Monday night, the Lady Blue Devils hosted the Tyrone Lady Golden Eagles in a Backyard Brawl rivalry game. Bellwood was able to capture a hard-fought 55-51 victory thanks to a fourth-quartier comeback.
The Lady Devils, who beat Tyrone in the Reliance Holiday Tournament over the break by mercy-rule, were in a close battle this time versus the Lady Eagles, who led by as many as 14 in the second half.
Coach Kyley Longo-McGarvey said the win showed growth for the Lady Devils.
“We just played the previous Friday against Clearfield where we didn’t keep our heads and lost a lead and lost control of our focus and efforts,” she said. “We talked in the locker room after that game that it was going to be a learning experience for us. Turn around and Monday presents a similar situation. We focused on us and what we could control. We set small goals each possession of Stop-Score-Stop. By doing that we were able to settle our nerves, chip away at a lead and regain control.”
After being down by double digits in the third, Lilly Gerwert and Leigha Clapper came up big for the Lady Devils. Lilly converted a three point play and Leigha made a three late into the third to make the score 47-40 heading into the fourth.
The Lady Devils looked to just chip away at the lead, and take the game one possession at a time. Chloe Hammond came up big for the devils in the fourth, as she hit a pair of threes, which included the go ahead three with a little over a minute left to play.
Early on in the game, Bellwood came out of the gates on a 7-0 run, coming behind two threes from Chloe Hammond and Jenna Norton. The Lady Eagles were able to answer this run with a 10-3 run of their own, and the teams would end up being even after the first, 12-12.
It was in the second where the Lady Devils ran into some trouble. Lilly Gerwert picked up her third foul in the second, which sidelined her for much of the the quarter. Tyrone would go on to win the quarter by seven, and the score at halftime was 29-22.
The comeback from the Lady Blue Devils took a complete team effort, and everyone had a part in this game, but it was the play from Lilly Gerwert that stood out from the rest. She finished the game with 16 points, 7 of which came in the third quarter. Both Chloe Hammond and Leigha Clapper put together strong performances as well. Hammond had 11 points, including 3 three pointer. Clapper helped to seal the game from the foul line, and ended the game with 10 points.
“We knew that if we could just get up 1 they would have to come and play us in a man. Once we got to that point we were able to control the basketball game,” Coach Longo-McGarvey said.
