BELLBROOK — Playing for the second-straight night, Bellbrook overcame a sluggish start to zap the Northmont Thunderbolts, 62-41, in girls basketball Thursday.
And much like their 62-12 win over Wyoming on Wednesday — where the Golden Eagles made 26 steals — Bellbrook did it with defense. Down 12-5 with 2:49 left in the first quarter after a 10-0 Northmont run, Bellbrook switched up the defense, forced 10 turnovers and outscored the Thunderbolts 22-4 to take a 27-16 halftime lead.
After Northmont’s Dasia Turner scored to start the second half, Bellbrook forced eight more turnovers and scored at will to open up a 42-22 lead midway through the third quarter.
Ball game.
Senior Bailey Zerby, who finished with a game-high 20, scored nine points during the second-half run as Bellbrook improved to 6-1 overall, giving Coach Jason Tincher his 298th career win.
“They got around us a little bit tonight,” he said of winless Northmont’s offense. “They rebounded well. The speed of the game was a little faster tonight.”
And the Golden Eagles, who feature just one senior and a roster full of freshmen and sophomores, didn’t let the early deficit bother them.
“They don’t get down,” Tincher said. “They’re a coachable group.”
Junior Dreann Pryce (19 points) was the catalyst. She scored six points during the first half run, making a steal and layup on back-to-back possessions to give Bellbrook a 19-14 lead and force a Northmont timeout. She finished with five steals.
“She’s just so dag-gone athletic,” Tincher said.
He also gave a big shout out to his freshmen and sophomores.
“They’re gym rats,” Tincher said. “I love ‘em. Hard working.”
Sophomore Olivia Trusty was the top “gym rat,” coming off the bench for 10 points — eight in the second half — for her second-straight double figure scoring game. She scored 14 against Wyoming.
That effort could be needed again as the Golden Eagles have one day off before playing again, a Saturday game at Southwestern Buckeye League foe Brookville. Three games in four days isn’t ideal at any level. But in the COVID era, teams are trying to get as many games in as possible given the uncertainty.
“If someone’s available to play, we’ve been … let’s go ahead and play,” Tincher said.
