NEW WASHINGTON – Brian Carr offered a rueful smile during a post-game interview after his Madison Lady Rams were routed by Bellevue on Saturday night in a District II title game, 84-43.
“I don’t think we got off the bus mentally ready to play tonight,” he said. “As the coach, I take the blame. We didn’t do a good job mentally prepping the girls for this game.”
The simple fact is it’s unlikely there was anything Carr, his assistants or his players could have done to stop, or even slow down, Bellevue (21-4) in the game at Buckeye Central High School.
After both teams played a sluggish first quarter, which featured a combined 15 turnovers and 12 missed shots, the Lady Red dominated the Lady Rams (13-12).
The second quarter alone was the stuff of offseason nightmares. Madison went 0-12 from the field while Bellevue connected on seven of 23 shots and pulled down a staggering 21 rebounds. Eight of those were offensive boards, which led to numerous second and third chances, even as Bellevue canned three triples.
Bellevue outscored Madison 22-5 in the second quarter to take a 34-12 lead into halftime.
“We had a lot of empty possessions early. We were missing shots we typically make. But getting 2 or 3 shots (after rebounds) was huge,” said Bellevue coach Ryan Orshoski. “The three-pointer has been a strength of this team all season and it was again tonight (the Lady Red finished with 11 treys). And they were giving us opportunities.”
Madison set its defense to try to contain Bellevue leading scorer Carly Santoro. But her teammates made the Lady Rams play a fearsome price. The Lady Red connected on six three-pointers in the first half, including two each by junior Shelby Stamm and senior Janelle Watson.
“Maybe we could have gotten out of the junk defense earlier,” Carr said. “But we knew Santoro would be a tough matchup for us.”
That was evident in the second half when the Lady Rams went to a man-to-man defense. All Santoro did was knock in 16 points in 12 minutes of playing time, finishing the game with 27.
But she was far from a one-player wrecking crew. Stamm finished with 14, Watson 12, freshman Jenna Strayer had 10 and senior Makala Daniel had eight.
“I am not sure what the problem was,” Carr said of his team’s slow start. The Rams scored on once of their first 11 possessions, missing four shots and committing seven turnovers. “The girls were loose during the shoot-around this morning. But when you are committing turnover after turnover after turnover … you know it’s gonna be a long night.”
Even with a 22-point halftime lead, Bellevue never slowed down. The Lady Red scored 50 points in the second half to just 31 for the Lady Rams.
“We know Madison is going to keep coming at you,” Orshoski said. “Their press can turn you over quickly. We wanted to keep a 0-0 score mentality and keep our foot on the gas.”
Senior point guard Molea Thompson led Madison with 12 points, including Madison’s first eight points of the third quarter, before fouling out late in the period. Senior Fantasia Hood added 10. Junior Kendall Betoch scored five points while juniors Alexis Smith and Mekaila each had four.
Though disappointed with the loss, Carr tried to keep the season accomplishments in perspective.
“These girls have gotten better in the last couple of seasons,” he said. “They have done the work to get better. They went from a 3-18 program last year to a 13-12 team playing for a district title. I am ok with where we are. These kids worked hard and can walk out of here tonight with their heads up.”
Madison connected on just 24 percent of its field goal attempts (12 of 51) and 54 percent at the foul line (15 of 28). Bellevue shot 43 percent from the field (28 of 65) and 77 percent from the line. The Lady Red had a commanding edge on the boards, 51-33, and committed four less turnovers, 12 to 16.
Bellevue advances to the Division II regional semifinals at Ontario High School. The Lady Red will take on Tallmadge on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
“They went from a 3-18 program last year to a 13-12 team playing for a district title. I am ok with where we are. These kids worked hard and can walk out of here tonight with their heads up,” said Coach Carr.
