Photo by Seth Staskey Lindsey Best drives as teammate Allarah Jones sets a screen during Monday’s basketball action.

MARTINS FERRY — Coming into the season, Dave Reasbeck was excited about the depth of his Martins Ferry girls basketball team.

Rightfully so because it was on clear display Monday evening.

The Purple Riders put 10 players in the scoring column en route to a convincing 58-29 victory against debuting Buckeye Local inside the Tolbert Gymnasium.

Though it was the Riders’ second game of the season, it was actually the first time that they had their full complement of players, who Reasbeck believes are going to be crucial to his team’s success.

“For it being only game two and the first game where we had our full team, I thought we accomplished what we wanted to,” Reasbeck said.

The Riders shot out to a 17-7 lead after one and really were never challenged. Buckeye Local, which had only one scrimmage, struggled to score the ball with any regularity whatsoever.

However, that didn’t discourage first-year coach Tom Valuska, who pointed out his team had played only one scrimmage.

“We got a late start with our open gyms and season, so we’re a little bit out of shape and this was our first real competition,” Valuska said. “We need to learn how to play with speed. We’re calling it learning and not a loss. I have confidence in these girls and we’ll get there.”

Martins Ferry’s first half performance was fueled by talented freshman Lindsey Best, who showed some of the flashes that Reasbeck has raved about during the preseason.

All told, Best scored 22 points, passed out four assists and grabbed three rebounds. She scored 16 of her points in the first half when the Riders blew the game open.

“For making her varsity debut, Lindsey Best was really good,” Reasbeck said.

“She’s going to make me look really smart the next couple of years. We just need to get our other weapons playing along with her.”

Best was the lone double-figure scorer for the Riders. However, seniors Maria Clark and Allarah Jones evenly divided 16, while sophomore Danielle Lude added seven.

“This type of performance was kind of what we expected since (Sunday) was the first day we had our full team,” Reasbeck said. “We were just kind of running around out there with no defined roles. The next few days of practice are going to be big for us.”

Buckeye Local, which doesn’t play again until next Monday at Harrison Central, was led by sophomore Brynn McKeever, who had nine points. Junior Emily Valuska added seven in top support.

“We need to get our timing down because it was definitely off (on Monday),” Coach Valuska said.

The Riders are also off until next Monday when they open Buckeye 8 South play at Bellaire.

Frontier 50, Shadyside 46

BEAVERTON — Shadyside dropped to 0-2 on the young season, falling at Frontier.

The Tigers, who led by six entering the fourth quarter were outscored, 18-8 in the final chapter.

Shadyside was led in the scoring column by senior Paige Gorby, who went for 22 points. Junior Gentry Brown added eight and Rylie Fulton contributed seven.

Beallsville 52, Steubenville Catholic 44

BEALLSVILLE — Beallsville used a strong middle two quarters and seven, 3-pointers to fend off Steubenville Catholic for a victory.

The Blue Devils (1-1) were led by talented freshman Kaylee Hagan, who had 15 points. Jaycee Huffman scored 14 and Hallie Bommer contributed 12.

The Crusaders were paced by Katie Zatta, who went for 27 points. Theresa Kerker added 10 points.

Monroe Central 68, Bridgeport 19

BRIDGEPORT — Kalista Friday bucketed 21 points as Monroe Central dominated host Bridgeport.

Kynzi Bishop tallied 14 points in the win, while Trista Morris accounted for 11 and Haylyn Hiles added 10.

Edison 65, Wellsville 37

RICHMOND — Gracie Fox and Olivia Huff each tallied 13 points as Edison upended Wellsville in its home opener.

Alysea Fiedorczyk and Pam Johnson each added seven points in the win.