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Defense lifts Bellbrook girls past Eaton

Golden Eagles win SWBL showdown in matchup of undefeated teams.

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By Dave Long, Contributing Writer 8:46 PM Saturday, December 17, 2011

EATON — The first five games of the high school girls basketball season were a conundrum for Bellbrook coach Jason Tincher.

He knew his team, No. 4 in the Dayton Daily News Division II ratings, was good. The Eagles were 5-0 and winning by 35.4 points per game going into Saturday’s contest at undefeated Eaton.

“Our starters haven’t been on the floor much in the second half of our first five games so a lot of girls have gotten a lot of playing time,” Tincher said. “That’s good, but I need to see how our starters perform under pressure when they’re challenged.”

Bellbrook got that challenge in a 67-52 — and closer than the score indicates — win.

Bellbrook is now alone atop the Southwestern Division’s Southwestern Buckeye League at 4-0. It has won 16 straight league games and 29 of its last 30 over the past three seasons.

A 5-0 run in the first quarter gave Bellbrook a lead it would never relinquish, but Eaton (6-1) played well enough to keep the winners uncomfortable.

“We executed well on offense like we have all season,” Tincher said. “But it was our defense I was pleased with. We had to get after them until the last three minutes because they’ve got some shooters who can hurt you.”

Shelby Sigman had the best defensive effort for Bellbrook by keeping Eaton freshman guard Autumn Whirley in check. Whirley entered the game averaging 14.8 points and shooting almost 55 percent from 3-point range. She had 13 of her 17 points in the first half as Eaton trailed 36-30. In the second half, Sigman allowed Whirley only three shots, none from 3-point range.

As a team, Bellbrook allowed Eaton only 10 shots the second half. It also forced 15 turnovers to produce 19 points.

Leisha Crawford led Bellbrook with 21 points and Erin Dorn had 14. Centers Kelly Neumann, a 5-foot-11 junior, scored six points and had 10 rebounds and Chea Taylor, a 6-foot sophomore, had seven points and 11 boards.

Along with her stellar defense, Sigman — one of two seniors along with Crawford — had seven points, seven steals and five assists.

Libby Springmier had 12 points to lead Eaton and Danielle Karns added 11 points and eight rebounds. Like Whirley, they are freshmen as Eaton’s seven-player rotation contains no seniors.

“Eaton reminds me of us a couple of years ago when we were playing all freshmen and sophomores,” Tincher said. “Now we’ve grown up into a pretty good team. Our top seven players can all shoot, handle the ball, rebound and play defense.”

Bellbrook is off until after Christmas when it plays New York City Charter and nationally-ranked Potter’s House Christian from Florida in the Braggin’ Rights Classic in Cincinnati.

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