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BELLAIRE – Offensive balance was on full display at The House of Champions on Black Friday.
Bellaire placed four players in double figures in downing Barnesville, 54-34, in improving to 2-0 on the young season.
"I really like that (placing four in double figures)," Bellaire head coach John Farrier said. "All five of our starters are capable scorers. We did't have a very good shooing night but we got solid contributions everyone."
Sophomore point guard Eliana Mason turned in a superb near triple-double performance to propel the hosts. Mason finished with a team-high 13 points to go with 10 steals and eight rebounds.
She had plenty of help.
Classmate Zara Harveth was next in line with 12 counters while sharpshooters Allie Ault and Rhyan O'Grady evenly divided 20 tallies. Senior standout Lizzie McAninch chipped in with seven points.
Bellaire came out on fire, boarding 24 points in the first quarter, carving out a nine-point advantage. Ault and O'Grady fueled the quick getaway with seven and six points, respectively. Madelyn Tyson kept the Shamrocks in striking distance with four points in the round.
The Lady Reds cooled off in the second frame, netting just 12 points. The hosts, however, made the most of its vaunted full-court pressure in forcing 11 Shamrock turnovers en route to a 36-20 halftime advantage.
To their credit, Ty Leach's scrappy Shamrocks regrouped at halftime and outpointed Bellaire, 8-6, in the third quarter, narrowing their deficit to 42-28. Tyson contributed six of the visitors' lightings.
Barnesville found itself trailing 42-32 with just under six minutes to play after a Tyson breakaway. However, the Red & Green would get no closer.
Ault stymied the Shamrocks' surge by draining her third trey of the night. Mason followed with a steal and hoop before Harveth delivered five unanswered counters to balloon Bellaire's bulge to 20.
"After the first quarter I thought were were going to have a real big scoring night. But then we couldn't make a shot even though we had good looks," Farrier said. "We moved the ball well and found the open player but the shots just didn't fall tonight.
"I thought our halfcourt defense was better tonight. We also cut down on our fouling," he said. "We made some improvements from our first game but we still have a long way to go."
Bellaire returns to action Monday at Martins Ferry in a 6 p.m. varsity start.
Barnesville fell to 1-2 on the young campaign. The Shamrocks return to action Thursday at River.
Tyson did yeoman's work for Barnesville, tallying 13 points to go with boundless hustle. She was the lone Shamrock to reach double figures.
Barnesville was victimized by 30 turnovers.
"We just had way too many turnovers. You cannot waste that many possessions, especially against good team," Leach noted. "Bellaire presses very well but we were able to break it at times only to miss easy shots. We had some good looks.
"We have to be able to execute better. I think that will come as the season progresses. We are a young team," he continued.
"Bellaire is an excellent team. They make you pay when you make mistakes."
Bellaire registered 16 turnovers.