Breslin Bound: Bellaire bullies Bulldogs in semifinal

Apr. 7—GRAND RAPIDS — Defense, defense, defense.

Bellaire head coach Brad Fischer knows he sounds like a broken record, but whatever works, right?

The Eagles girls basketball team heads to the Breslin Center for the Division 4 state title game for the first time in school history after shutting down Petersburg Summerfield 48-29 in Wednesday's semifinal.

Bellaire went away from its signature press at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids to focus on lockdown girl-to-girl defense and hold the Bulldogs, who were averaging 51 points per game in the playoffs, to their third-lowest point total this season.

"We keep telling these girls defense, defense, defense," Fischer said. "It's cliche, but it always comes up for a reason. Our girl-on-girl defense was impressive tonight and I am just beyond happy for them that they can make history in our school."

The trip to East Lansing caps with Friday morning's final against Fowler (15-5), which beat Carney-Nadeau 61-37 in the early game Wednesday. The school's first trip to the Final Four results in its first finals trip, a goal the Eagles worked on for decades.

"It's a crazy feeling ... it's really unbelievable," Bellaire junior Madi Evans said. "I would never expect us to be here, but here we are and we just keep putting in the work and it shows so much."

Van Andel Arena bristled with Eagles fans who made the trip and Fischer said the community raised money to pay for the team's charter bus within two hours Monday.

The Bulldogs also made their Final Four debut, and the nerves for both squads were obvious early as the game sat at a 4-4 stalemate for over four minutes in the first quarter. The first stanza ended in a 10-all tie and the teams traded the lead six times in the second quarter.

Katie Decker stepped in to push Bellaire's offense in the first half after Jacey Somers hit the benched with two quick fouls. Decker netted eight of her 10 points in the first half before Evans gave her team the boost it needed.

Evans hit two jump shots in the final minute of the second quarter, the second coming off an offensive board with only five seconds to play to gave Bellaire a 22-19 lead at the break. Decker and Emersyn Koepke would each hit a shot to open the second half and open the lead to seven points, giving the Eagles enough room to focus on defense.

"I think that got us going good again and gave us a good head start," Evans said of the run. "They definitely kept us on our toes and we kept falling behind."

The Eagles held the Bulldogs without a field goal for nearly eight minutes after Somers hit and and-one layup to put Bellaire up seven in the third.

Fischer said he put his team in girl-to-girl defense to try and take away the 3-pointer. The Bulldogs only managed to shoot 4-of-14 from deep (24.2%).

"Their defense was aggressive and they put a lot of pressure on us for sure," Bulldogs senior Grace Kalb said. "We've had some teams like that, but it was constant pressure ... they were more physical."

The Eagles bullied the Bulldogs inside and on the boards. Bellaire outscored Summerfield 30-2 in the paint and out-rebounded them 37-22 — including 12 offensive boards.

"We always want to attack the boards and say that a missed shot is part of our offense," Fischer said. "A missed shot is an opportunity for a put back and a board and we just try to keep the mindset of attacking the boards."

Summerfield head coach Mickey Moody said the Eagles started to body his team in the second half and the Bulldogs lacked response. Second-chance points were 15-2 in Bellaire's favor and the Eagles turned 15 turnovers into 18 points.

Decker led the Eagles with a double-double, tallying 11 rebounds and 10 points. Somers scored all 10 of her points in the second half and added five rebounds, Koepke and Evans each netted eight points and Noel Mann had six. Mann and Evans each snagged six rebounds as well.

The Bulldogs were led by Destanee Smith with nine points and six rebounds, while seniors Kalb and Breanna Weston each scored six.

Bellaire plays Fowler at 10 a.m. Friday at the Breslin Center on Michigan State University's campus in East Lansing.

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