Bradley Central’s Bearettes, ranked No. 2 in Tennessee in the latest MaxPreps poll, moved a step closer to posting their second straight undefeated regular season Tuesday by demolishing rival Walker Valley, 78-30, with another well-rounded District 5-3A basketball performance.
The Bearettes (25-0, 12-0) placed four players in double figures, out-rebounded the Lady Mustangs (13-9, 5-6) by 37-20, forced 31 turnovers with Abbey Davis committing 13 and Macey Clark 11, and cleaned up in four particular statistical categories.
Bradley outscored Walker Valley 32-8 in the paint, had a whopping 41-6 edge in points off turnovers, 16-2 in second-chance opportunities and 14-0 on fastbreaks. That only category the Lady Mustangs were even lose was in bench scoring, 16-11.
With 5:49 left in the game, Bradley enjoyed its biggest lead of 50 points. Walker Valley led for 22 seconds and the game was tied for five seconds.
The Bearettes made 30 field goals and had 21 assists, dropped 11-of-28 3-pointers and came up with 18 steals.
Senior Rhyne Howard paced the Bearettes with 21 points, nine rebounds, eight steals and four assists in another sterling effort. Howard moves into seventh place on the Bearettes’ all-time scoring list with 2,262 points, bumping Paige Redman (2,251) down to eighth.
Howard now has her sights on No. 6 Trecia Watson’s 2,308 career points.
Bradley has won 11 straight meetings with Walker Valley and 18 of the last 19 and lead the series 25-13. Tuesday’s 48-point victory is the Bearettes’ widest margin against the Lady Mustangs.
The Bradley boys defeated Walker Valley, 52-51, snapping the Mustangs’ four-game winning streak.
Bradley’s girls and boys conclude the regular season on Saturday, hosting Stone Memorial.
Boxscore
Bradley Central 13 29 21 15 – 78
Walker Valley 6 9 7 8 – 30
Bradley Central (78) – Kaleigh Hughes 14, Mayo 8, Rhyne Howard 21, Alexis Barnes 10, Lombard 9, Ann Roberts 10, Blair 4, Carman, Hullender, Walker 2, Muhonen.
Walker Valley (30) – Nipper, Davis 3, Clark, Anderson 2, Lauren Lay 14, Frost, Kile 4, Roberts 2, Baker 5, Fowler, Gibson, Harris.
3-Point Goals – Bradley Central 11 (Howard 3, Hughes 3, Mayo 2, Roberts 2, Lombard 1), Walker Valley 2 (Davis 1, Baker 1).
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)