Apparently, Bradley Central wants its competitors in the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic in Greeneville, Tennessee, to know the Bearettes are hungry to win their second straight title in the prestigious event.
The Bearettes (13-0), ranked No. 2 in Tennessee by MaxPreps among Class 3A schools, blasted South Forsyth (Georgia), 83-26, Wednesday at Hal Henard Gym, and the game was every bit as lopsided as the score indicates.
Rhyne Howard scored a game-high 21 points on 10-of-16 shooting to pace the Bearettes, who jumped out to a 28-5 first-quarter lead.
Howard also had four rebounds, eight assists and seven steals in 22 minutes.
Once again, Bradley’s pressure defense paid dividends. The Bearettes forced 30 turnovers, six each by Sophie Rosen and Ashley Briendl, and scored a whopping 53 points off the Lady War Eagles’ mistakes. Bradley only had four turnovers.
Coach Jason Reuter’s squad, who went into the game shooting 39.9 percent from the field, shot a blistering 58.3 percent (35 for 60) and was comfortably ahead 49-17 at halftime.
The Bearettes hit 8 of 22 3-point shots (36.4 percent) and was 5 for 11 from the free-throw line.
Anna Walker scored nine points and grabbed six rebounds for Bradley, which will take on Shelby Valley High School from Pikeville, Kentucky, in a second-round game on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. Shelby County defeated Greeneville, 64-56.
Bradley outscored South Forsyth (7-5), 44-20, in the paint; 18-4 on second-chance opportunities; 20-0 on fastbreaks and 33-9 off the bench.
Boxscore
Bradley Central 28 21 19 15 – 83
South Forsyth (Ga.) 5 12 5 4 – 26
Bradley Central (83) – Hughes 8, Roberts 7, Rhyne Howard 21, Walker 9, Lombard 5, Williams 5, Reuter 2, Mayo 6, Blair 5, Barnes 7, Carman 2, Hullender 2, Muhonen 4.
South Forsyth (26) – Rosen 2, Idris 3, Woodison 4, Maisel2, Ashley Briendl 6, Schlimme, Bettis 2, Franco, Mikus, Ward, Williams 3, Casey, Vauger, Stiers 4.
3-Point Goals – Bradley Central 8 (Mayo 2, Hughes 1, Roberts 1, Howard 1, Lombard 1, Williams 1, Barnes 1), South Forsyth none.
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)