Bradley Central made a short trip to the "Owl’s Nest" to blow out the host Ooltewah squads to open the District 6-4A potion of the hoop season.
The No. 7 nationally-ranked (On3.com) Bearettes (7-0, 1-0) continued their domination of the Lady Owls with an 80-23 verdict that extended their winning streak to 54 straight over Ooltewah.
Meanwhile, the 19th-ranked (Maxpreps) Bears (6-1, 1-0) picked up their 13th consecutive win over the Owls with 62-23 ‘mercy rule’ win.
Bradley now turns its attention to another cross-county rival on Friday when they host the Walker Valley boys and girls with varsity action tipping off at 6 p.m.
There will be a special introduction of the 2024 Bradley Central Hall of Fame inductees between the varsity contests.
BEARS 62, OWLS 23
A slow start found the teams tied 6-6 at the 2:37 mark of the opening period before the Bears began to put some distance between themselves and the Owls (1-6, 0-1) as they finished the quarter with a 9-2 run making it 15-8 as they headed to the second quarter.
During the foul-plagued first half, the Bears made only 7-of-16 attempts from the charity line.
“The first half we were kind of lifeless.
We weren’t making the plays but doing our own thing. We were in a real dog fight. We were not doing things the way we needed to and that’s on me," noted "Papa Bear" Zach Carpenter in a post-game interview.
"Now we’ve got to get ready for the Mustangs on Friday. They’ve got five guys on the floor that can make shots and if they are making shots, they are gonna be hard to beat," he added.
The Bears were paced by senior Tyrese Stovall with 20 points, plus eight rebounds to go with six blocks, while swiping a steal and dishing out one assist.
Seniors Ramireon Taylor and Caiden Bauldwin added 15 and 14 points, respectively with Bauldwin swiping seven steals and handing out five "dimes." Taylor also picked up two steals and two rebounds.
The game got away from the Owls in the third quarter when the Bears got hot, making 10-of-15 shots from the floor, while greatly improving their free throw tosses as they sank 10-of-13.
The Bears, which held the Owls to single digits in each period, topping their entire first half output with 30 points of their own in the third frame and the "running clock" would ensue throughout the fourth quarter until the final whistle.
All 12 Bears played that dressed got playing time, with eight different players scoring.
Bradley forced 33 turnovers that converted into 30 points, with 40 points scored in the paint. The Bears hit on 21-of-44 (47.7%) from the field, but just 1-of-8 from distance. The final tally at the free throw line was 19-of-31 (61.3%).
Ooltewah connected on only 9-of-30 (30.0%) shots from the field overall, including only 1-for-7 (14.3%) from 3-point range. The hosts hit 4-of-5 (80%) on free throws.
BEARETTES 80
LADY OWLS 23
Even with 2024 Miss Tennessee Basketball finalist junior Kimora Fields sitting this one out due to a minor tweak in a leg muscle, it was déjà vu all over again when the Bearettes play the Lady Owls (3-5, 0-1).
After back-to-back 3-pointers by Walters State signee Malia Wilcox and Arkansas signee Harmonie Ware for a 6-4 lead, the Bearettes went on one of their patented scoring streaks with 19 consecutive points before Ooltewah could touch the nylon again.
The first quarter score of 26-6 ballooned into a 32-point halftime deficit for the home-standing Lady Owls of Coach Tony Williams as they couldn’t close the flood gates.
"Papa Bear" Jason Reuter went to the bench early and often with no starter playing more than a quarter and a half as 11 Bearettes dressed and all scored as they built a 45-13 bulge at the half.
The lead would grow to 63-16 after three periods as the Bearette defense held the Lady Owls to only three third quarter points and the fourth period would once again be played with a "running clock" for the Black-and-Gold for the fifth time this season.
Sophomore Jada Francis led the Bearette scoring parade with a career-high 16 points off the bench, while hitting the backboards for four rebounds and picking up five steals for the game.
Kennesaw State signee TaTianna Stovall followed with 15 points and eight rebounds in limited playing time, while Ware accounted for 11 points and eight ricochets, two steals and four assists.
Wilcox filled her stat line with six points, seven assists, three steals and three rebounds as the "floor general" guided the two-time defending state champs to the win.
The Bearette defense forced 29 Lady Owl turnovers plus dominated the backboards by a 39-10 count.
“I don’t recall ever having such an edge on the boards," noted Coach Reuter following the game. “I thought Jada Francis had a solid game tonight and really played well.
"The big stat to me was that we had 22 assists on 31 made baskets.”
GAME SUMMARIES
Tuesday, Dec. 10
at "The Owls Nest"
Girls Game
Bradley Central 26 19 18 17 — 80
Ooltewah 6 7 3 7 — 23
BEARETTES (80) Jada Francis 16, TaTianna Stovall 16, Harmonie Ware 11, Brewer 9, Osborn 8, Wilcox 6, Broome 6, Howard 4, Stewart 3, Rymer 2.
LADY OWLS (23) Aleigha Taylor 13, Ware 6, Tipton 4, LeBlanc, Spatafore, Felder, Tucker, Mangham, Williams, Tuskan, Skrgic, Aaron, Hames.
3-POINTERS: BC 10 (Brewer 3, Ware 2, Wilcox 2, Osborn 2, Stewart; OHS 1 (Ware).
FREE THROWS: BC 8-of-14 (57.1%); OHS 4-of-6 (66.7%)
Records: Bradley Central 7-0, 1-0 District 6-4A; Ooltewah 3-5, 0-1 District 6-4A.
Boys Game
Bradley Central 15 12 30 5 — 62
Ooltewah 8 7 6 2 — 23
BEARS (62) Tyrese Stovall 20, Ramireon Taylor 15, Caiden Bauldwin 14, K. Butts 4, Allen 3, Walker 2, Cassada 2, White 2, Fields, Cannon, Goldston, Baggett.
OWLS (23) Hughes 7, Horne 6, Marsh 4, Wood 2, Lindsey 2, C. Vincente, K. Vincente, Patterson, White, Jones, Wiley.
3-POINTERS: BC 1 (Allen); OHS 1 (Hughes).
FREE THROWS: BC 19-of-31 (61.3%); OHS 4-of-5 (80.0%).
RECORDS: Bradley Central 6-1, 1-0 District 6-4A; Ooltewah 1-6, 0-1 District 6-4A.