SARDINIA – Blanchester’s girls basketball team used its trademark pressure defense to rally for a 44-35 win over Eastern Brown in non-league action Thursday night.
Blanchester (9-3) outscored Eastern Brown (10-3) 15-2 in the fourth quarter to erase a four-point deficit to begin the final period.
“They punched us in the mouth early,” BHS head coach Bennie Carroll said. “We were self-destructing a little bit and missing foul shots. But to keep battling in a pretty good environment for a girls game, they showed guts.”
Sarah Burton gave Blanchester a lead it did not relinquish with a three with 3:10 remaining. Blanchester led 34-33.
After struggling all night from the free-throw line, the Wildcats made the crucial shots from the charity stripe down the stretch. Blan made 7 of 8 from the line in the final 73 seconds to secure the victory.
However, it was defense and rebounding that put Blanchester in position for a win in another tough place for a visiting team to walk out with a victory.
After Eastern made 6 of 12 in the first quarter, it made just 6 of 31 (19.4 percent) the rest of the way. After trailing 4-1 in offensive rebounds with 1:29 left in the first quarter, Blanchester led that stat 15-7 the rest of the way.
“We got after them hard,” Carroll said. “We put a lot of pressure on their guards. We attacked the glass in that second half. Rachael (Doyle) was just a beast in there. Sarah (Burton) went after it hard. Emma Gundler came in here and got a few rebounds.”
Overall, Blanchester outrebounded Eastern 40-32.
Burton led Blanchester with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. Tristan Culberson added 9 points on 3 threes.
Doyle filled the stat sheet. She scored 8 points, had 12 rebounds including 6 offensive rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocked shots.
Carroll also credited the strong defensive play of Marissa Doughman, who made life miserable for the Eastern guards on both ends of the floor.
No Eastern player scored in double figures. Mikayla Farris had 8 points and 10 rebounds to lead the way.
SUMMARY
Jan. 7, 2016
@Eastern High School, Brown County
Blanchester 44, Eastern 35
B 07.12.10.15…..44
E 16.08.09.02…..35
(44) BLANCHESTER (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Rachael Doyle 2-0-4-8, Tristan Culberson 3-3-0-9, Marissa Doughman 1-0-0-2, Sarah Burton 5-2-5-17, Merri Lindsey 0-0-2-2, Emma Gundler 0-0-2-2, Kayla Dugger 2-0-0-4. TOTALS 13-5-13-44.
(35) EASTERN (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Maggie Fultz 2-1-0-5, Molly Prine 1-0-4-6, Jensen Sowers 1-0-0-2, Abby Fultz 1-0-0-2, Morgan Reynolds 2-0-1-5, Allison Day 1-0-3-5, Taylor Stamper 1-0-0-2, Mikayla Farris 3-0-2-8. TOTALS 12-1-10-35.
FIELD GOALS: B 13/40 (Burton 5/11, Culberson 3/6); E 12/43 (Farris 3/10, M. Fultz 2/4, Reynolds 2/5)
3 POINT FIELD GOALS: B 5/11 (Culberson 3/5, Burton 2/4); E 1/10
FREE THROWS: B 13/31 (Burton 5/8, Doyle 4/9); E 10/18 (Prine 4/8, Day 3/3)
REBOUNDS: B 40 (Doyle 12, Burton 6, Gundler 4, Culberson 4); E 32 (Farris 10, Day 6, Reynolds 4)
ASSISTS: B 7 (Doyle 3); E 5
STEALS: B 14 (Doyle 4, Doughman 2, Gundler 2, Dugger 2); E 10 (Prine 3, A. Fultz 2)
BLOCKED SHOTS: B 5 (Doyle 3, Burton 2); E 0
TURNOVERS: B 21; E 21
