Basketball

B-A uses big third quarter in win

EBENSBURG -- Both Bellwood-Antis' and Central Cambria's girls basketball teams made their Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference matchup feel like a playoff game on Friday night.

In the first half, neither side jumped out to a big a lead, both answered big plays rather quickly, and almost ended up with a stalemate at the half.

However, it was the Lady Blue Devils taking away key opportunities and cashing in on their own in the second half as they hung on for a 62-56 win on senior night.

"We know that being in this league, we're going to have close games," Bellwood-Antis coach Kyley Longo said. "If we're not going to play with desperation, we're going to play with determination. When we stick together like that, good things happen."

For much of the first half both teams had to navigate foul trouble as both sides were called for a combined 23 fouls.

It took until about midway through the first quarter for the Lady Red Devils to get their first field goal. Ava Barra drained a putback to cut the deficit to 7-6.

Bellwood capped off the opening stanza with a 3-ball from Olivia Hess for the 16-14 advantage.

"Bellwood shot really well," Central Cambria coach Brittany Bracken said. "They have been shooting really well. It was a battle; it was a good game. Offensively, I think we got stagnate (in the third quarter) and struggled, and they were hitting (shots). We didn't quit and we pushed through, and I was happy to see my girls going after to it up to the final buzzer."

In the second quarter, Marissa Cacciotti knocked down a 3 to help stretch the Bellwood lead to 27-19.

Central Cambria responded with an 11-2 run. Alaina Long buried a layup late in the second half to give her squad a 30-29 lead at the half.

"We focused on our third quarter because we've come out flat in the past in the third quarter," Longo said. "Let's come out fast, let's get after things, let's be the first to score, let's get paint touches first, let's not settle for the outside shot, let's get to the rim. The biggest key for us we need to get bodies on everyone and box out."

The Lady Devils started pulling away in the third as Lilly Gerwert hit a layup to give Bellwood a 33-30 lead. She led all scorers with 18 points.

"You got to give that credit to my teammates," Gerwert said. "They found me with the flow, and we just all flowed together."

"She's maturing, she has a will to win," Longo added. "She's a kid that supports her teammates. She's a kid that knows how to calm herself down, let the game come to her. She knows we're going to get her looks."

B-A's Chloe Hammond then drained three NBA range 3s on her way to 14 points. Gerwert capped off the frame with a floater to finish off a 17-6 outburst and a 46-36 cushion.

"I feel like we did not rebound the ball well in the second half," Bracken said. "I don't know if they were boxing us out or if we stopped going after it. It just really felt like offensively we weren't in sync."

Aubrey Ruddek started the scoring in the fourth with a 3-pointer, but that was about as close as the Lady Red Devils got until the closing minutes.

Gerwert picked up where she left off as she crashed the boards for the putback early in the fourth. She later added two more to stretch the lead to 12.

"We've handled the press really well over the course of our season," Longo said. "Press wants to speed you up. It wants you to make fast decisions and not great decisions. We've learned how to control the tempo and not let other force us into things we don't want to be forced into."

BELLWOOD-ANTIS (62): Clapper 2 0-0 5, Norton 3 4-4 10, C. Hammond 4 3-5 14, Quick 1 0-0 3, Gerwert 6 6-8 18, Hess 1 0-0 3, Cacciotti 2 4-4 9, Gummo 0 0-0 0, Waite 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 17-21 62.

CENTRAL CAMBRIA (56): Al. Sheehan 1 2-2 5, Ab. Sheehan 0 4-4 4, Lockard 0 2-2 2, Kudlaweic 1 3-4 5, A. Ruddek 6 4-6 17, Long 3 6-8 13, George 1 0-0 3, Barra 1 0-0 2, Link 1 3-8 5. Totals: 14 21-26 56.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bellwood-Antis 16 13 17 16 - 62

Central Cambria 14 16 6 20 - 56

3-point field goals: Bellwood-Antis 7 (Hammond 3, Clapper, Quick, Cacciotti, Hess), Central Cambria 4 (Al. Sheehan, A. Ruddek, Long, George)

Records: Bellwood-Antis (12-8, 10-6 LHAC), Central Cambria (10-9, 8-7).

Officials: Mike McDermott, Gary Allison, Matt Gueguen

JV: Central Cambria, 43-39. High scorers: Gummo, Campbell, Cacciotti, B-A, 9; George, CC, 14.