Hunt girls stay undefeated, Beddingfield boys win in crosstown basketball matchup

Hunt’s girls basketball team remained undefeated Friday night while Beddingfield’s boys team completed a season sweep over its crosstown rival.

Tatiana Smith’s 19 points paved the way for the Warriors (9-0), who never trailed in the second regular season matchup against the Bruins. Hunt won the Dec. 2 meeting 67-28.

In the boys’ game, the Bruins didn’t close out the home team until the fourth quarter in a game that saw more than seven lead changes.

GIRLS

Hunt jumped out to a 12-0 lead before Beddingfield got on the board with less than four minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Threes from Jayla Bullock and consistent production from Earth Pender allowed the Bruins to bring the score as close as 23-18 at halftime, but Beddingfield’s shooters went cold in the second half.

Tatiana Smith poured in 14 second half points to keep the Bruins (2-4) at bay while Kayla Kent added another 10. Beddingfield’s Pender finished with 12 points while Makayla Everett added 8.

BOYS

Noah Ivery scored 17 points in the second half to help push Beddingfield past Hunt 79-61 in a game the Bruins didn’t put out of reach until the final minutes.

Beddingfield (5-2) exploited the Warriors in the paint to build a 17-11 lead after one quarter, but a big second quarter from Hunt gave the home team the lead heading into the locker room.

Bruins coach Joseph Dvozenja said he was disappointed in the team’s transition defense in the second quarter, suggesting the team wasn’t getting back in time to prevent easy buckets.

“They’re all getting better, slowly but surely,” Dvozenja said. “We’re trying to create good defenders.”

Beddingfield got some momentum in the third quarter off of above-the-rim play of Ivery, who finished with 25 points, none as big as a dunk that put his team up 44-43. Minutes later the Bruins took the lead for good and went into the final quarter up 51-47.

Hunt had its chances in the fourth quarter, but Ivery’s inside presence prevented the Warriors (2-7) from cutting into the lead, which ballooned to 18 on the strength of Beddingfield’s reserves and free throw shooting down the stretch

This story was originally published December 17, 2016 at 9:56 AM with the headline "Hunt girls stay undefeated, Beddingfield boys win in crosstown basketball matchup."