Ben’s Ford Christian School turned a one-point halftime deficit into a 13-point lead through three quarters Tuesday night, en route to a 44-29 victory over Central Private School to start 2-0.
The host Lady Eagles trailed 15-14 at the break, but outscored Central Private 17-4 in the third quarter.
“We came back from halftime and we started playing hard-core defense and pressuring the ball and we started giving it 100 percent and just focusing more on our shots and defense,” said Ben’s Ford’s Kayleigh Wheat, who scored nine points, pulled down two rebounds and made a pair of steals.
Ben’s Ford led 18-17 lead with 4:55 left and then Ben’s Ford took over.
Kelci Freeman — who tallied nine points, four boards, two assists and six steals — hit a field goal to make it 20-17 at the 4:06 mark to start a 13-2 run to end the quarter. It became a 15-2 spurt at the outset of the fourth period.
Wheat knocked down a jumper and Abby Smith hit for two for a 24-17 lead with 2:41 left. Central Private’s Elise Hewitt, who posted five points, stopped the run with a bucket, trimming it to 24-19.
Smith pushed the lead back to seven with a hoop. Wheat made it 28-19. Allison Forbes was good on a fastbreak layup with 10 seconds left on the clock and it was 30-19. But the Lady Eagles weren’t done in the third yet. A steal led to Freeman adding two more with a layup.
It was 32-19 through three.
“I’m just real proud of the girls,” Ben’s Ford coach Mark McGehee said. “They’ve worked hard in the offseason. We always told them that hard work pays off and that’s what it did tonight. We just stayed with it and came back and played a good second half. I’m proud of the girls.”
The run continued in the fourth as Bailey Stewart drove for two to make it 34-19. The 15-point lead was Lady Eagles’ biggest and the margin of victory, in the 44-29 win.
Smith posted eight points, six rebounds, an assist and two steals for Ben’s Ford.
Celeste Crowe recorded six points, two boards, an assist and a steal.
Allison Forbes tallied four points, five rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.
Valerie Page finished with four points, four rebounds and a steal.
AnnaBella Seal recorded two points and a rebound.
Stewart put up two points, four boards, an assist and two steals.
Alaina McClelland finished with four rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Lindsey McGehee made a steal in the win.
Central Private’s Tori Richard, Sally Ann Torres and Sammy Hebert all scored five points.
Anna Dale had four while Danielle Loftstrom posted three and Morgan Campbell added two.
Both teams struggled from the free-throw line. Ben’s Ford went 2-for-14 (14.2 percent). Central Private was 8-for-26 (30.7 percent).
On Thursday, host Ben’s Ford came up short to Sylva Bay Academy, 42-40, after trailing 20-2.
The Lady Eagles took the lead late, but missed some shots down the stretch. Sylva Bay broke a 40-40 tie with 16 seconds left on a layup. Ben’s Ford got the last shot to try and send it to overtime, but missed.
McClelland posted scored 11 points to go with seven rebounds, two assists and four steals. Smith posted nine points, four boards and a pair of steals. Wheat tallied six points, two rebounds and a steal. Valerie Page put up four points, two rebounds and four steals. Freeman had four points, nine boards, an assist and a steal. Forbes totaled two points, two rebounds, an assist and two steals. Stewart had two points, seven rebounds, an assist and two steals. Crowe had two points, three boards and five steals. Seal added a rebound and a steal while Lindsey McGehee contributed a rebound and two steals.