Bellevue takes huge step toward maintaining hold on league crown

Bellevue's Brynn Vogel
Bellevue's Brynn Vogel

Bellevue intended to bring the race in the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division standings into better focus.

Clearly, Brynn Vogel wanted to see to it first-hand that Bellevue put its foot down. Even if her vision was impaired in the second half, she knew the program was back in a familiar perch.

Emma Bollinger scored 19 points Saturday as visiting Bellevue beat Perkins 52-31 to climb into a tie with the Pirates atop the SBC Lake Division. Bellevue trailed by one entering the fourth quarter and lost the matchup 42-35 earlier in the season.

It was Bellevue's first loss since joining the Lake Division. It has won 11 consecutive conference crowns, including the Northern Ohio League.

"We were down one in the league," Vogel said. "We had to win for a chance at the league. The seniors won it three years. We didn't want to be the group that lost it. There was pressure. We handled it well.

"We had to win. We couldn't lose if we wanted to win the league. We couldn't leave the league at chance. We wanted to prove we weren't the same team at the beginning. Every girl needed to find their role."

Bellevue's Brynn Vogel sports a swollen eye after a collision.
Bellevue's Brynn Vogel sports a swollen eye after a collision.

Vogel collided with an opponent in the second quarter. Swelling continued to force the corner of her left eye shut and a purple hue overtook part of its socket as a huge knot and bruise emerged throughout the second half.

"I got the wind knocked out of me," she said. "It was hard to see. I wanted to go back into the biggest game of the season."

She scored six of her nine points in the first quarter. She dropped in a free throw in the second half.

Bellevue immediately sent a message Saturday, outscoring Perkins (6-3, 4-1) 20-3 in the first quarter.

"The goal was to win No. 12 in a row," Bellevue coach Kory Santoro said. "They got us at our place. We had players grow up. We couldn't go down two games."

Bollinger scored eight points in the third quarter, including two of her three 3-pointers.

"Emma was Emma," Santoro said. "She's a leader. We go as she goes. Brynn gutted one out for us and Molly Foos came up huge guarding [Kelley] Baker. Ella Rucker is a sophomore with upside. Audrey Turner is a freshman.

"She grew up. She hit a big 3, but her defense stood out."

Rucker scored eight points in the first half for Bellevue (11-3, 7-1). The Pirates scored 14 points in the second half.

"We're all so close," Vogel said. "We always have been. We have bonds. Nobody cares who scores. We always try to find the open girl. We're connected more and more each game. We wanted to keep the pedal down.

"The goal is to win every league game and a 12th championship."

Freshman Hailey Rees adds 12.5 points per game, second in the mix for Bellevue. She and the other newcomers continue to develop varsity chemistry.

Bellevue's Emma Bollinger and coach Kory Santoro.
Bellevue's Emma Bollinger and coach Kory Santoro.

Vogel played one season with older sister, Payton Vogel, in 2019. Payton surpassed 1,000 points for her career and established a program record for career steals, with more than 400.

Vogel takes after her sister in many ways. Both have been gritty glue girls, who do a little of everything for Bellevue.

Vogel leads the Lake Division at 5.8 steals per game. She averages 10.9 points and her 20 3-pointers are second on the team.

"They're two clones," Santoro said. "Big-game players. They give everything they've got. They're athletic. They're a lot alike."

Bellevue's Brynn Vogel smiles
Bellevue's Brynn Vogel smiles

More importantly, she helps things fit together, consistently disrupts the opponent's offense with deflections, and cleverly keeps rebounds alive for herself and others. She helps with leadership as one of three seniors.

"I don't care what goes in the book," she said. "Statistics. Whatever it takes to get the dub. Scoring or defense."

Oh yeah, she leads the Lake Division at 4.8 assists.

"We play kind of the same role," Vogel said. "She was aggressive. She had a killer attitude to play good defense. We like the defensive side better. Every night you can play hard. If your offense isn't there, you can play defense."

Especially with a crown to guard.

mhorn@gannett.com

419-307-4892

Twitter: @MatthewHornNH

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Emma Bollinger leads Bellevue past Perkins, into tie atop standings