Monday night, our Lady Blue Devils traveled to Portage where they lost their District 6 semi-finals matchup against the Lady Mustangs, 56-45. After upsetting the three-seed in the quarter finals, B-A would have needed to pull off another upset over second-seeded Portage to advance to the 2A title game.
To start the game on Monday, Bellwood struggled controlling the ball, which put them down early in this game. Portage forced Bellwood into 12 first half turnovers. Bellwood was able to stay in the game thanks to some good defense, and Portage missing several layups. At the end of the first half Bellwood was down only two points, 22-20.
To start the third quarter, Portage began to expand their lead. Then with about a minute to play in the third quarter, sophomore Lilly Gerwert, picked up her fourth foul of the game and had to be subbed out. It was at this point that the Lady Mustangs went on an 11-4 run to double their lead.
“Obviously, when Lilly went out with foul trouble it hurt us,” said Coach Kyley Longo. “Her presence inside really clogs up the lane and her rebounding is necessary. In the same token, we have a next man up mentality.”
With about 3:30 left in the game Gerwert returned and so did the Bellwood offense. The Lady Blue Devils went on an 8-0 run and cut the deficit to 6, but the lead was still too much as Bellwood began to foul to send the Lady Mustangs to the foul line. Portage was able to make its free throws and close out this game.
The Lady Blue Devils were led by Gerwert, who had 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Leigha Clapper also had a solid game, scoring 12 points.
Although Bellwood lost the game, its season is not over. The Lady Devils will play Bishop McCort on Thursday in the District 6 consolation game. While both teams have already secured a spot in the PIAA tournament.
It’s a situation where coach often worry about motivation, since the Lady Devils advance no matter the outcome, but that’s not the case where B-A and McCort are concerned, Coach Longo said.
“Consolation game or not, if you can’t get excited to play McCort there is something wrong,” she said. “We have a lot of history with this team and we certainly are looking for redemption from last year. Thursday’s outcome will determine whether we get the 7-1 seed or the 7-2 seed heading into state playoffs. We will be ready for Thursday and take it one business trip at a time.”
The Lady Crushers ended B-A’s season in the first round of the District 6 tournament last season with a 65-52 win.
