The Bellwood-Antis girls Basketball team lost its season opener 51-44 to Blairsville in the Hollidaysburg Tip-off Tournament, but was able to bounce back in its second game with a win against Bradford.

The girls were seeded first in the tournament, but came up short in the fourth quarter of the Blairsville game.

“It was a hard fought game for both teams and we were with them most of the game, but at the end they just pulled away,” said Senior Caroline Showalter.

B-A was led by Junior Karson Swogger who had 27 points, which put her past the 1,000 point milestone in her career.

Senior Caroline Showalter led the team with 5 of the teams 18 rebounds, but that wasn’t enough to put them past the Blairsville Bobcats.

In the fourth quarter, key players and starters Caroline Showalter and Riley D’Angelo both fouled out forcing the team to call players off the bench in a close game.

“(In the fourth) we kept fouling them to get the ball back but they made their foul shots,” said sophomore Tina Hollen.

The game against Bradford was a different story.  The girls cruised to victory, winning 69-37.

Karson Swogger led the team with 38 points.

“We just treated it like Friday’s game didn’t happen and we needed to push ourselves to score more and play better defense.  We couldn’t let the loss from Friday affect us,” said Showalter.

The girls next game is Friday when they host Juniata Valley, tabbed by many as the ICC favorite.