Bearettes Maul Rival Cleveland, 83-34, For 17th Straight Win

Ware, Davis Combine For 45 Points, Blue Raiders Blast Bears, 86-63

  • Friday, January 5, 2018
  • Larry Fleming
Bradley Central's Anna Walker puts up a shot in front of Cleveland's Madison Dasher (10) during Friday's District 5-3A high school basketball game at Jim Smiddy Arena in Cleveland. Walker scored a team-high 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the unbeaten Bearettes' 83-34 victory
Bradley Central's Anna Walker puts up a shot in front of Cleveland's Madison Dasher (10) during Friday's District 5-3A high school basketball game at Jim Smiddy Arena in Cleveland. Walker scored a team-high 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the unbeaten Bearettes' 83-34 victory
photo by Courtesy Patrick MacCoon, Cleveland Daily-Banner

CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Bradley Central’s state-ranked and unbeaten Bearettes defeated rival Cleveland, 83-34, at Jim Smiddy Arena.

Nothing new there.

The Bearettes (17-0 overall, 4-0 in District 5-3A) have won 101 of the 138 games played against the Blue Raiders, including the last six and 18 of 19.

In the double-header nightcap before a packed house, the Cleveland boys used a strong second half to pummel the Bears, 86-63, behind the one-two offensive punch of Dionte Ware (25 points) and Deontae Davis (22 points).

That was the sixth-highest point total by Cleveland in the rivalry. The three all-time high totals for the Blue Raiders – 95, 94 and 92 – came in victories in the same 1996-97 season.

The girls’ showdown-turned-blowout became distinctive with an unusual start as the Bearettes took an 11-point first-quarter lead despite sensational senior point guard Rhyne Howard going scoreless.

When the Kentucky signee knocked down a 3-pointer – her first points – with 3:14 left in the first half, the Bearettes were running away from the Lady Blue Raiders with a 39-12 advantage and that was an insurmountable gap.

“Rhyne Howard had no points and we were up 21-10 at the end of the first quarter,” said Bearettes coach Jason Reuter, who is 216-28 overall in eight seasons and 17-1 against Cleveland. “That’s when I knew it could be something special.”

Junior Anna Roberts scored seven points and sophomore Anna Walker added five in the first eight minutes to pick up the slack for Howard, who was honored before the game for surpassing the 2,000-point mark in December.

At game’s end, Walker had 14 points, Kaleigh Hughes 12 and Roberts 10 as the Bearettes – ranked No. 1 in Tennessee by CoachT.com and No. 2 by MaxPreps – scored 83 points, the second-highest total ever, against Cleveland for the third time in the long-running series. In 1965-66, Bradley clobbered the Lady Raiders, 114-38, for the series’ most lopsided victory ever.

Howard finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and six steals in 25 minutes. She was on the bench while reserves played the final 11 minutes.

Howard now has 2,050 career points and stands 11th on the Bearettes’ all-time scoring list. Howard has her sights set on No. 10 Traci Dixon’s 2,157 points.

“We knew what to do, we had our heads in the game and were playing with confidence even though Rhyne wasn’t scoring,” said Walker. “Sometimes in practice, coach will take Rhyne out just to see what we can do.”

Howard’s 3 capped a 13-0 Bradley run that opened a 27-point lead and the Bearettes extended the spurt to 23-2 that included Howard’s 3 at the buzzer and produced a 49-14 halftime cushion.

“It was a very special game,” Hughes said. “If I could take a game like we played tonight, I’d want it to be against Cleveland. We just played our game and did what we know how to do. We’re used to teams focusing on Rhyne, so it’s not unusual for the rest of us to play well and play hard while she gets started.”

The double-figure foursome – Walker, Howard, Hughes and Roberts – combined to go 18 for 27 from the floor, 6 for 10 from 3-point distance and 7 for 10 from the foul line. As a unit, the Bearettes shot 61.7 percent for the game (29 of 47).

“I’m a little shocked that we got only 47 shots,” Reuter said, “but you can look at this from many angles. When we play well on offense and defense, take care of the ball and shoot well this is what can happen. It was a complete game. It was a system win.”

Throw another equation into the mix – the Bearettes had 21assists and 29 baskets – and you’ve got a 49-point rout over an improved Cleveland squad this season.

Thirteen of the 15 Bearettes that played scored. The defense forced 20 turnovers – Bradley scored 31 points off the mistakes, and the Bearettes had 16 steals that helped create a 17-0 edge in fastbreak scoring.

“It feels amazing,” said Hannah Lombard, who had five points and three steals. “We know how to work when Rhyne isn’t scoring and we’re motivated to do well when that happens. This was a big win for us.”

Emma Flowers had seven points and six rebounds for the Lady Blue Raiders (8-8, 2-2), who shot 33.3 percent (12 for 36)

Emma Flowers led Cleveland (8-8, 2-2) with seven points and six rebounds. Joy Douglass also scored seven points for the Lady Raiders, who won 11 straight against the Bearettes from 2005 to 2008.

The Bearettes have won 41 consecutive games, including wins in postseason and region tournaments, against league foes. Dating to 2013, Bradley is 56-1 and when facing district opponents.

In the boys game, the underdog Bears (6-9, 1-3) had a 15-13 first-quarter lead, but the Blue Raiders (11-2, 4-0), who now have sole possession of first place in the league standings, tied the game at 22-all on one of Ware’s two 3-pointers in the second period.

A put-back by Taye Cobb, who transferred to Bradley before the school year started, gave the Bears a 33-28 cushion. Cleveland outscored Bradley 7-1 down the stretch and took a 35-34 lead on Isaiah Johnson’s bucket with 4.4 seconds left in the opening half.

