BLANCHESTER – Blanchester’s girls basketball team overcame a slow start offensively Monday to win its eighth straight game 48-33 over Clermont Northeastern.
It took the Lady Wildcat offense more than a quarter to get going. Blanchester made just 1 of its first 14 shots, but only trailed 6-5 at the end of the first.
“The first quarter, we missed some easy shots,” BHS head coach Bennie Carroll said. “We were kind of standing around. I thought we didn’t attack the offensive glass. We seemed a little lethargic to start the game.”
Blanchester (15-3 overall, 6-1 in the SBC) finally found its rhythm in the second. A 9-0 run propelled Blanchester to an 18-5 quarter and a 23-11 lead at the half.
It was more of the same in the third quarter as Blanchester outpaced Clermont Northeastern 16-6 in the period to take a 39-17 lead into the fourth.
“We match up pretty well with them, because our guards are as quick as their guards and we can put a lot of pressure on them,” Carroll said. “We were able to contain them pretty well and force some turnovers.”
In the middle two quarters, Blanchester shot 45.5 percent (10 of 22) while holding CNE to 5 of 20 from the floor. Blanchester also made all 10 of its free throws in those quarters.
Sarah Burton led a balanced Blanchester effort with 10 points. Tristan Culberson added 9 points.
Lexie Walker led CNE (2-16, 0-7) with 14 points, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter.
Thanks to the lopsided nature of the game, Blanchester was able to rest its starters leading into Thursday’s big game at Williamsburg. In total, 13 different Lady Wildcats played and 11 of them scored.
“It was good to get everyone a chance to play,” Carroll said. “I was hoping our starters wouldn’t have to extend minutes and expend a lot of energy. We’ve got a big one coming up Thursday night on the road and we’re going to need all we can get for that one.”
SUMMARY
Jan. 25, 2016
@Blanchester High School
Blanchester 48, Clermont Northeastern 33
C 06.05.06.16…..33
B 05.18.16.09…..48
(33) CLERMONT NORTHEASTERN (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Lexie Walker 3-1-7-14, Kiley Cooper 1-0-0-2, Kayla Diekmann 1-0-1-3, McKenzie Cooper 2-0-0-4, Josie Seibert 2-0-0-4, Katlin Reece 0-0-1-1, Lauren Schnegelsberger 1-1-2-5. TOTALS 10-2-11-33.
(48) BLANCHESTER (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Rachael Doyle 2-0-2-6, Elicia Patton 1-0-0-2, Tristan Culberson 3-1-2-9, Marissa Doughman 0-0-2-2, Sarah Burton 1-1-7-10, Merri Lindsey 1-1-0-3, Emma Gundler 3-0-0-6, McKenzie Miller 0-0-1-1, Asia Baldwin 1-0-0-2, Savana Greene 2-0-0-4, Kayla Dugger 1-1-0-3. TOTALS 15-4-14-48.
FIELD GOALS: C 10/34 (Walker 3/4, Cooper 2/2, Seibert 2/4); B 15/47 (E. Gundler 3/5, Culberson 3/5, Greene 2/6, Doyle 2/7)
3 POINT FIELD GOALS: C 2/7; B 4/9
FREE THROWS: C 11/19 (Walker 7/8); B 14/23 (Burton 7/8)
TURNOVERS: C 24; B 11
