For a moment it seemed as if last season’s state title run had never ended for the Bradley Central Bearettes – even though a new basketball season began with the challenge of facing a locked-in scorer.
Stellar defense late and junior point guard Jamaryn Blair were both key to Tennessee’s reigning Class AAA champions opening with a 60-47 victory Thursday night at Baylor.
Blair jump-started a 12-0 run by picking off a pass for an easy score with 5:44 left to build a 50-45 lead. Last season’s AAA state tournament MVP added more momentum by swishing a fadeaway jumper on the right baseline, and she assisted University of Tennessee at Chattanooga signee Anna Walker on a full-court pass as the Bearettes put up six straight points in just 1:04.
“Our kids stuck to the game plan and showed there at the end what they are capable of doing,” Bradley Central coach Jason Reuter said. “I think the gas tank finally ran out for them late. But Baylor is going to win a lot of games this year, especially having a player like Raegyn Conley. A big difference tonight, too, was we only turned the ball over twice.”