CHATTANOOGA — The Bradley Central basketball teams continued their early season success on the road against first-time foe Chattanooga Christian Tuesday as the Bearettes hit triple figures while the Bears pulled out a tight victory.
Reaching the century mark for the first time in over four years, the unbeaten Bradley girls, which are ranked 25th in the Maxpreps national poll, posted 100-64 rout of the Lady Chargers before the "Black-and-Gold" boys brought back a hard earned 72-68 win in the boys’ game.
The squads will finally hit the home hardwood again on Friday when they host crosstown rival Cleveland High with a four-game set beginning at 3:30 with the girls JV tipoff.
It will also be a very special night for the expected capacity crowd with the introduction between games of the members of the inaugural class of the Bradley Central Hall of Fame.
BEARETTES 100
LADY CHARGERS 64
Junior Harmonie Ware matched the opening bucket of Momo Moore for the Lady Chargers before junior Tatianna Stovall gave the Bearettes (7-0) the lead at 4-3 with two free throw tosses, a lead they would never relinquish.
Ware quickly added a 3-point basket and a traditional two-point bucket as the Bearettes jumped up 9-3 and were off and running with a first quarter lead of 24-11.
However, the Lady Chargers (3-2) weren’t ready to quit in the first half as they outscored the Bearettes by 24-20 in the second quarter to close the gap that had widened to 17 points at its peak to just 44-35 at the half.
After the Lady Chargers opened the second half with a quick bucket, the Bearettes found another gear and used their defense to score easy runout baskets for a 23-6 edge in the third to take a commanding 67-41 lead headed to the final frame.
The fourth quarter proved even more productive for the "Black-and-Gold" as they found the range for 33 points to hit the century mark when Stovall put up the final shot with a minute on the clock.
It is just the second time in head coach Jason Reuter's 14 seasons the Bearettes managed triple-figures in over 430 games. The other came against Marion County in a 100-14 blowout on Jan. 18, 2020.
“We weren’t pressing after we got the big lead but the thing, I’m proudest of are the 28 assists we had on 41 scores,” Coach Reuter mentioned after the game. “We just didn’t seem to be ready to play from the git-go and I told the girls at the half that this is the super bowl for a lot of teams when they play us.
"Give Chattanooga Christian credit they fought hard, but I think you could see that our conditioning and size finally got to them. I knew their oil light would come on at some point and it did.”
Sophomore Kimora Fields, MVP of the 2023 state championship run, once again led the way with 35 points and 17 rebounds, to go with three blocks and two assists.
Stovall had a very solid night with 23 points and 14 rebounds, with two assists and two steals.
Just returning to the Bearette lineup from injury last week, Ware joined the duo in double-figures with 19 points of her own and was just shy of a double-double with eight boards.
Junior Abby White drained a trio of treys for nine points and dished a pair of assists. Sophomore Addie Geren tallied five points, three rebounds and dealt out a half dozen "dimes," while senior Grace Phillips also added five markers.
“We are still off on our 3-point shots, but they’ll come around," Reuter noted as the Bearettes made just 6-of-30 attempts from long-range. “If we had just made six more of them in the first half then this game would have been over at halftime for all practical purposes.”
The Bearettes continued their domination on the boards with 56 ricochets which helped them score 64 points in the paint.
BEARS 72
CHARGERS 68
The Bradley boys have enjoyed the taste of winning basketball after opening the season with back-to-back losses before reeling off victories in their last five games, with all of those coming on the road.
The Bears (5-2) and Chargers (3-4) played even throughout most of the game with the biggest lead at nine points for the Bears in the first quarter when they scored seven unanswered points and closed out the quarter with a 20-11 lead.
“They (CCS) are a really tough matchup,” Coach Zach Carpenter recapped after the game. “They have some really good guards, who are a nightmare to match up with. They shoot the ball well, they are quick, and they are good ball handlers.
"We still have an area that we struggle with and that’s turnovers. I think we had 30 for the game.”
Chattanooga Christian continued to hang tough in the second quarter by outscoring the Bears 18-13 and closing the gap to 33-29 at the half.
Things got even tougher in the third quarter as the Bears found themselves tied at 51-51 heading into the final period.
Free throws would prove to be a huge factor down the stretch in the four-point final.
Senior Alex Walker proved to be "money in the bank," sinking 8-of-8 for the game, including four late in the game, with classmate Kaleb Martin connecting on 3-for-4, as they staved off the Chargers. As a team the Bears made 17-of-26 at the charity stripe.
Walker led a victors with 23 points, eight rebounds, a trio of steals, two assists and he blocked a shot. Senior Dee Reid helped out with 13 points, four boards, a help and a theft.
Martin posted a near double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds, plus he handed out five assists.
Junior Tyrese Stovall, a 6-foot-7 transfer, netted nine points, on 4-of-5 shooting, cleared five caroms, swiped three steals and dealt a pair of "dimes."
Coming over from football, senior Jarrius Rogers hit both of his field goals, plus went 3-for-4 at the stripe for seven markers, while Jackson Ary, another 6-foot-7 post, made his return to the line up after a preseason injury, hitting both of his shots, plus a free throw for five markers, as well as snatching a pair of ricochets
The Bears also won the battle of the boards with a 25-14 edge in the second half and a 42-24 margin for the game. The rebounding battle led to the Bears scoring 50 of their 72 points in the paint.
