TROY — Beavercreek only needed a few minutes to get settled into its Division I sectional tournament opener on Saturday before cruising to an opening win.
The Lady Beavers press was too much for Stebbins as consecutive double-digit runs in the opening half led Beavercreek to a 67-27 win.
“We just want to keep building confidence on offense,” head coach Aric Seilhamer said. “Defense was our bread and butter for a while, but now the offense is catching up. Our kids are making good decisions to be able to play at a faster pace.”
The 7-seed’s defense led to offense still on this afternoon as Beavercreek had back-to-back 10-0 and 11-0 runs after trailing midway through the first quarter.
Neither of those were the largest of the game, as the Lady Beavers held Stebbins scoreless over 11-plus minutes spanning the second through fourth quarters in scoring 26 straight points.
“We have many kids who can catch and shoot the ball. It makes you hard to guard when you can score and that’s the culture we want to build. If you put in the time in the summer, it shows up now when everyone becomes a threat.”
Beavercreek will next face No. 5 Sidney, the champions of the MVL which held off Tecumseh in its opener, on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Bellbrook 73, Piqua 29
One of the state’s top ranked teams in D-I got a first-quarter battle before wearing out its opponent.
Bellbrook never trailed in defeating Piqua to open tournament play in the first game of the morning on Saturday at Troy HS.
The Golden Eagles showed off how it earned the No. 3-seed in the area with 28-3 second quarter advantage built upon multiple steals and easy layups. The Indians’ had called multiple timeouts in the opening eight minutes to keep momentum from building, but were visibly worn down as halftime neared.
Taylor Scohy led the team with 20 points, with 10 different Golden Eagles making a basket. Alayna Meyer set the single season mark for made three-pointers at Bellbrook in a 3-for-6 effort to score 11 points.
Bellbrook next will face No. 17 Franklin on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Legacy Christian 65, Cincinnati College Prep 12
The Knights did not allow a point in the second of third quarters of its opening tournament game on Saturday at Monroe HS.
The co-champions of the MBC allowed fewer than 20 points for the fourth time this season.
Legacy as the No. 3-seed in Division IV next will play No. 4 Cedarville on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
