Bellevue's defense stifles Columbian

TIFFIN — Bellevue's full-court press wasn't a surprise for Columbian, but it surely was effective. With 6-foot-3 Kaitlyn Turinsky at the head of the press, Columbian had a tough time throwing overhead passes, which led to turnovers early and an 11-point Bellevue lead after one quarter Friday in Tiffin. As a result of the smothering press, TC was sped up all game. Even when the Tornadoes got the ball up court, it took quick, ineffective shots most of the game, which allowed Bellevue to get some runouts and easy looks down at the other end. Bellevue outscored the Tornadoes 32-11 in the second half to run away with a 58-26 SBC Lake victory. "That's how we play. That's what makes us go," said Lady Red coach Kory Santoro about his team's pressure defense. "We're gearing up to win a league title … we have to play to our strengths and to what Bellevue does, so we got goals and we got a good group of girls that play really good defense. "I thought we played great defense all night. We played great defense and then hit some timely shots. Yes, (Columbian) were a little aggressive tonight, but they're trying to win the game too and change the culture here, so I can't fault them. They played hard." TC actually led 5-2 early after a Marissa Allen 3-pointer, but Bellevue countered with consecutive triples from Brooke Brown and Hailey Rees, which spearheaded a 15-0 run for the Lady Red (17-1, 7-1 SBC Lake) After a defensive second quarter and a 26-15 lead at the half, Bellevue put the pedal down to begin the second half with a 12-2 run to start to pull away. Turinsky led Bellevue with 14 points, while Ellie Freitag added 12, Rees had 11 and Brown ended with eight. The Bellevue defense held Columbian (10-6, 4-3) to just six field goals and it forced 27 turnovers. Allen paced the Tornadoes with 10 points. "We knew coming in – it was a 12-point win at our place the first time – we knew they were 10-5 and they're improved and they play hard and get after it, so we had to match them," Santoro said. "We had to match that intensity and do what we do. I thought we did a good job of that tonight." BELLEVUE (17-1, 7-1) Ellie Freitag 4-2—12, Brooke Brown 2-2—8, Hailey Rees 3-4—11, Audrey Turner 0-3–3, Bailey Nichols 1-0–2, Ava Hirt 1-0—2, CJ Savage 1-0—3, Kaitlyn Turinsky 5-4–14. TOTALS 18-15–58 COLUMBIAN (10-6, 4-3) Mia Zeis 1-0—2, Marissa Allen 1-7—10, Abbie Felske 2-1—5, Lexi Beaston 1-4—7, Maddy Richie 1-0—2, Chloe Heyman 1-0—2. Totals: 6-12—26 Bellevue 19 7 16 16 — 58Columbian 8 7 5 6 — 26 Three-point goals: Bellevue 7 (Freitag 2, Brown 2, Rees, Hirt, Savage); Columbian 2 (Allen, Beaston)