Eagles use big 1st-half run to bury Irish

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The Big Walnut girls basketball team used a 20-3 run in the first half to take control on its way to a convincing 54-39 victory over Dublin Scioto in non-league action Tuesday night in Sunbury.

Erin Boehm finished with 16 points, Katie Cochran added 14 and Avery Schone added eight to extend the Golden Eagles’ winning streak to five.

“They’re a good (Division I) school – so it’s a good win so we can (get seeded higher) in the tournament,” Boehm said. “We have trust in each other and we believe in each other … that we can get the job done every night.”

“(Boehm and Cochran) are a good one-two punch because Katie can play inside and out and Erin can get to the hole and create for herself and others,” BW coach Jason Crawford said. “With Avery Schone coming up as a sophomore and being a good third scorer for us – that’s been a big help.”

Lauren Erickson knocked down a pair of three-pointers to help the Irish build a 10-6 lead midway through the first quarter.

After a Cochran free throw, Boehm scored off her own steal to cut the deficit to one.

Then, an Alexis Schone put-back gave Big Walnut a brief one-point lead before Scioto’s Sabrina Veliev found Madison Healsey for a basket underneath.

Boehm followed with a three-pointer to give the Eagles (12-5) a 14-12 lead late in the frame.

They never trailed again.

“(Scioto plays) a very aggressive style of basketball – they try to speed you up and get turnovers so they can score in transition,” Crawford said. “It’s hard in practice to simulate that style. We started out slow, but the next two and a half quarters we played pretty well.”

Defense took over for BW in the second quarter, holding the Irish to just one free throw as a four-point lead turned into a 26-13 lead midway through the second. The Eagles led 31-16 at the break.

Boehm knocked down her second three in the final seconds of the third quarter as the Eagles ballooned the lead to 46-28.

“Erin has been really coming on lately,” Crawford said. “She’s starting to come into her own as we get halfway through the season. She’s really starting to get some confidence.”

BW pushed the lead as high as 23 a couple of times in the fourth quarter. But, the Irish finished 8-0 to account for the final margin, highlighted by a couple of steal-and-scores by Karleigh Rothe.

Erickson finished with 12 points to lead the Irish (10-8) and Madison Heasley added seven.

“Scioto is a quality team and it’s good to see a measuring stick for us outside the league,” Crawford said. “It’s a good assessment for where we stand. It helps us build confidence.”

Next up, Big Walnut visits Newark in OCC-Capital action Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.

“With Newark coming up Thursday, we really have to value the basketball a lot more than we did tonight,” Crawford said.

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By Michael Rich

For the Gazette

Follow Michael Rich on Twitter @mrichnotwealthy or contact him at [email protected].

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