BELLBROOK — Jason Tincher was basically a fan during the Bellbrook girls basketball game against Miamisburg Wednesday.
The venerable coach didn’t have to do a whole lot as the Golden Eagles ran to an impressive 64-40 win over the Vikings in a non-league game that didn’t feature much halfcourt offense. And Tincher liked what he saw.
“It was fun to watch,” he said. “We were really letting them get off the dribble. I didn’t call much.”
Tincher didn’t have to.
After a shaky start and some early foul trouble, the Golden Eagles cranked it up defensively and transitioned their way to their 10th straight win to start the season. In building a 35-19 halftime lead, Bellbrook parlayed 10 turnovers into 15 fast-break points and then kept running in the second half to beat a Greater Western Ohio Conference team for the third time.
Kelley Griffin likely had a better view of the game than Tincher did. The junior point guard who leads the Southwestern Buckeye League with 7.9 assists per game, ran the high-octane offense to near perfection, scoring 14 points and unofficially dishing out eight assists, mostly in transition to various teammates.
“That’s been our focal point,” she said. “We want to speed it up. That’s where we’re best. My goal when I’m on a fast break, make someone guard me. (My teammates) are going to be open eventually. I’m always looking to kick out.”
That’s exactly what Griffin did to help turn a close game into the rout. After a block by Dreann Pryce, Griffin led Golden Eagles up the court and kicked out to an open Alayna Meyer, who drained a three-pointer to give Bellbrook an 11-6 lead with 2:23 left in the first quarter. Less than a minute later, Meyer hit another 3-pointer to make it 14-8 and the 18-13 score after one quarter was as close as it would get.
Bellbrook gave up just six points in the second quarter and eight in the third.
Sophomore Taylor Scohy led the Golden Eagles with 21 points — a season and career high — while Meyer, a sophomore, finished with 10. Olivia Trusty scored nine and Price added seven for 10-0 Bellbrook, which forced 17 turnovers and held Miamisburg well below its season average of 55.6 points per game. The 7-4 Vikings were without Addison Frymoyer, who averages around 10 points per game. But it likely wouldn’t have mattered as Bellbrook’s defense was tough to crack.
“We start with defense,” Tincher said. “I think we really came out and got after it defensively.”
Bellbrook allows just 35.1 points per game and has given up 40 or more points just twice. The Golden Eagles host Tecumseh Jan. 4.
