Monday’s girls basketball game between Bellefontaine and Riverside could not have started any better for the host Pirates and any worse for the Chiefs.
Riverside outscored Bellefontaine 12-0 in the opening quarter. However, the Chiefs outscored the home team 47-20 the rest of the way for a 47-32 win.
Both teams are now 2-1 on the season.
“Give a lot of credit to Coach (Bryce) Hodge and his team,” said Bellefontaine head coach Henry Stolly. “They are very scrappy and they gave us a lot of problems in the first quarter. They jumped on us early and it took us a while to recover.
“Our girls did a good job of keeping their composure and we were able to settle in after that slow start.”
Led by seven points from guard Lauryn Sanford, the Pirates took it to Bellefontaine during the first eight minutes.
But the Pirates could not sustain the hot start as Bellefontaine went on a 14-3 run in the second period to cut the Riverside lead to one (15-14) at halftime.
“We started out great, but we did not handle their pressure well over the last three quarters,” said Riverside head coach Bryce Hodge. “We had 28 turnovers. In the first quarter, we had three. You are not going to win games when you turn the ball over 28 times. Hats off to Bellefontaine. They worked harder than we did and that’s why they won.”
Bellefontaine dominated the second half. The Chiefs jumped in front in the third quarter to lead 29-24 and they continued to pull away in the final period.
The Chiefs did it with a balanced scoring attack. Senior guard Lexxi Gorham scored a game-high 17 points, sophomore forward Tayteum Vigansky had 11 points and senior guard Caitlyn Shumaker had 10 points despite leaving the game late with an ankle injury.
“It’s always good to have balance,” said Stolly. “I thought we were more patient as the game went on. Lexxi did a good job getting to the foul line. As a team, we were 19-of-24 which is as good as we’ve been for a long time. It’s a good sign for us to get to the foul line that often and to convert a high percentage of our free throws.”
Sanford finished with 16 points, five steals and four rebounds to lead the Pirates. Alli Knight and Kirstin Schlumbohm each had six points.
“My coaches remind me that we graduated five players from last season,” said Hodge. “We are a young and inexperienced team and we just have to work to put a full game together.”
In the junior varsity game, Bellefontaine won 51-10. Emma Middaugh had 12 points and Katie Pool and Makayla Hayes each scored 10 for the Chiefs. Kaelan Copas led the Pirates with six points.
The Chiefs return to action Wednesday at home against Northwestern. In a scheduling change for Saturday, the starting times for the junior varsity and varsity games against Springfield Shawnee have been changed. The JV game will now be played at 11 a.m. with the varsity contest to follow.
Riverside is back on the court Thursday at Ridgemont.
BELLEFONTAINE 47, RIVERSIDE 32
BELLEFONTAINE (2-1)
Cai. Shumaker 4 2-2 10; Kenner 2 0-0 4; Rader 1 1-2 3; Car. Shumaker 1 0-0 2; Gorham 2 13-16 17; Vigansky 4 3-4 11. Totals: 14 19-24 47.
RIVERSIDE (2-1)
Knight 2 2-3 6; Schlumbohm 2 2-2 6; Sanford 5 5-6 16; Marshall 1 1-2 3; Waters 0 0-2 0; Kauffman 0 1-2 1. Totals: 10 11-17 32.
Chiefs 0 • 14 • 15 • 18 — 47
Pirates 12 • 3 • 9 • 8 — 32
Three pointers: Bellefontaine 0; Riverside 1 (Sanford). Turnovers: Bellefontaine 21; Riverside 28. Team fouls: Bellefontaine 17; Riverside 16.