Bullitt East basketball continues putting pieces together at Queen of the Commonwealth
Bullitt East’s girls basketball team is not playing like the traditional powerhouse Louisville knows it to be, but the Chargers are figuring it out.
That’s the sentiment coach Chris Stallings has had from the preseason until now. After Bullitt East (5-2) advanced to the next round of the Queen of the Commonwealth tournament with a 43-40 win over Bowling Green (6-1) on Wednesday night, Stallings is seeing glimmers of hope.
“They battled back. We’ve been in those situations before,” Stallings said. “We’ve put two good games (together) back-to-back, especially defensively. That’s good to see. We didn’t have that consistency earlier.”
There’s crafty buckets from sophomore Mollie Johnston (20 points, 14 in the second half) and stingy defense from sophomore Anna Tinelli (seven points). Senior wing Jada Hughes (13 points) ties it all together with her silky left-handed jumper.
Against Bowling Green, the Chargers started the second half on a 7-0 run to take a 22-21 lead.
That quick burst of scoring helped give Bullitt East a confidence boost. After being down through the first 24 minutes and leading once going into the fourth quarter, the Chargers outscored the Purples, 19-10, in the final period. Johnston, Hughes and Tinelli scored all 19 points in the fourth quarter.
“I just kept thinking, ‘Keep doing what I’m doing,” Johnston said, smiling. “Because it’s clearly working, but (I) also need to think about my teammates are still open when they double down, so I can kick it out and get them some points, too.”
When it mattered most, Tinelli knocked down two free throws to give the Chargers a seven- point lead late in the fourth quarter.
NaTaya Wardlow (eight points) and Chloe Potter (10 points) made it dramatic in the final seconds. Wardlow hit a 3-pointer, and Potter knocked down a second-chance layup to make it 43-40.
Hughes erased any worries after she caught the final inbound pass and raced down the court to avoid any Bowling Green foul.
“I think about it like, ‘You know what? Everybody’s going to make mistakes,’” Hughes said about her role as one of three senior leaders. “So, you gotta learn from that. You make a mistake, you get back on defense and make up for them.”
The Chargers are set to play Cooper on Thursday.
Reach sports reporter Brooks Warren at bwarren@gannett.com and follow him on X at @Broookksss.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Queen of Commonwealth 2023: Bullitt East basketball tops Bowling Green
