The Bradford girls basketball team only scored four first half points against Elk County Catholic Wednesday night. They played better in the second half, but the Crusaders still came away with a 30-16 victory.
“They are a very good team,” Bradford coach Marty Bechilli said. “The effort was there defensively, they just knocked down more shots than we did.”
The Crusaders were 10-3 coming into the matchup while Bradford was 8-7. Each team couldn’t find a rhythm on offense early, but ECC still had the edge. Rachael Vanslander hit a three to help make it 5-0 to open the game.
Bradford didn’t score until there was 1:15 left in the first quarter when Mackenzie Taylor hit a mid-range shot. The Lady Owls were still in it with the deficit only being 7-2 at the end of the first quarter.
The same defensive struggle continued into the second quarter, but ECC was still the only team that scored with any consistency. Vanslander made her second three-pointer to help extend their lead to 12-2. Sophomore star Haley Keane was in foul trouble with three fouls before halftime.
“Everybody contributed very well while she was on the bench,” Bechilli said.
The only scoring for Bradford in the second quarter came from Mallory Craig when she made a layup. Payton Newton scored six points in the second for the Crusaders to help make their lead 16-4 at halftime.
Alyssa Johnson made two three-pointers for Bradford early in the second half. ECC still prevented the Owls from finding much more success, and they maintained a healthy lead throughout the game. The score heading into the fourth was 20-12 ECC.
Bradford played hard, but the effort didn’t translate into points on the offensive end. Things were looking a little more promising for the Owls after Keane knocked down a three-pointer to make it 22-15 with 3:48 left in the game.
“We cut it to seven in the fourth,” Bechilli said. “Then they held the ball a little bit. They are a very well coached defensive team.”
Unfortunately for Bradford, that was the last field goal of the night for them. The Crusaders cruised to a 30-16 victory. Newton was the game’s leading scorer with 15 points, Vanslander had 9. There were only four scorers for Bradford with Johnson scoring seven points to lead the team, Keane finished with five. ECC improved to 11-3 while Bradford fell to 8-8 with the loss.
The Lady Owls will be at St. Marys next on Tuesday, January 29 at 7:30 p.m. while ECC will take on Johnsonburg at home on Friday also at 7:30 p.m. Bradford won the first matchup against the Flying Dutch 38-33 on Jan. 3.
“The girls give everything every practice,” Bechilli said. “Defensively they are all locked in, I feel really good where we’re at right now.”
AT BRADFORD
Elk County Catholic (30)
Pistner 1 0-0 3, Newton 5 5-7 15, Vanslander 3 1-2 9, Polaski 1 0-0 2, Thorwart 0 1-2 1, Straub 0 0-0 0. Totals: 10 7-11 30.
Bradford (16)
Long 0 0-0 0, Davis 0 0-0 0, Craig 1 0-4 2, Taylor 1 0-0 2, Kicior 0 0-0 0, Keane 2 0-0 5, Timer 2 1-2 7. Totals: 6 1-6 16.
ECC 7 9 4 10
Brad 2 2 8 4
Three-point goals: ECC 3 (Vanslander 2, Pistner), Brad 2 (Johnson 2).
