B-C dialed in from the start to remain unbeaten after win over Liberty Union

Tom Wilson, Lancaster Eagle-Gazette
·4 min read
Liberty Union's Ella Brown (14) and Payton Hochradel (4) attempt to block the jump shot of Bloom Carroll's Emily Bratton Monday evening in the Del Barr Gymnasium. The visiting Bulldogs defeated the Lions 65-47. -Jamie Potts/Lancaster Eagle Gazette
Liberty Union's Ella Brown (14) and Payton Hochradel (4) attempt to block the jump shot of Bloom Carroll's Emily Bratton Monday evening in the Del Barr Gymnasium. The visiting Bulldogs defeated the Lions 65-47. -Jamie Potts/Lancaster Eagle Gazette

BALTIMORE – Bloom-Carroll wasn’t at full strength for the entire game Monday night against Liberty Union, but the Bulldogs proved they are more than a one-man show.

With start guard Emily Bratton, who was coming off a 41-point game on Saturday, on the bench the entire fourth quarter because of an injury, her teammates more than picked up the slack.

Bloom-Carroll was dialed in from the start on both ends of the floor, and when the Lions were making a comeback in the fourth quarter, the visiting Bulldogs were able to hold off hard-charging Liberty Union and held on for a 65-47 Mid-State League-Buckeye Division victory.

Bloom-Carroll remained unbeaten and improved to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the league.

Liberty Union's Delaney Peck attempts a jump shot Monday night at Del Barr Gymnasium in Baltimore. The visiting Bloom Carroll Bulldogs prevailed 65-47.
Liberty Union's Delaney Peck attempts a jump shot Monday night at Del Barr Gymnasium in Baltimore. The visiting Bloom Carroll Bulldogs prevailed 65-47.

The Bulldogs were able to have their other players step up big time, which made a huge difference. Players like Marissa Wilkinson, Alyssa Brown, Natalie Lang, Sophia Haughn and Tessa Brooks all contributed mightily toward the win.

“One of the things we pride ourselves on is to try and be the hardest working team on the floor night in and night out,” Bloom-Carroll coach A.J. Ireland said. “Our girls love to compete, so it comes easy for them to play hard. I feel like this is one of the most complete teams that I’ve been able to coach in my four years here.

“I’m blessed with girls that are dialed into their roles and they can step outside their roles and still be comfortable, and it’s because they work so hard in practice. They love to compete and get after and, while they are doing that, they are making winning plays.”

Wilkinson, who connected on back-to-back 3s to start the game, led the Bulldogs with 22 points. She made three 3s and went 9-for-12 at the free throw line. Bratton finished with 16 points, Brown had 13 points, Lang added six points and a team-leading 13 rebounds and two assists, and Haughn chipped in six points.

“We understand that we have to step up, especially when teams are trying to take Emily out of the game,” Lang said. “We try to set hard picks to get her open, and basically just try to do all the little things. We all try to do our part in helping do what it takes to win. We bond well on and off the court, and that helps because we all play so well together.”

Bloom-Carroll's Alyssa Brown shoots a layup against Liberty Union's Abbie Riddle during the Bulldogs' 65-47 Mid-State League-Buckeye Division win.
Bloom-Carroll's Alyssa Brown shoots a layup against Liberty Union's Abbie Riddle during the Bulldogs' 65-47 Mid-State League-Buckeye Division win.

Both teams played at a high level in the first quarter as it went back and forth before the Bulldogs took a 24-16 lead heading into the second quarter. The Lions hung and were able to cut the lead to 29-23 during the first three minutes of the second quarter.

However, Bloom-Carroll went on a 10-0 run to increase its lead to 41-23 before Delaney Peck ended the scoring drought for the Lions to cut the margin to 41-25 at halftime.

The Bulldogs held a 51-35 advantage heading into the fourth quarter, but to the Lions’ credit, they kept fighting.

Peck, Abbie Riddle, Morgan Love and Ella Brown all scored as the Lions went on a 9-2 run to cut the margin to 56-45 with 3:20 left, but that’s as close as they would get the rest of the way. The Bulldogs made 9-of-13 free throws in the final 2:30 to keep the Lions at bay.

“They hit some big shots early to get them off to a good start, but I loved the way our girls hung in there and competed and kept battling,” Liberty Union coach Scott Burke said. “We took a step forward tonight with the way we played. I was pleased with our effort. We need to be in pressure games like that more often.

“We made some mistakes because we got tired and made some bad decisions, but that will happen when you have to work so hard just to get back in it. We could have quit, but we didn’t. I loved the way we competed, especially in the fourth quarter.”

Riddle led the Lions with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists, Peck finished with 12 points, Love added eight, Payton Hochradel chipped in six, while Brown had four points and a team-leading nine rebounds.

Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on Twitter @twil2323.

This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: B-C dialed in to remain unbeaten after win over Liberty Union