Thursday night the Lady Blue Devils traveled to take on third-seeded Penns Manor in the District 6 2A quarter-finals playing the role of underdogs. B-A pulled out the win 38-25 to advance to the semi-finals against second-seeded Portage on Monday.
The Lady Blue Devils also secured a birth into the PIAA tournament with the victory as 2A advances its top four finishers to states.
Coach Longo said the No. 6 Lady Devils took their underdog role against the No. 3 Comets to heart.
“People can snooze on us all day…we know what we are capable and we are full steam ahead,” she said.” “We have heard all year long about the teams to watch. We knew our name wasn’t in the hat in the view of everyone else. We don’t care about everyone else’s view. We know in that locker room, our team, our coaches, we are a family and WE KNOW. This is the time of year you cash in and show what you got.”
The first quarter was a defensive battle that ended with Penns Manor leading 6-5. This would be the last time the Comets had a lead in the game.
Bellwood continued their great defense in the second quarter and Penns Manor was unable to match the intensity. The Lady Blue Devils held the Comets to just one made field goal in the period and B-A took a 14-11 lead into halftime.
Bellwood didn’t slow down defensively in the third quarter holding Penns Manor to just two points. The Lady Blue Devils also added 10 points of their own to increase their lead to 23-13.
Coach Longo said B-A’s defensive stinginess was an extension of what the Lady Devils have been doing all season.
“Our defense all year has been disciplined. If you have solid man principals and you focus on the little things and you take pride in doing those little things every single possession good things will happen,” Coach Long o said. “We talked about our daily routines and things we refuse to go without, our non-negotiables. Well, boxing out, jumping to help, bumping cutters, communicating, those are our non-negotiables.”
The Lady Devils led 24-13 in the third quarter, but an 11-0 run had the Lady Comets within a basket, 26-24, in the fourth. An 11-1 run down the stretch sealed the win for B-A, which upped its record to 15-8.
Coach Longo said while B-A’s entrance this season into the challenging Laurel Highlands Conference has affected the team’s win-loss record, it has prepared them for games like the one they played in the first round.
We got into this league for a reason. We didn’t want to enter it scared,” she said. “We didn’t want to enter it overconfident. We entered it with the understanding that we will put our heads down and get to work. We are battle tested and we are excited to play whoever is in front of us. We have entered the chat.”
Bellwood Junior Jenna Norton led the Lady Blue Devils with 13. Lily Gerwert scored 9, and Leigha Clapper had 8.
