The Highlands girls basketball team extended their win streak to three Thursday night after defeating Bellevue, 63-39 on the road.
Ahead of the mid-week matchup, Highlands junior Marissa Green was just 11 points shy of
scoring her 1,000th career point. Green had seven early points as the Bluebirds opened the game with a 13-0 scoring run.
The Bluebirds converted defense into offense early as they forced the Tigers into eight quick turnovers to take an 18-4 lead at the end of the quarter.
Bellevue found a way to break Highlands’ defensive pressure in the second quarter as junior guard Paulina Long hit two quick triples to cut the lead to 25-13. The Bluebirds however, shortly regained momentum after Green converted on a layup marking her 1,000th point.
The 6-foot-3 junior was quickly met with applause by her fellow teammates, coaches and supporters after a timeout was taken to recognize Green’s accomplishment.
“You know, she was so close with 11 coming in,” says Highlands head coach Jaime Richey. “It’s really just a big monkey off her back to finally get it, and I think she’ll continue to have a great season.”
Both Green and senior guard Amaya Barton converted on layups in transition as Highlands
headed into halftime with a 35-22 lead.
Entering the second half, Highlands looked to maintain their previous rhythm, but had trouble getting to the hole early.
“In the third quarter we had a stretch where we would only make one pass before a shot,” says Richey.
Bellevue was able to cut the lead down to nine with three minutes to go in the quarter after sparking a 7-3 run with a pair of 3-point baskets from sophomores Chloe Meyers and Hayleigh Wright.
After a quick timeout by Richey, the Bluebirds were able to convert on their offensive sets as they headed into the final quarter up 43-28.
For Highlands, fundamentals played a large part in the Bluebirds fourth quarter performance as both Richey and the rest of the Bluebirds coaching staff emphasized ball-movement and finishing at the rim.
“Once we did the things that we worked on the past couple days of practice, we were
successful,” says Richey.
Highlands was able to find seven different scorers in the fourth as they
heightened the pressure on the defensive end while slowing the pace on the offensive end.
The Bluebirds outscored the Tigers 20-11 in the fourth quarter as they closed out the contest with a 24-point victory.
The Tigers were led by Long’s eight point performance and junior guard Ally MacPherson, who had seven. Tommy Sorrell and his squad fall to 6-2 after the loss and will face Holmes at home Friday night.
Green led the Bluebirds in scoring with 18 while Barton and sophomore Katie Bucher each
followed with 11 and 10-point contributions. Highlands climbs to 4-4 on the season.
The Bluebirds will compete in the Lady Invitational of the South at Allen County-Scottsville
following the holiday break, opening up with Russell.
“We’re going to play against some great competition,” says Richey. “We’re looking forward to competing and also squeezing in some team bonding off the court.”
BLUEBIRDS 63, TIGERS 39
HIGHLANDS — 18-17-8-20 — 63
BELLEVUE — 4-18-6-11 — 39
Scoring
Highlands (63) – Green 18, Barton 11, Bucher 10, Barber 7, Macke 4, Lickert 4, Mills 3, Orme 2, Richey 2, Gross 2
Bellevue (39) – Long 12, MacPherson 7, Wight 6, Meyers 5, McCarty 3, Massey 2, J. Dowell 2, Sorrell 2
Game Stats
3-Pointers Made: Highlands 2, Bellevue3
Free Throws: Highlands 11/15, Bellevue 11/16
Fouls: Highlands 16, Bellevue 12
Records: Highlands (4-4, 1-0), Bellevue (6-2, 1-1)