Understandably, there was some rust to shake off for Bradford’s Hannah Lary after two weeks away.

But in her much-anticipated return, the senior didn’t disappoint. Lary scored a game-high 25 points as Bradford topped Kane at the Owls’ Nest on Tuesday night, 48-31.

It marked Kane’s first defeat of the season, and gave Bradford (2-2) back-to-back wins.

“She makes a difference on our team, and it’s really great to have her back,” Bradford coach Bob Hannon said. “We got a lot of contributions from a lot of other girls today, too … overall it was a great team effort.”

Early on, the rust was evident as Lary airballed a few 3-pointers and went just 1-for-2 at the line on her first trip. But once the guard settled in, she took the game over.

After Bradford battled to a 15-11 lead, Lary went on a tear, connecting on a trio of 3s as part of a 15-point second quarter. That outburst ignited a 19-5 run to end the frame and put the Lady Owls up 34-16 at the break.

Lary’s 25 points against Kane put her at 996 career points ahead of Thursday’s home game with Port Allegany.

“You could tell (it was her first game back). She missed some shots she normally wouldn’t have, and she’s not in complete basketball shape,” Hannon acknowledged. “But she had to sit for two weeks. She was running, but basketball shape and running are two different things.”

He later added, “But you can see we have an uplift with her in the game, and that’s a really positive thing … it’s a great boost having Hannah back. I can’t tell you how different of a team we are with her back in there.”

Bradford wasn’t without contributions from other players, either, as Hannon noted. Sierra Taylor scored four points in each half while Alanna Benson and Kalie Dixon each notched six total.

Dixon’s biggest shot of the night came early in the third, as Kane opened on a 7-2 run built on 3-pointers from Madi Koza and Rainee Wright. Dixon stemmed that rally with a long jumper that helped Bradford regain its composure and put Kane back down 15. The Lady Wolves (2-1) never got back to within single digits in the second half.

“That was a huge bucket. We got loosened up, and for a lot of these girls, they see (the ball) go in one time and it just gets them more relaxed,” Hannon said.

Elsewhere, Hannon praised the efforts of Ryley Cleveland, Rylee Close and Jess Kerr in the rebounding department.

Kane used a few different defensive looks to try to get back into the mix and slow Bradford down, each with varying success.

At first, the Lady Wolves tried a 2-2-1 full-court press, but after a few quick Bradford layups, they were forced to change quickly.

The Lady Wolves also threw a triangle-and-2 at BAHS, as well as a halfcourt trap. The Lady Owls were slowed to some degree, as they scored just 14 second-half points after posting 34 in the first half, but Bradford was able to hold serve despite the decreased production.

Hannon was mostly pleased with how the Lady Owls handled the full-court pressure, but said they could have done a better job in the halfcourt against some of the odd looks they took on.

Still, he’s happy with how the team is progressing as the season gets into full swing.

“I’m just pleased with how the girls played tonight. Everybody contributed in one way or another,” he said. “We just have to work on conditioning more. We’re still not in basketball shape, but we’re working our way up to it. That’s one of the things we hoped for coming in was that we’d progress in each game. We’re on the right path.”

Now, the Lady Owls turn their attention to a Thursday home game against Port Allegany. The game will provide an interesting matchup between two of the area’s top guards in Lary and Bree Garzel, who’s averaging 20.2 points per game.

“Bree is playing well and scoring a lot, and these girls are competitive,” Hannon said. “They see the papers and know who’s doing what, and they’ll both come out and show the best they have … we’re not out just to see who’s the better player, we’re out to win. But it’s great to have competition like that, and they’ll take that competition really well. We’re looking forward to it.”

AT BRADFORD

Kane (31)

Audri Marconi 5 1-2 11, Wright 2 4-7 9, Koza 2 0-0 5, Swanson 1 2-6 4, Walter 1 0-2 2. Totals: 11 7-16 31

Bradford (48)

Hannah Lary 7 7-9 25, Benson 2 1-2 6, Close 0 1-2 1, Dixon 2 2-2 6, Taylor 4 0-0 8, Kerr 1 0-0 2. Totals: 16 11-15 48

Kane 8 16 25 31

Bradford 14 34 40 48

Three-point goals: Kane 2 (Koza, Wright), Bradford 5 (Lary 4, Benson); Total fouls: Kane 11, Bradford 13; fouled out: None.