“I told them at halftime that we just missed 11 free throws and had 12 turnovers, but we’re leading by one point,” Cleveland coach Jason McCowan said. “I asked them if we were mentally engaged in the game. This is one of the best free-throw shooting teams I’ve had in 11 years here, and that was frustrating.”

Cleveland heated up in the second half, outscoring the Bears 51-23.

“Free-throw shooting was a little frustrating in the first half,” Ware said. “And we’ve played much harder in practice than we did against Bradley in this game. We did better in the second half.”

In a game marred by 55 fouls called by Athens Association officials, with many falling into the ticky-tack category, the Blue Raiders wound up making 16 of 36 from the foul line and the Bears were 24 for 46.

Bradley went 13 for 29 from the line in the third and fourth periods while Cleveland was 11 for 19.

The Blue Raiders, who have won nine straight since a 63-60 loss to Bearden in early December, pulled into a 46-39 lead on Davis’ second of four 3s in the game. With Cleveland up 47-40, Bradley’s freshman guard Mason Rothwell ripped a 3 from the left corner.

Twelve seconds later, however, Cleveland’s Davis drained a right-wing 3 and the lead was back to seven. Ware dropped in a layup. Cobb did the same for Bradley.

Then Rothwell’s second 3 at the 1:17 mark gave Cleveland another potential momentum boost. But Davis remarkably answered again – this time eight seconds later – with a right-wing 3 and the Blue Raiders had a 55-48 advantage.

“Those shots gave me a lot of confidence,” said Davis, who knocked down three 3s in the quarter and had 17 points in the second half. “They got mad and got down.”

Said McCowan: “It’s nice to give up 3s and get them right back like Davis did. We gave them a lot of open 3s and that’s on us. Davis had a lot of open looks too. By that time we were in a good offensive rhythm.”

Cleveland went into the fourth quarter with the upper hand at 61-51. An 8-2 run ignited by Davis’ steal and layup and capped by his two free throws pushed the lead to 69-52.

A Romeo Wykle free throw and Davis’ layup stretched the margin to 74-55 and the final 3 minutes, 37 seconds were just a formality in Cleveland beating Bradley for the third straight time after an 88-86 four-overtime Bradley win in 2016.

In addition to the offensive heroics by Ware and Davis, the Blue Raiders also bot12 points from Mullek Bradford and 10 each by Wykle and JaCobi Wood.

Cobb and Rothwell each had 17 points for the Bears, who have dropped five of six. Cobb scored 12 points in the second and third periods. Lameric Tucker added 16 points.

Boxscores

Girls Game

Cleveland                              10 4 9 11 – 34

Bradley Central                   21 28 21 13 – 83

Cleveland (34) – Reed 1, Dasher 3, Williams 3, Emma Flowers 7, Anderson 6, Goodman 5, Person, Rominger, Franklin, Marshall, Rouse, Langford, Douglass 7, Callahan, Droke 2.

Bradley Central (83) – Kaleigh Hughes 12, Anna Roberts 10, Rhyne Howard 13, Anna Walker 14, Lombard 5, Williams, Reuter, Mayo 3, Blair 9, Barnes 9, Carman 2, Hullender 2, Muhonen 4.

3-Point Goals – Cleveland 2 (Dasher 1, Williams 1), Bradley Central 9 (Hughes 2, Roberts 2, Howard 2, Mayo 1, Blair 1, Barnes 1).

Boys Game

Cleveland                             13 22 26 25 – 86

Bradley Central                   15 12 11 12 – 63

Cleveland (86) – Romeo Wykle 10, Johnson 4, Mullek Bradford 12, JaCobi Wood 10, Hurst, Colbaugh, Lay, Dionte Ware 25, Patterson, Deontae Davis 20, McGowan, Howard, Burke 1, Black 4.

Bradley Central (63) – Boyd, Clark 2, Curry 4, Lameric Tucker 16, Ferguson 2, Wesley, Taye Cobb 17, Creasman, Elrod 4, Mason Rothwell 17, Greene 1.

3-Point Goals – Cleveland 8 (Davis 4, Ware 2, Wykle 1, Wood 1), Bradley Central 3 (Rothwell 3).

(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)

Cleveland girls' coach Tony Williams implores his defense to defend Bradley Central's Rhyne Howard (with the ball) as she makes a move to the goal on Friday night. Howard failed to score in the first quarter, but the Bearettes still built a 21-10 lead and went on to win easily, 83-34, and improve to 17-0.
Cleveland girls' coach Tony Williams implores his defense to defend Bradley Central's Rhyne Howard (with the ball) as she makes a move to the goal on Friday night. Howard failed to score in the first quarter, but the Bearettes still built a 21-10 lead and went on to win easily, 83-34, and improve to 17-0.
photo by Courtesy Patrick MacCoon, Cleveland Daily-Banner
Sports
UTC Sofbtall Hosts ETSU In Friday Doubleheader
  • 3/28/2024

The Chattanooga softball team returns to Frost Stadium for a seven-game home stand that begins Friday afternoon against East Tennessee State in Southern Conference action. The Mocs are 21-8 ... more

Covenant Men's Tennis Loses 6-3
  • 3/28/2024

The Covenant Scots looked to boost their nonconference tennis resume with a win on the road at Oglethorpe. Covenant was unable to get the job done, as it fell 3-6. Final: Covenant 3, Oglethorpe ... more

7 Football Mocs Participate In Annual Pro Day
  • 3/28/2024

The Chattanooga Mocs had a 7-man contingent go through their paces in front of NFL scouts at the annual Pro Day. It started in the Wolford Family Strength & Conditioning Center before shifting ... more