Bratton’s sizzling start leads the way in Bloom-Carroll's win over Logan
CARROLL – Talk about getting off to a hot start.
Bloom-Carroll junior Emily Bratton was unstoppable in the first quarter Wednesday night when the Bulldogs hosted Logan. It didn’t matter where she shot it from, Bratton was connecting from all over the court, and was especially on fire first from three-point range.
She scorched the nets for 19 points in the first quarter and helped the Bulldogs jump out to a 21-11 lead, and they steadily pulled away for a dominating 61-38 non-conference win at Tom Petty Gymnasium.
Bratton, who was the Central District Division II Player of the Year last season, has had some outstanding shooting performances in the past, but this may have been her best.
Bratton finished with a game-high 29 points and three assists. She also went 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
“I was able to get on a roll and I was thinking I’m just going to see what I can do from here because when that happens, it’s a good feeling and I just want to keep shooting it,” Bratton said. “I started to fall off a little and I realized I needed to find my teammates more.
Bratton certainly didn’t force anything in the first quarter. She took what the defense gave her and was able to connect on 7-of-8 shots from the field, including going 5-for-6 from beyond the arc.
“That’s the difficult part for me because sometimes I do press and want to force shots, but coach Ireland always preaches to just let the game come to you and it will happen,” Bratton said. “That’s exactly what happened in the first quarter.”
Bloom-Carroll coach A.J. Ireland knows what Bratton is capable of, but when she gets on a roll like she was in the first quarter, all he can do is sit back and watch the show like everyone else.
“(Emily) had the hot hand and she was feeling it and was playing well,” Ireland said. “It is fun to watch when someone plays that well, and I’m sure the basket felt like the ocean to her in the first quarter. It was fun to watch, and the team feeds off her energy.
“She is just a great player. She did a nice job of letting the game come to her and didn’t force anything, and she is a good enough player where she can get her own throughout the course of the game.”
Bratton cooled off a little in the second quarter, but other players stepped up and scored as the Bulldogs went on an 9-0 run to start the second quarter to push the lead to 30-11. During that run, Charlie Conrad, Tessa Brooks, Marissa Wilkinson and Alyssa Brown all scored.
Bratton said having trust in her teammates to pick up the slack when she is struggling or teams are focused on her and trying to take her out of game, is huge.
“It is relieving because if I’m off or teams are focusing on me because I know my teammates can step up and score,” Bratton said. “Our last game we had four players in double digits, so that helps and makes us an even harder to stop. We are all just well-connected on offense right now.”
The Bulldogs led 37-21 at halftime and 51-27 heading into the fourth quarter.
Wilkinson finished with 13 points, four assists and six rebounds and Natalie Lang chipped in six points for the Bulldogs, who improved to 3-0.
Ireland is excited to see how far this team can go.
“These girls work really hard, they play hard, and they are extremely coachable,” Ireland said. They want to win, and I am super excited to see where we can go. We have a lot of potential to be really good, but it’s all up to them and how bad they want it.”
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: Bratton’s sizzling start leads the way in Bloom-Carroll's win over Logan
