Bradley Central point guard Rhyne Howard’s scoring binge continued Friday night at Ooltewah.
Howard scored 39 points on 14-for-25 shooting and posted a rate double-double by getting 10 steals in the undefeated and No. 2-ranked Bearettes (MaxPreps) steamrolled the Lady Owls, 83-23, in District 5-3A high school basketball action at Edward M. Foster Gymnasium.
In her last three games, Howard has scorched nets at McMinn County for 41 points, 38 at Jim Smiddy Arena and Friday’s impressive output that outscored the entire Ooltewah squad.
The 2017 Miss Basketball finalist has averaged 39.3 points during the three-game offensive onslaught as the Bearettes improved to 22-0 overall and 9-0 in league play.
They have already clinched the regular-season title and No. 1 seed for the district tournament.
In Friday’s blowout, Howard went 7 for 11 from 3-point distance, grabbed eight rebounds and registered four assists.
Jamaryn Blair added 11 points for the Bearettes, who have won 54 of their last 55 games and now lead the series with Ooltewah 124-3.
Madalyn Mills paced the Lady Owls (5-11, 1-7) with 14 points. She made 6 of 10 shots in the game.
Bradley jumped to a 22-8 lead, extended the margin to 49-17 at halftime and cruised to the easy win.
Bradley shot 47 percent (31 of 66) from the floor and attempted 42 more shots than the Lady Owls (10 of 24) for 41.7 percent.
In key stats, provided by Bradley Central, tells the whole story.
The Bearettes outscored Ooltewah 38-14 in the paint. They scored 56 points off 38 turnovers – 31 by Lady Owl starters – against zero points by Ooltewah. They had a 26-2 edge in second-chance points, were 20-0 on fastbreaks and the Bradley bench outscored the Lady Owls 28-3.
Bradley also won the rebounding battle, 31-19.
Boxscore
Bradley Central 22 27 21 13 – 83
Ooltewah 8 9 2 4 – 23
Bradley Central (83) – Hughes 4, Mayo 6, Rhyne Howard 39, Walker 6, Lombard, Williams 4, Roberts 2, Reuter 3, Jamaryn Blair 11, Barnes 6, Carman 2, Hullender, Muhonen.
Ooltewah (23) – Cline, Poland 2, Wardlaw 2, Madalyn Mills 14, Turman 2, Hilliard, Thompson, Daniels, Hudson 1, Patterson 2.
3-Point Goals – Bradley Central 10 (Howard 7, Mayo 2, Blair 1), Ooltewah none.
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)