Staff report

Carroll and Bellbrook entered Saturday’s girls basketball game looking like the main event. The Patriots and Eagles are ranked second and third, respectively, in the Division II DDN poll.

But with both on the cusp of the playoffs, consider Saturday the undercard, one in which Carroll landed most of the punches with a 62-43 victory.

“It’s a big win going into tournament,” Carroll coach Rob Berry said. “They only had two losses. We wanted to play well and I thought we did. We played excellent today.”

Carroll (17-5) had a 14-6 third-quarter run and held Bellbrook to 15 points in the second half. The defense did its work, as did the front court, limiting Bellbrook’s second chances with good rebounding.

The Patriots benefited from balanced scoring with four players in double figures, led by Ciara Poppa, who scored 14. Madison Schroeder had 12, Lindsey Blandford 11 and Susan Wollenhaupt had 10.

“That’s how the season has gone if you look at our five starters,” Berry said. “They’ve taken about the same number of shots all year at every position. We don’t highlight one person. They did a great job of sharing the basketball today. I thought passing was the key to victory.”

Interior passing was a major key, as Carroll’s front court was able to pass the ball back outside for open 3-pointers. Carroll made 6-of-11 from 3-point range with Poppa and Austria each making two.

Erin Dorn led Bellbrook (19-3) with 14. Gabrielle Etter scored 10 while Hannah Songer had eight.

Bellbrook was ranked seventh in the Division II state poll. Carroll has been out of the state poll all season after a 5-4 start. Four of the team’s first five losses were to state-ranked teams. Since, Carroll has won 12 of 13, with the one loss coming to Madison at the buzzer. The result was a share of the Girls Greater Cincinnati League Grey North title and the team finding its identity after losing Kelly Austria, who is now a Dayton Flyer, to graduation from last year’s team.

“It took us longer than I thought to see who would step up and play well,” Berry said. “It ended up not being an individual but the whole team. The girls have really done well for themselves the second half of the season.”