Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Williamsburg’s LeeAnna Royer tries to get around Peyton Hammond of Bellwood-Antis during Friday’s night’s non-conference girls basketball game in Bellwood.

BELLWOOD — Coming into Friday’s game at Bellwood-Antis, the Williamsburg girls basketball team had outscored its opponents, 1,121-403 and held those teams to single digits scoring five times through 16 games.

That’s why stepping outside of Inter-County Conference play and taking on a bigger school from the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference is important for the Lady Blue Pirates — who have District 6 and state championship aspirations.

“These are the types of games we’re looking for,” Williamsburg coach Angela Detwiler said. “We have been actually asking local teams if they would play us to try and make our schedule tougher, because we know that when we get to the postseason, we’re going to need games like this.”

Bellwood-Antis hung tough into the third quarter, but an 8-0 Williamsburg run after the Lady Devils had cut the deficit to single digits put the game away in a 79-56 Lady Blue Pirates win.

Williamsburg junior forward Levada Gorsuch had a team-high 19 points and 15 rebounds going up against Bellwood-Antis star forward Lilly Gerwert, some of the best competition Gorsuch has had to compete against this season.

“It’s actually important, but it’s fun too,” Gorsuch said. “I mean some of these blowout games — we don’t get anything out of it.”

Friday’s game might have been closer if not for an injury to Bellwood-Antis senior guard Marissa Cacciotti in the first 15 seconds of the game.

Without their point guard, the Lady Blue Devils struggled to break Williamsburg’s press and fell behind 16-5. Cacciotti returned to the game, but Bellwood-Antis never dug out of the early hole.

“Losing Marissa early hurt us against their pressure,” Bellwood-Antis coach Jim Swaney said. “Especially when you’re playing one of the best teams in the state and certainly one of the best point guards in the state. LeeAnna Royer is so good. She’s so quick and makes so many things happen out on the floor for them.”

Royer scored 17 points before Gorsuch carried her off the court with 5:15 remaining with a leg injury. She did not return, but Detwiler said she could have.

“It was just a scare,” Detwiler said. “Everyone thought she rolled her ankle and that she was going to be out, but they told me I could put her back in if we needed her in the game. She was fine.”

Gerwert led all scorers with 22 points and had nine rebounds, but Gorsuch provided many second-chance opportunities for the Lady Blue Pirates.

“Vada has been playing really solid for me all season,” Detwiler said. “She’s a lot more versatile this season. She’s going right and left and also shooting outside shots and setting our guards up for shots, and she’s very calm out there on the floor. She’s a captain this year. I just think she’s being a great leader.”

Bellwood-Antis, which got 13 points from Karlie Sweigert and 11 points from Isabella Sloey, fell to 9-8 but has a more manageable schedule down the stretch.

“Turnovers and rebounding are the things we have to get better at,” Swaney said. “We’re much more physical than we were a month ago or two weeks ago. I’m appreciative of that. It’s a work in progress, but I see signs that we are getting better. That’s all you can ask for. The kids have a great attitude. I want to see anyone go through the stretch that we just went through with Guilfoyle, McCort, Hollidaysburg, Penn Cambria and these guys and then tell me how you would fare playing those teams. We made it through, hopefully Marissa is OK and we’re healthy, and we’re going to try and put a run together for the rest of the year.”

In addition to Gorsuch and LeeAnna Royer, Williamsburg put two other players in double figures — Bella Royer (12 points) and Brynn Lower (11 points), both freshmen. Fellow freshman Faith Detwiler added eight points.

“The season has been going pretty well,” Gorsuch said. “We’re all improving, and some of the kids coming off the bench are starting to hit their outside shots and gaining confidence. That’s really what we need to win.”

The Lady Blue Pirates play defending District 5 Class 1A champion Northern Bedford and fellow District 6 Class 1A power Saint Joseph’s next week.

“I focus on what we can control,” Detwiler said. “This year, a really big focus of mine is our practices. Our practices have been very intense this year. We’re trying to make them tougher than the games. I have timed drills that we do, and we’re hitting times we have never hit before. I can’t control what our schedule is or who wants to play us, but what I can control is our practices. That’s where we’re trying to get better every single day.”

WILLIAMSBURG (79): R. Prough 1 2-3 5, L. Royer 6 3-4 17, Gorsuch 7 5-9 19, B. Royer 3 6-7 12, Lower 5 0-0 11, Detwiler 2 4-6 8, Colbert 2 0-0 4, Alexander 0 0-0 0, Parks 1 0-0 3, Houck 0 0-0 0, M. Prough 0 0-0 0. Totals — 27 20-29 79.

BELLWOOD-ANTIS (56): L. Gerwert 7 4-5 22, Sweigert 3 5-6 13, Cacciotti 0 0-0 0, Worthing 0 0-0 0, Sloey 4 3-3 11, Hammond 3 0-0 6, Plummer 1 0-0 2, A. Gerwert 1 0-0 2, Conlon 0 0-0 0, Pennington 0 0-0 0, Johnsonbaugh 0 0-0 0. Totals — 19 12-14 56.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Williamsburg 19 20 20 20 — 79

Bellwood-Antis 10 17 12 17 — 56

3-point goals: Williamsburg 5 (L. Royer 2, R. Prough, Lower, Parks); Bellwood-Antis 6 (Gerwert 4, Sweigert 2).

Records: Williamsburg (16-1); Bellwood-Antis (9-8).

Officials: Bill Pfeffer, Joe Bilka, Lynn Smith.

JV: Williamsburg, 32-18. High scorers–Avery Conlon/Jordan Johnsonbaugh, BA, 5 each; Raina Alexander, W, 17.