Editor's note: The Walker Valley and Cleveland boys' teams were scheduled to be on the road at Knox Catholic and Chattanooga Prep respectively Tuesday, but no information for either was available at presstime.
OOLTEWAH — Bradley Central continued its roll through the new District 6-4A lineup Tuesday with a pair of blowout victories at Ooltewah.
Winners of six straight games, the Bears continued their resurgence with a 67-15 rout in a win, while the top-ranked Bearettes domination of district opponents continued in an 85-22 blasting of the Lady Owls.
They will continue with District 6-4A competition on Thursday as they host the East Hamilton squads in games re-scheduled from last Friday.
In a rematch of defending state champions, the Bearettes (18-1) will travel to Knox Catholic (16-3) Saturday evening. The Bradley girls handed the top-ranked (DII AA) Lady Irish one of their three losses by a 64-42 margin in early December. The other two defeats have come to Grace Christian (N.C.) and 2023 4A state runner-up Bartlett.
BEARS 67, OWLS 15
Bradley (13-7, 3-0 District 6-4A) came out firing on all cylinders, roaring out to a 23-2 first period lead over the Owls (1-11, 0-3), who were dominated by the Bear size and speed and scored their points in the final seconds of the quarter.
There was no letup in the second frame for Bradley, who started hot and stayed hot pushing their advantage to 43-5 at the halftime break.
With every Bear who dressed for the game seeing significant playing time with the running clock "mercy rule" in effect throughout the entire second half, it was just a matter of determining the final score.
The balanced Bradley offense saw only two players reach double figures as juniors Ramerion Taylor and Tyrese Stovall tallied 14 and 13, respectively.
Seniors Dee Reid and Jackson Ary both netted nine, while classmate Jarrius Rogers dropped in eight.
BEARETTES 85
LADY OWLS 22
It has been 10 seasons since the Bradley girls have lost to a district opponent, with Tuesday’s victory over the Lady Owls (9-9, 0-3) increasing their current league winning streak to 131 consecutive wins during that time.
The Bearettes would place four players in double-figures with hot-hitting junior Harmonie Ware scorching the nets for 24 points to lead the team, while sinking four shots from long distance.
Bradley also found the range for four additional bombs with junior Aliyah Osborn connecting on three among her 13 points.
Joining the pair in scoring double figures where sophomore Kimora Fields with 16 and junior Love Howard with 10 of her own.
After a 37-2 lead at the end of the opening quarter, the Bearettes poured in another 27 points during the second period for a 54-8 lead at halftime.
They continued to pad the lead with everyone getting in on the action as the lead climbed to 76-13 heading to the final period.
A final frame "running clock" slowed down the Bearettes scoring as both teams netted nine points for the 85-22 final.
