Game 28 – Bearden 69, Oak Ridge 54

(Game 28) Bearden 69, Oak Ridge 54

A big third period scoring run by Bearden, outdistancing their opponent 14-0 over a three minute span, sparked the Bulldogs to a 69-54 win over Oak Ridge.

The two Knoxville area powers battled tooth-and-nail until that point. A 29-23 halftime lead by Bearden was quickly chopped down to 29-28 as the Wildcats got the first two buckets of the second half, but then went on their roll to take control of the game.

Oak Ridge cut the gap to 10 points early in the fourth, but then Natalya Hodge took over, scoring 16 points in the fourth period for Bearden as they pulled away again. Hodge finished the night with 35 points. Emma Rainey scored 16 in support.

Ayana Porter had a good night for Oak Ridge, scoring 29 points including seven 3-pointers. Ze’Yana Stewart added 16.

Bearden will play Tuesday in the battle for fifth place in the Classic.

OAK RIDGE (54): Mitchell 0-2 0-0 0, Ze’Yana Stewart 5-12 5-7 16, Ayana Porter 11-22 0-0 29, Cleveland 0-4 0-2 0, Eubanks 0-2 0-0 0, Lawing 0-1 1-2 1, Pippins 0-2 1-2 1. TOTALS: 18-55 10-19 54.

BEARDEN (69): Natalya Hodge 15-26 3-3 35, Hunt 1-2 0-0 2, Murphy 3-14 2-2 9, McVeigh 0-1 0-0 0, Emma Rainey 7-14 0-0 16, Mills 0-1 1-2 1, Foster 3-3 0-0 6. TOTALS: 29-61 6-7 69.

3-Point Goals: OR—8 (Porter 7, Stewart). KB—5 (Hodge 2, Rainey 2, Murphy).