The Bellevue Lady Eagles had a chance to exact revenge as they played Slidell on Saturday in Bridgeport for the district title and the number one seed.
Both teams stormed through district, leaving no doubt who the top two teams were this season, only losing one game each to the other in closely fought games.
In the end, it was the Lady Greyhounds who came out on top in a low scoring, overtime thriller 31-27.
Right from the start, the two high scoring and physical teams realized this game was not going to set the scorebooks on fire. Slidell’s man-to-man defense left little room on the perimeter for the three-pointers the Lady Eagles like to shoot and the physical posts made scoring inside tough on both ends.
It was the Lady Greyhound’s who grabbed an early 10-3 lead and with Slidell already in the bonus, things did not looks good.
Bellevue was able to settle down and find some good looks in the second quarter. Zoe Berry made two three-pointers and the Lady Eagles tightened up on defense as they took a 13-10 lead late in the second quarter.
Slidell was able to recapture the lead with five quick points in the final minute as they led 15-13, but Bellevue knew they were in this game after a shaky start.
Both teams continued to struggle to score as fouls had to be earned at this point in the game despite the physical play on both sides.
Slidell wanted to score on postups inside or open three-point shots, but the Lady Eagles did a good job of making both options hard.
An early five point lead 19-14 in the third quarter from the Lady Greyhounds made it seem like Bellevue’s offense could not get much momentum. The Lady Eagles were able to make up a little ground as they trailed 21-19 heading into the fourth quarter.
Bellevue was able to take its biggest lead of the game midway through the fourth quarter as they led 25-21. Coach John McGee wanted his team to slow down and run some clock and force Slidell to foul them.
Unfortunately, the Lady Eagles could not hold onto the ball as they turned the ball over a couple times. Slidell was able to come back and tie the game up at 25-25 to send the game to overtime.
Both teams exchanged points early in the extra period, but the Lady Greyhounds were able score on their next possession to go up 29-27. They then held the ball with less than two minutes to go, forcing Bellevue to foul them.
Slidell missed a couple to keep the game within one score, but the Lady Eagles could not tie up the game.
The Lady Greyhounds finally went up two scores 31-27 with a made free throw with 27 second left. It was too much for Bellevue to come back from as they lost.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.