Bloom-Carroll finishes strong, stifles Berne Union rally
CARROLL — There is no better feeling for a coach than to see his team respond during crunch time, execute, and do the things they need to do to win a game.
After jumping out to a 12-1 lead to start the game against visiting Berne Union, Bloom-Carroll knew the Rockets would not go away quietly, and they certainly didn’t do that.
Berne Union showed a lot of fight and lot of grit and came all the way back to tie the game at 35-35 early in the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs never blinked. Instead, they finished strong, executed at both ends of the floor and outscored the Rockets 15-5 in the final four minutes of the game.
Bloom-Carroll did everything right down the stretch, including forcing two big turnovers which resulted in points and went 6-for-6 at the free throw line in the final 40 seconds to pull away for a 50-40 non-conference win Thursday night at Tom Petty Gymnasium.
“We wanted to come out and get off to a good start and we did that, which gave us some confidence,” Bloom-Carroll senior Reese Pittman said. “We did all the things it takes to win. We locked up on defense late in the game and we made out free throws. It’s nice to see our team come together, and it has everything to do with the chemistry on our team. We all pull for each other and it has made a huge difference, and it really shows up in close games like these.”
Bloom-Carroll coach A.J. Ireland was pleased with the way is team started and finished the game.
“We felt like we needed to come out with a lot of energy, a lot of effort and play with a lot of enthusiasm and we did that,” Ireland said. “Even though we got off to such a good start, we knew they were a good team and regardless of what happened early, we knew it would be a dog fight. They are well-coached, and they have good players. I’m just so proud of how hard our girls played.”
The Bulldogs, who improved to 12-3, have now won eight of their last nine games, and they are getting contributions from a lot of different players and Tuesday was not different.
They had a balanced attack with four players scoring in double figures, led by sophomore Emily Bratton, who finished with 15 points and five assists. Pittman finished with 13 points, while Marissa Wilkinson hit three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points and Emma Seagraves had 11 points, six rebounds and went 5-for-7 at the free throw line.
“We want everyone to be a threat on the floor, but more than anything, it shows how much they love playing together and they feed off their teammates’ success,” Ireland said. This group shows up to practice wanting to get better every day. They understand there are going to be ups and downs, but as long as we stay together, we will be fine and continue to have success.”
It has been a rough week for the Rockets (9-2), who are ranked No. 5 in the state in the Division IV Associated Press poll. They suffered their first loss of the season on Wednesday against Zanesville Rosecrans, and that came on the heels of not playing or practicing for more than a week because of COVID protocols.
Even though Berne Union fell short against the Bulldogs, Rocket head coach Matt Little was pleased with the way his team responded, and more importantly, how they competed.
“We were looking to see how we would respond after a tough loss because it was very disappointing, and when we were down 12-1, I was concerned and wondering if we're going to respond the right way,” Little said. “It was nice to see us fight back and not give in. We could have rolled over and used excuses, but credit to our kids, they gave great effort.
“We are disappointed that we lost, but it’s hard to be disappointed with the effort we gave. We had a few breakdowns at the end of the game, and we got a little impatient and we rushed some things late when we really didn’t have to.”
The Rockets did a nice job fighting back and was able to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 16-10 at the end of the first quarter and trailed 27-23 at halftime. Bloom-Carroll took a 35-30 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Rockets were able to tie it up at 35-35 on a 3-pointer from Hannah Brown and a short jumper from Sophia Kline.
From there, it was all Bloom-Carroll. Pittman drained a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 39-37 lead with 3:28 left which sparked a 10-0 run.
Kline led the Rockets with 13 points, 14 rebounds and two assists and Lauren Groves, who connected on three 3-pointers in the first half, finished with 12 points. Brown added six points and two assists and Abbi Evans chipped in five points.
Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on Twitter @twil2323.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Bloom-Carroll finishes strong, stifles Berne Union rally
