By Staff
Scot Beard
BELGREEN – Belgreen varsity girls basketball coach Shauna Humpries said the true gauge of how good her team will be this season is how well the Lady Bulldogs play against Speake.
Humphries got that gauge Tuesday night as Belgreen topped the Lady Bobcats 66-53.
"I was proud of the girls, they did an outstanding job," Humphries said. "They rebounded well, and got down the floor quickly."
Speake took an early 2-0 lead as the Lady Bulldog struggled to find a rhythm during the opening minutes. After Belgreen finally scored, Speake could not stop the Lady Bulldog offense.
Belgreen went on a run and ended the opening quarter with a 15-4 lead.
The Lady Bulldogs continued to roll in the second quarter and built a 34-18 halftime lead.
"(The offensive explosion) wasn't what I expected," Humphries said. "No complaints, but I was surprised."
Belgreen continued to pull away in the third quarter, but Speake began to rally in the fourth quarter.
The Lady Bulldogs led by as many as 23 points in the final quarter, but the Lady Bobcats outscored Belgreen 24-14 down the stretch to keep the final score respectable.
"You don't want to get too far ahead because you get comfortable," Humphries said. "That is what happened in the fourth quarter. We can't do that the next time we play them."
Deborah Billingham led the Lady Bulldogs with 21 points while Martha Billingham scored 15.
Both of the Billinghams had a good night from behind the arc as Martha hit three 3-pointers and Deborah drained two shots from downtown.
Loren McVicker also reached double-digits, scoring 12 points for Belgreen. Amber Smith, Katy Britton and Anna DeVaney scored six points each to round out the scoring for the Lady Bulldogs.
With the win, Belgreen improves to 9-0 overall and 7-0 against area opponents.
Belgreen 70,
Speake 43
The Belgreen varsity boys basketball team picked up another area win Tuesday by defeating Speak 70-43 at home.
The Bobcats held a 10-7 lead early, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Taylor Hester and Jared Richardson gave the Bulldogs the lead for good.
Belgreen extended its lead to 35-17 at halftime.
During the fourth quarter, Speake was able to score on several occasions, but the Bulldogs answered each score with a basket of their own.
Talyor Hester led the Bulldogs with 14 points while Brandon Hester scored 13.
Also scoring for Belgreen were B.J. Horton (9), Spencer Hargett (8), Sam Presley (8), Josh Quillen (6), Will Hester (5), Derrick Simmons (4) and Richardson (3).