Starters carry Buckhannon-Upshur past Bridgeport, 63-42

Alyssa Abel, Allie Key, Harley Dean, Brooklyn Smith and Aubrey Key combined for all of Buckhannon-Upshur’s points.

Abel scored a game-high 19 points while adding eight rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. Allie Key finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, four blocks, two steals and an assist.

Dean rounded out the trio of Buccaneer starters in double-digits with 13 points to go along with five rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Smith with nine points, seven steals, five assists and three rebounds and Aubrey Key with five points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal capped off a dominant showing for the Buccaneers starters.

“Everyone did exactly what I wanted them to do. We stayed patient and worked together. It was really good teamwork and showed how well they can play off each other,” Lentz said. “If we continue to do that, we’re going to be a hard team to beat.”

Both Danika Prescott and Haylee Pryor topped double figures for Bridgeport. Prescott drilled five 3-point jumpers to score all of her team-high 15 points beyond the arc while Haylee Pryor added 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals to pace the Tribe in the loss.

The Buccaneers ripped off nine straght points over the opening two minutes of play with Aubrey Key capping off the early Buckhannon-Upshur push with 3-point jumper from the top of the key.

Bridgeport got on the board at the 5:20 mark of the first on a Pryor mid-range jumper, 9-2. Yet Buckhannon-Upshur immediately answered with a 10-0 run highlighted by an Abel transition finish and 3 to stretch its lead well into double-digits, 19-2.

Up 22-6 entering the second, Buckhannon-Upshur’s lead quickly swelled to 19 following an Abel floater and a Allie Key outback, 25-9.

Finding a rhythm midway through the second, Bridgeport rattled off a nine-straight points with a stepback Pierce 3 drawing the Tribe back within 10, 25-15.

However, Buckhannon-Upshur tallied the final 10 points of the first half with consecutive Dean post finishes in the final minute giving Buckhannon-Upshur a 35-15 halftime advantage.

The Tribe refused to be put away quietly, opening the second half with nine-straight points highlighted by a run-sparking Prescott 3 to open the third to cut the Buccaneer lead to 13, 35-22.

Following a savvy timeout from coach Letnz allowed the Buccaneers to regain their footing, Buckhannon-Upshur fired back with a 10-0 run of its own, capped off by a Brooklyn Smith coast-to-coast transition finish to push its lead back to 23, 45-22.

“At the beginning of the second half, they made their run,” Lentz said. “In the past we’ve let leads like that slip away and I felt that we needed a timeout as just so I could calm them down. Thankfully they took that to heart and locked in tonight.”

A pair of Abel paint finishes in the final minute of the third stretch Buckhannon-Upshur’s lead to 52-26 entering the fourth — giving Buckhannon-Upshur the space it needed to coast to the win down the stretch.

Coming off the loss Bridgeport (5-9) will look to get back on track in a road date with East Fairmont on Friday, Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m.

After breaking back into the win column, Buckhannon-Upshur (5-6) will look to stay hot at home, hosting rival Lewis on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 7:30 p.m.