After Bradford jumped out to a 6-0 lead over Elk County Catholic on Thursday night, ECC head coach Ken Pistner called a timeout to get his team to refocus.

Following the timeout, the Lady Crusaders went on to outscore Bradford, 10-2, to end the first quarter and 19-5 in the second quarter en route to a 49-34 victory over the Lady Owls at the Owls’ Nest.

ECC dominated in the paint offensively and were able to get numerous second chance points during the win, as the Lady Owls (4-9) were once again plagued by offensive struggles and execution.

“I think our defense was really good tonight,” Pistner said. “We wanted to make Hannah (Lary) earn her points and she really did…We knew we had to contain her and not let them get any spurts because they can hit three or four threes in a row and knock out some points. Her and (Alanna) Benson are so good, you have to stay focused.”

ECC’s containment of Lary and Benson worked effectively in the first half with the Lady Crusaders (13-6) holding the duo to just nine combined points.

Lary, though, would go to finish the night with a game-high 19 points, while Benson finished with nine.

A lot of ECC’s offensive production came in the paint and the squad used its size to its advantage, led by its freshmen duo of Tori Newton (13 points) and Sydney Alexander (12 points), who each finished in double figures for the Lady Crusaders. Julia Aikens also chipped in nine points.

“We had to make sure we had more looks inside than they had looks outside and I think we did that,” Pistner said. “(Newton and Alexander are) really coming along. They’re maturing and they showed it again tonight.”

After ECC grabbed a 29-13 halftime lead, the Lady Crusaders would stay in control for most of the rest of the game.

With less than four minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Lady Owls cut their deficit down to 12 points with back-to-back threes from Benson and Lary. But that would be the closest Bradford would get as Alexander and Brooke Bauer each nailed treys of their own to extend ECC’s lead.

“We weren’t disciplined enough to stay in the positions we needed to be in,” Bradford coach Bob Hannon said. “Unfortunately, it’s the same story that repeats itself over and over again. Wr didn’t do a good enough job on the boards. There’s times that even on free throws, we’re not boxing out and there’s really no excuse for not boxing out on the free throws and giving up offensive rebounds that come back to bite you. They were quicker to loose balls than we were.”

Hannon also added, “I think the girls played hard, but I don’t think we always match that with the intensity we needed at the time we needed it.”

After the game, Hannon said the team has to run a better offense than what they’re running now and needs more all-around contributions from the team. He also said they need to fix the little things, especially in the post.

The Lady Owls will face St. Marys on the road Saturday.

“It’ll be a physical game I’m sure,” Hannon said. “We have to come focused and ready to play and hopefully we have our heads on straight and we’re ready to go…They’re good kids, we just have to work harder and I know that becomes a broken record, but in order to be competitive with the teams that we’re playing, we have to work harder than what we’re working right now.”

ECC, meanwhile, will play for the third straight night this evening when they host Ridgway.

“We played them in their first game of the year, so we were successful then, but I just told the them in the locker room that don’t think that’s going to be the same Ridgway team that we’re going to see tomorrow,” Pistner said.

“This time of the year, your team should be coming together, they should be maturing and they should be becoming more disciplined and that’s what we’re looking for going into the playoffs.”

AT BRADFORD

Elk Catholic (49)

Tori Newton 4 5-8 13, Sydney Alexander 5 0-2 12, Aikens 4 0-2 9, T. Geci 3 0-2 6, Bauer 1 0-0 3, Klawuhn 1 0-0 2, Mauer 1 0-0 2, Weisner 1 0-0 2. Totals: 20 5-14 49

Bradford (34)

Hannah Lary 6 4-4 19, Benson 3 1-2 9, Close 1 0-0 2, Dixon 1 0-0 2, Taylor 1 0-0 2. Totals: 12 5-6 34

Elk Catholic 10 29 39 49

Bradford 8 13 24 34

Three-point goals: ECC 4 (Alexander 2, Bauer, Aikens), Bradford 5 (Lary 3, Benson 2); Total fouls: ECC 9, Bradford 11; fouled out: None

JV: ECC won 30-26