It may have felt like three pointers were raining from the sky in the first half for the University Heights Academy Lady Blazers Monday night. The Hopkins Central Lady Storm knocked down eight treys in the opening half as they “thundered” past the Lady Blazers 72-25 in the season opener for both teams at Blazer Gym.
The Lady Storm jumped out to a 12-0 lead at the start of the contest, holding UHA scoreless for the first 2:20 of the game. Hopkins Central’s offense was in full gear early, finishing the opening stanza with five made three pointers and a 34-12 lead. Junior guard Briana Fritz got off to a blazing hot start, finishing the first quarter with 13 points, including 9 points from behind the arc. Brittyn Northington had a solid start for UHA with six first quarter points.
Central continued the aerial attack in the 2nd quarter, knocking down three more three pointers, and using a 19-0 run to take the lead from 34-13 to 53-13. Amaryia Bass would score the final two points of the half to cut the lead to 53-17 going into the break.
Briana Fritz finished the opening half with 19 points for the Lady Storm, while Madison Grigg added ten more. Brittyn Northington and Amaryia Bass combined to score 10 first half points for UHA.
Turnovers were an issue for the Lady Blazers in the opening sixteen minutes. Unofficially, UHA turned the ball over 21 times in the opening half. The Lady Blazers did give a strong effort on the boards in the first half, outrebounding the Lady Storm by five.
With the margin at 36 points at the break, the 2nd half was played with a running clock, which significantly sped up the final two quarters. Hopkins Central would extend their lead to 63-23 in the third quarter, and then roll on out to the final margin of 47 points.
Hopkins Central was led by Briana Fritz with 21 points. Madison Grigg finished the night with 15 points. Mercy Sutton also reached double figures with 10.
For the UHA Lady Blazers, Amaryia Bass led the way with 9 points. Brittyn Northington added 8, while Breanna Daniel chipped in with four.
UHA falls to 0-1 to open the season, and will return to action Tuesday night at home in an 8th District matchup against Christian County.
Hopkins Central opens 1-0 and will be back on the court Tuesday night at home, when they host the Webster County Lady Trojans.
UHA (0-1) 12 5 6 2 — 25
Hop Cent (1-0) 34 19 10 9 — 72
UHA: Bass 9, Northington 8, Daniel 4, Davis 2, Smith 2,
Hop Cent: Fritz 21, Grigg 15, Sutton 10, Jones 8, Peyton 6, Hollis 4, Keri Reynolds 4, Keli
Reynolds 2, Caldwell 2
