Rhyne Howard turned in her fourth double-double of the season Thursday night in Bradley Central’s 62-38 victory over Shelby Valley (Kentucky) in the Andrew Johnson Ladies Classic in Greeneville, Tennessee.
Howard scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, nine on the defensive boards, as the undefeated Bearettes won their 14th straight game to open the season.
The Kentucky signee went 7 for 15 from the field and added five assists and three steals.
Anna Walker scored 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting and had five of the Bearettes’ 29 rebounds. Kaleigh Hughes added 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
For the second straight night, Bradley shot 50 percent (26 of 52) from the field. On Wednesday, the Bearettes shot 58.3 percent (35 for 60) in an 83-26 victory over South Forsyth (Georgia).
Defensively, the defending champion Bearettes held Shelby Valley to 40.6 percent (13 of 32) shooting and forced 15 turnovers, scoring 22 points off those mistakes. Bradley enjoyed a 14-2 advantage in second-chance scoring and 28-16 edge scoring in the paint and a 20-18 margin in bench scoring.
Cassidy Rowe and Kayla Newsome each scored eight points for the Lady Wildcats (9-2)
Bradley advanced to the semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m. The Bearettes will face South Greene (14-1) for a spot in Saturday’s championship game at 4:30 p.m.
South Greene's two-time Miss Basketball finalist Taylor Lamb scored 15 points in the Lady Rebels’ 53-34 win over Knox Webb to reach the semifinals. South Greene beat Lebanon, 79-44, in its first-round game.
Boxscore
Bradley Central 18 14 17 13 – 62
Shelby Valley (Ky.) 13 10 7 8 – 38
Bradley Central (62) – Kaleigh Hughes 10, Roberts, Rhyne Howard 17, Anna Walker 11, Lombard 4, Williams, Reuter, Mayo 6, Blair 5, Barnes 9, Carman, Hullender, Muhonen.
Shelby Valley (38) – Rose 5, Newsome, Tackett 7, Wright 5, Hampton 3, Johnson, Cassidy Rowe 8, Hall, Adkins, Kayla Newsome 8, Elswick 2.
3-Point Goals – Bradley Central 8 (Hughes 2, Howard 2, Mayo 2, Blair 1, Barnes 1), Shelby Valley 4 (Rowe 2, Rose 1, Tackett 1).
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming 44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)