Bloom-Carroll girls upset bid comes up just short

COLUMBUS – Bloom-Carroll was on the verge of a major upset Friday during its second-round Division II district tournament game against No. 4 Beechcroft.

Although the visiting Bulldogs struggled with the Cougars' pressure and were continually beaten on the boards, Bloom-Carroll had the lead early in the fourth quarter.

However, a 40-second stretch midway through the final quarter ultimately did in the Bulldogs. Beechcroft scored six unanswered points to give it some breathing room and the Cougars held on for a 43-37 victory against the 14th-seeded Bulldogs.

Each time it looked as if the Cougars (16-5) were gaining the upper hand, the Bulldogs (8-16) would fight and claw their way back in it. They finished the third quarter on a 6-2 run to take a 29-28 lead into the fourth.

Senior Bethany Winkler's layup with 4:19 left gave the Bulldogs a 31-30 lead. Bloom-Carroll had several chances to build on that lead, but Beechcroft turned three straight Bloom-Carroll turnovers into points to take a 36-31 advantage with three minutes left.

Although the Bulldogs stayed within striking distance — cutting the deficit to three points on three occasions in the final 2:35 — they couldn't quite get over the hump.

Beechcroft made 3-of-6 free throws in the final 37 seconds to seal the victory.

"We thought this was a good matchup for us and I thought this game showed that," Bulldogs coach Chad Little said. "The hardest part was is we are 95 percent man-to-man, and what we had seen out of them was lots of (3-pointers), and more importantly, a lot of dribble-drive and quickness.

"We wanted to sit in a zone and try to run them off the 3-point line. We also needed to handle their full court pressure, and for awhile, we did."

Winkler, who finished with six points and 10 rebounds, scored all of her points in the fourth quarter to give the Bulldogs a chance.

Bloom-Carroll trailed 9-4 at the end of the first quarter. Thanks to the hot shooting of sophomore Alexis Burchfield, the Bulldogs took the lead in the second.

Burchfield scored 10 consecutive points for the Bulldogs, including two 3s, to give Bloom-Carroll a 16-13 lead. However, Beechcroft scored the final five points to take an 18-16 halftime lead.

After the Cougars scored to open the third and take a 20-16 lead, Burchfield drained another 3 and Melanie Casto's layup tied it at 21.

Sidney Harrell then caught fire for Bloom-Carroll. She would score the Bulldogs' last eight points of the third, including hitting 4-of-4 at the foul line.

"We struggle offensively, but I thought we played the game at a pace where we could be successful," Little said. "When it fell apart in the fourth quarter, I thought we got sped up really for no reason. We tried to get it slowed down, but we couldn't and we had some turnovers and that led to baskets for them."

Burchfield finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and three assists to lead the Bulldogs, and Harrell added 12 points.

"I think we played hard," Little said. "The biggest measure for me is are we better now than what we were in November,a month ago, a week ago? I feel like we are.

"We really felt like we had a chance. We are disappointed we got beat, but I'm proud of the way we played."

twilson@lancastereaglegazette.com

740-681-4358

Twitter: @twil2323