GARRETT SETS ANOTHER LADY BEARCAT 3 POINT RECORD; BEARCATS WIN 10TH

The largest margin in the Lady Bearcats win over Cedarville was the final score of 59-47.

Prior to the free throws that pushed the lead into double digits the largest lead had been one of 33-25 by the Lady Bearcats, who won for their third straight game to even the Conference 3A-4 record at 3-3.

They did so with Linley Garrett establishing a new record for 3-pointers in a season – she had set the single game standard a week earlier. She now has 52 this season.

In the boys game Cedarville went on a 14-2 first quarter run but the Bearcats, who would win for the 10th time this season, overtook the Pirates in the second quarter and withstood multiple threats on the way to a 57-48 decision.

Scoring eight points in just under two minutes the Lady Pirates led the Lady Bearcats 8-2.

Lexi Franklin scored with 20 seconds left in the quarter to start what would be an 15-2 run by the Lady Bearcats that was capped with a pair of Angie Brown free throws.

It was tied at 10 when Garrett hit a 3 for the lead. It was her 50th of the year, establishing a new school record for 3 pointers in a season. She would hit two more and finish the night with 18 points.

A JJ Keatts basket with 4:11 to play in the first half gave the Lady Bearcats a 17-10 lead, but Cedarville went on a 13-2 run of its own – Anna Ferguson had a pair of free throws for the only Lady Bearcat points during the run – and led 23-19 at the half.

Buckets by Garrett and Franklin tied the game and free throws by Tempi Terry gave the Lady Bearcats a short lived lead, but an 8-0 run that included Garrett’s second 3 and another Terry free throw made it 33-25 midway through the third quarter.

Terry would score 14 points on the night.

The lead was still 37-30 to start the final quarter but Cedarville scored the next eight, taking the lead on a 3 with 4:50 to play.

Garrett ended the scoring drought giving the Lady Bearcats the lead back for good though Cedarville did twice get within a point, including at 43-42 with 2:29 left.

Garrett hit her third 3 to push it back to four on the next possession and a conventional three point play by Franklin made it 49-42 with 1:42 left.

That gave Franklin seven in the quarter and she would add six straight free throws to finish with 19 for the night, to go along with six steals.

Cedarville was no closer than five the rest of the game and forced to foul to stop the clock, the lead continued to grow as Terry, Garrett and Franklin all hit free throws to push the final to 59-47.

Boys

Two Cody Sum baskets and a conventional three point play by Nate Smith had the Bearcats up 7-0.

However, only a third basket by Sum interrupted 17 Cedarville points from the 5:22 mark to the end of the opening quarter.

Cedarville opened a 20-14 lead with 6:58 left in the first half but the Bearcats went on a 10-0 run that included a couple of baskets from Noah Harrel, on his way to a game high 15 points.

The Bearcat lead fluctuated between one and three the rest of the half until Smith fed Sum for a basket just before the second quarter buzzer to make it 29-24.

Harrel and Wesley Fonseca sandwiched baskets around a pair of Colter Fisher free throws to start the second half scoring and the Bearcats were up by a dozen at 36-24.

Fisher would hit 11 of 16 free throws in the second half and finish the night with 13 points.

Cedarville would cut the game best 12 point lead in half later in the third quarter only to have Dakota Mattson hit a 3 at the buzzer to make it 44-35 going to the final frame.

The Bearcats led 50-41 with 4:50 remaining but Cedarville got within five with 1:04 to play and had a chance to draw closer but two missed free throws preceded a couple made by Fisher and it was 52-45 with 37.5 to play.

A 3 cut it to 52-48 with 30 seconds to go but Fisher, Sum, and Smith hit five free throws over the final 27.5 seconds to close it out.

The two free throws for Sum gave him 14 on the night to go with eight rebounds and five blocked shots.

The Bearcats and Lady Bearcats are scheduled to face Hackett Tuesday night at Bearcat Gym with the girls game starting at 6 p.m.