There are several reasons the Bradley Central girls’ basketball team is at the top of the latest TSSAA Associated Press rankings for Division I Class AAA. But arguably the biggest is their dominance in the paint with the play of their powerful trio of post players: Anna Walker, Anna Muhonen and Alexis Barnes.
That threesome showed just how overpowering they could be Tuesday night, combining for 42 points and controlling the glass in a 58-50 win over host East Hamilton.
Walker led the way with 15 points, while Barnes trailed with 14, and Muhonen scored 13.
The victory kept the Bearettes unbeaten in District 5, and ran their winning streak in district play to an astounding 76 games.
"People zone us a lot because we haven't been shooting the 3-ball well," said Bradley Central coach Jason Reuter. "We didn't play our best game and I don't think East Hamilton did either, but the bottom line is that we did what we had to do in the second half and got a little more interior action. We out-rebounded them 33-18 (unofficially), and the big one was that we only gave up three offensive boards."
"Madison Hayes has to be in the top handful of athletes that we've ever played against, and we've played nationally-ranked teams. As talented as she is, if you hold them to one shot it's hard for them to beat you."
The win didn't come easy for the Bearettes (16-3, 7-0), who despite leading for most of the first three quarters, never could separate themselves by more than five points. That was due, in part, to Anna Walker starting the game ice cold from the floor, where she went 0-for-8 in the first half.
But while Walker was struggling, she was picked up by the rest of her team; six different players scored in the opening period for the Bearettes. The Lady Hurricanes (11-11, 4-3) -- who lost a heartbreaker in overtime to Bradley Central on December 17 -- kept pace throughout the quarter until Barnes lay-up with two seconds left gave the visitors a two-point lead.
Both teams struggled to find any rhythm offensively in the second quarter, scoring just ten points apiece. The Bearettes got most of those from the free throw line, where they went 6-for-8 in the period and shot 67 percent for the game.
The Hayes sisters, Madison and McKenna, scored all ten of the Lady Hurricane's points in the stanza, and 19 of their 23 for the half. A jumper by Muhonen from the left elbow with forty seconds left gave Bradley Central a narrow 25-23 halftime advantage.
Coming out after halftime, not only did the Bearettes change ends of the court, but Walker found a home in a different location behind the arc. The UTC commit moved from her spot in the first half near the top of the key, and the shift paid off as she found her stroke, going 2-of-4 in the period and scoring eight points.
"We went big and it allowed us to put Walker on the wing, who is our best 3-point shooter," Reuter said of going with a lineup that included all three of his post players. "We've got talented guards with Jamaryn Blair, Cambree Mayo, and Jamia Williams, but it's harder for them to feed the post at their size. When Walker's over there at six foot and you've got a seal in the post, boom. We can go big, we can go small, but tonight I think we had this number because we went big probably 70 percent of the time."
East Hamilton's Eliziah Laboo countered with a couple of trifectas of her own. The first gave her team a brief lead just out of halftime, and the second pulled them to within two later in the period before two Madison Hayes free throws tied it.
Bradley Central went on a 5-0 run to end the quarter, however, and led 38-33 heading into the final frame.
Walker hit two more triples in the fourth quarter. The second came with 4:37 to go in the game, and was followed by baskets by Barnes and Muhonen to give Bradley Central its largest lead at 51-39 with just over three minutes remaining.
"Anna Walker went 0-for-8 in the first half, and we're not going to win with her going 0-for-8. But that's what I love about her, that even with that poor shooting you never saw her flinch. She hit some daggers right there."
Madison Hayes did all she could offensively to give her team a chance. The future Mississippi State Bulldog scored 11 of her game-high 25 points in the final quarter, including nine in the final 2:34.
But it was too little, too late for the Lady Hurricanes, as Cambree Mayo went 4-of-5 from the charity stripe in the final minute to ice the game for the Bearettes.
"We're right there; it's a frustrated mood (in the locker room)," said East Hamilton coach Hunter Gremore. "They killed us inside tonight, and we didn't have an answer for that. But tonight, we were battling and we were close all game, but we didn't have any positive energy with our body language and our demeanor. We were down by two at halftime and two to four points throughout the game, and our body language looked like we were defeated. That's the number one team in the state, and you can't do that and expect to win. It's frustrating because we're right there."
"We have to figure out a way to get over that hump. Nine of our 11 losses have come in the final minutes of the game, two in double overtime and two in overtime. Every night we walk out there, I know we have the best player on the floor(in Madison Hayes), and I know we have a chance. I think all it's going to take is for us to win one of those to get us over the hump."
Bradley Central travels to Meigs County on Thursday and then to rival Cleveland next Tuesday. East Hamilton hosts McMinn County on Friday.
GAME SUMMARY
BRADLEY CENTRAL 15 10 13 20 -- 58
EAST HAMILTON 13 10 10 17 -- 50
BRADLEY CENTRAL (59) – Anna Walker 15, Alexis Barnes 14, Anna Muhonen 13, Williams 7, Mayo 7, Blair 2, Carman.
EAST HAMILTON (50) – Madison Hayes 25, Eliziah Laboo 10, Mc. Hayes 9, Lacy 3, Bone 3, Strickland, Evans, Petit.
3-POINT GOALS: Bradley Central 6 (Walker 4, Williams, Mayo); East Hamilton 5 (Laboo 2, Mc. Hayes 2, Bone).
(Contact Kevin Llewallyn at kevin.llewallyn@gmail.com)