Bradford stared at a common deficit all night.
The Lady Owls girls basketball team found itself down 10 points to Brookville early. And, despite repeatedly cutting into the lead, Bradford could not overcome it.
Alanna Benson scored 18 points and Kalie Dixon scored 16 for Bradford, the pair allowing the Lady Owls to keep pace with the Lady Raiders once falling behind. Brookville scored when it needed to, however, and was sufficient from the free throw line at the end of a 48-42 triumph.
“We missed a lot of layups and open shots but at least the kids gave 110% all the way through,” Bradford head coach Marty Bechelli said. “We need to start working on the bench because our five starters play the whole game and the others play the entire JV game, so it makes it very difficult with that lack of players. But if they battle like this the rest of the season I’ll be extremely happy.”
Brookville opened up an 11-1 lead that wouldn’t disappear.
The Lady Raiders were successful in getting the ball to the basket early on, their passes beating Bradford defenders. Bradford opened the second stanza on a 9-0 run, however, after 3-point baskets by Carli Perischini and Benson cut Brookville’s lead to one for the first time.
The Lady Raiders opened the third quarter on an 8-2 run that re-solidified their lead. Bradford had narrowed it to a possession a couple times prior but hadn’t been able to erase it, and that would prove true through the final buzzer.
“Sometimes, we take chances that get us out of position and they’ll make a basket. For whatever reason this year, it seems like we take a chance and they capitalize, whether it’s a bank shot or whatever,” Bechelli said. “It just seems like it always goes in. Sooner or later, those things will have to go our way.”
A pair of Brookville buckets in the final minute of the third quarter gave the Lady Raiders a nine-point lead with eight minutes to play. Bradford roared back yet again, though, and a 3-pointer by Dixon with 55 seconds left made Brookville’s lead at 43-41.
Bradford was unable to connect on a game-tying shot, however, negating the Lady Raiders’ free-throw struggles.
Brookville would eventually pull ahead at the charity stripe, as Eden Wonderling’s 23 points led all scorers.
“(Brookville) was extremely physical and when we got them in foul trouble in the first half, I thought we were going to be alright,” Bechelli said. “But they stopped calling those fouls in the second half and we were counting on getting to the line a whole lot sooner.”
Bradford fell to 2-10 overall and 0-3 in the District 9 League. Brookville improved to 2-9 overall and 1-2 in-conference. The Lady Owls face a quick turnaround before hosting Oil City today at 1 p.m.
“I’m proud of my kids,” Bechelli said. “We just need to hit shots.”
Olson 0 1-2 1, Bowser 2 0-2 4, Lundgren 4 0-0 9, Wonderling 8 6-9 23, Geer 1 0-0 3, Whittling 4 0-3 8. Totals:
Benson 5 6-13 18, Perischini 1 1-2 4, Ka. Dixon 5 5-7 16, Ko. Dixon 0 2-2 2, Taylor 1 0-1 2. Totals:
Three-point goals: Brookville 3 (Lundgren, Wonderling, Geer), Bradford 4 (Benson 2, Perischini, Ka. Dixon); Total fouls: Brookville 20, Bradford 11; fouled out: Wonderling (Brookville)
