Bellevue wants to control own destiny in race for 14th straight crown
When Bellevue lost its third league matchup by two points, it vowed to win the rest of its games in the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division.
Bellevue knew that might not be necessary to win a 14th consecutive conference crown this season. It doesn't want to leave anything to chance.
Hailey Rees twice charged to the bucket and scored while drawing a foul, finishing with a game-high 23 points Saturday as Bellevue beat visiting Norwalk 56-33 in the SBC Lake Division.
"This was a must-win game," Bellevue coach Kory Santoro said. "That's what we preached the last three games. We realized if we go two down we'd need someone's help. We didn't want that to happen."
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Bellevue (9-5, 4-1) and Norwalk (8-2, 4-1) are tied atop the league. Perkins and Sandusky each has two losses in the SBC Lake Division.
Bellevue beat Perrysburg, Shelby, Van Buren, Upper Sandusky and Willard out of conference. It lost to Clear Fork, Avon Lake, Liberty Benton and Margaretta.
Rees scored nine points Saturday in the third quarter, including a 3-pointer to beat the buzzer.
"It was make-or-break for the league title," she said. "We need momentum from this. The goal is to go undefeated."
Bellevue led 12-3 after a 3-pointer from Audrey Turner and allowed seven points or fewer in each of the first three quarters. Rees held Kenzie Smith to four points.
Kaitlyn Turinsky scored 21 points, and Turner added 10.
"We wanted to go 11-0," Turinsky said of the games after Perkins. "We have to focus on each game. Treat each game like a championship."
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This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Bellevue OHSAA girls basketball
