Bellevue
The Bellevue Lady Eagles’ season came to an end on Tuesday night with their bi-district playoff loss to Newcastle.
The Lady Cats won 39-24 as the lack of depth really hurt the Lady Eagles trying to play catch up for most of the game.
Bellevue came in as a third seed playing Newcastle a second seed. One of the challenges this Lady Eagles team has had all season is playing with only six girls on their roster, in some games only five.
That limited the team from employing its full court press for most of the season to try and preserve energy as well as limit fouls. Some games the team finished playing one player down since they did not have a substitute.
Still, Bellevue did well enough to finish third in district play.
Newcastle did not have those limitations. The Lady Cats also had the height advantage inside with a looming shot blocker that swatted shots away all night.
Newcastle was up in the first quarter as its full-court press tried to wear down Bellevue’s best player Austin Ford and force other girls to score. Callie Martin and Cirstin Allen made a few shots to keep Newcastle’s defense honest.
Bellevue trailed 11-7 after the first quarter.
Fatigue started to become noticeable in the second quarter. The Lady Eagles struggled to score outside of Ford’s five points and they fell further behind 24-12 heading into halftime.
Despite depth issues, Bellevue decided to come out in the third quarter in a full-court press. The Lady Eagles had done a decent job of getting their hands on balls all game long, but could rarely convert these into transition baskets.
Not only did the press now create transition opportunities, but it threw Newcastle off its game.
Bellevue clawed back into the game and trailed only 30-24 heading into the fourth quarter.
Unfortunately, that effort seemed to tire the team. The Lady Cats scored quickly off of back-to-back offensive rebounds to push the lead back up to double-digits and Bellevue did not have an answer.
The play got sloppier as the shots were forced as Newcastle knew exactly how to try and defend the Lady Eagles three scorers.
Bellevue had no answer as the Lady Cats pitched a shut out in the fourth quarter on their way to win 39-24.
Ford led the Lady Eagles with 11 points in her final game. Martin was second with seven points.

Prairie Valley
The Prairie Valley Lady Bulldogs return to the playoffs for the first time in nine years was short-lived with their loss to Throckmorton on Tuesday.
The Lady Greyhounds won 36-19, but the Lady Bulldogs competed well in the first half that made Throckmorton sweat.
Prairie Valley was coming off of two down to the wire wins against Gold-Burg the previous week just to get into the playoffs, breaking a nine year drought dating back to 2013.
Throckmorton was the obvious favorite, having gone through its district undefeated.
Still, the Lady Bulldogs had nothing to lose coming off of two great wins.
Prairie Valley actually controlled things in the first quarter and led 11-5.
The Lady Greyhounds were able to swing things in their favor in the second quarter, but the Lady Bulldogs still only trailed 15-14 heading into halftime.
“We went out there to enjoy the moment and have fun and by doing that we were really getting the job done,” Coach Jeannie Carpenter said.
Unfortunately, Throckmorton’s defense came out more aggressive in the second half and the points dried up for Prairie Valley. The Lady Bulldogs could not keep up with the Lady Greyhounds as they would win the game 36-19.
Makaylee Gomes led Prairie Valley with 11 points. Seniors Emily Carpenter and Jaylie O’Neal both scored three points in their final game.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.