’ patience as Bishop Carroll Catholic rolled to a 51-39 victory in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference girls’ basketball opener for both schools at Bishop Carroll Catholic High School on Friday night.

Blue Devils coach Kyley Longo started three juniors and two freshmen in the early-season test. Bellwood-Antis lists no seniors on this year’s varsity team.

“We talked (after the game) about batting back and facing adversity. We have a lot of confidence in our kids. We need to work on getting the ball inside better,” Longo said.

Longo held a lengthy discussion that emphasized placing significant value on each possession. It’s an area that younger players typically struggle to grasp.

“(We talked about) valuing the possession, moving the basketball. There are times in which panic mode sets in, and they feel like they have to take the first good (shot) they see, instead of working it around and working together to get it,” she said.

“It’s just (a matter) of building chemistry. We’re filling the void of two starters (from last season). We have two new people out there with us. We’ll continue to work together as a team to find that get chemistry and get the ball moving.”

Bishop Carroll, less than one week removed from winning its tipoff tournament last weekend, never trailed. If it is all the same …

“The shots were a little off tonight (because) we had five or six days off,” Huskies coach Nick Smith said.

The Blue Devils did not score their first points until Lilly Gerwert converted a follow-up at the 3:13 mark of a tightly contested first quarter, which ended tied a 6.

“I think it’s more figuring out our tempo and pace, and not allowing them to speed us up, as they did a couple of times with their press. We’ll get there,” Longo said.

Bellwood-Antis struggled to contend with the Huskies’ swarming defense throughout the evening. The Blue Devils trailed, 21-14, at halftime, and entered the final period dealing with a 39-20 deficit. Bishop Carroll also had the edge under the boards.

Lucko led all players with 14 points. Sarah Miller added 11 points.

“I am pleased with the win. We played a little rough tonight. The zone kind of threw us off. We haven’t had much practice with the zone defense. But I’m happy with the team effort, the defensive effort. They gave everything they had,” Smith said.

Three players — Gerwert, Marissa Carciotti and Peyton Hammond — scored eight points apiece for Bellwood-Antis. Gerwert grabbed five rebounds, Carciotti was credited with three assists, and Isabella Sloey came up with five rebounds and four steals.

“We were trying to take away (Emily) Lucko a little bit in the blocks, which I think we did. And we talked about how when they shoot from the outside, they are going to miss long. And I think we missed sometimes coming back out to box out the guards in order to give them second-shot opportunities. And we know that they live off their second- and third-shot opportunities,” Longo said.

BELLWOOD-ANTIS (39): Cacciotti 3 0-0 8, Sloey 1 2-4 4, Sweigert 2 0-0 5, Worthing 0 0-0 0, Gerwert 3 2-6 8, Hammond 3 0-0 8, Plummer 1 0-0 3, Campbell 0 0-0 0, Cunningham 0 0-0 0, Conlon 1 0-0 3. Totals — 14 4-10 39.

BISHOP CARROLL (51): Delauter 1 0-0 2, Lucko 5 3-3 14, Miller 4 2-2 11, Adelyn Myers 4 0-0 8, Avery Myers 2 2-2 6, Olienyk 2 0-0 4, R. Myers 0 0-0 0, Saxion 3 0-0 6. Totals — 21 7-7 51.

SCORE BY QUARTERS:

Bellwood-Antis 6 8 6 19 — 39

Bishop Carroll 6 15 18 12 — 51

3-point field goals: Bellwood-Antis 7 (Carciotti 2, Hammond 2, Sweigert, Plummer, Conlin), Bishop Carroll 2 (Lucko, Miller).

Officials: Bill Zamboni, Andy Lubert, Dawn Stewart.

Team records: Bishop Carroll (3-0, 1-0 conference), Bellwood-Antis (0-2, 0-1).