STEUBENVILLE – Bellaire raced out to a 16-point advantage at the end of the first quarter against Big Red, and the Big Reds didn’t look back en route to a 61-46 victory Wednesday night inside the Crimson Center.

The visitors from Belmont County took a 24-8 lead into the second.

“I’m going to give credit to Bellaire,” Big Red (1-2) head coach Angie Forte said. “They came out and executed. They did what they were supposed to do, and we did not. We came out flat. We did not control the boards. They came out and were more aggressive.”

A quick start was what the Big Reds needed after losing a heartbreaker Monday night down at Union Local.

“We came out and our press was humming,” Bellaire (2-1) head coach John Farrier said. “It gave them some problems. We were able to get some easy baskets. We were able to get up and down the floor.

“We were coming off a brutal loss on Monday. I was not sure how the girls were going to respond, but they came out and took control of the game. They are a resilient group. They did not hang their heads. They came out strong. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Trailing by 16, the girls from Jefferson County battled back in the second and a late flurry enabled the girls in black to close to within 35-28 at halftime.

“They settle in against our press,” Farrier said. “They took care of the basketball. They settled in. They made some 3s. They made five 3s in the first half. We were hoping they would not shoot as well in the second half.

“They hit some 3s. That kept them in the game. That got them back into the game. They shot well in the first half.”

The home team made eight 3-pointers on the night.

“Our shots started to fall,” Forte said. “We did a little better job defensively. We were able to hit a couple big 3s, and we were able to get some deflections. That helped us get back into the game.”

Big Red had the momentum at the break, but Bellaire was able to retake control of the game in the third as the visitors outscored the hosts, 16-8, to build a 51-36 advantage heading into the fourth.

Both teams scored 10 points in the fourth.

“They got it to seven the other night, and we let it go,” Farrier said. “We did not let that happen tonight.

“In order to win, you need three girls to score in double digits, and we got that tonight. When you have three girls score in double digits, you getting scoring from everywhere.”

Zara Harveth contributed a game-high 23 points to lead the way offensively for the victors, while Eliana Mason tallied 17 and Tamya Morgan collected 10.

Nyla McShan netted a team-high 18 points for Big Red, while Bailee Beall tallied 13.

“They wanted it more than we did,” Forte said. “We did not defend vert well.

“They did a good job of executing. They were more disciplined than we were. That falls on me. I have to make sure we are better prepared to play.”

Bellaire is scheduled to play rival St. Clairsville tonight at home.

Big Red is slated to play Marietta Monday night at home.

Bellaire 61, Big Red 46

Bellaire 24 11 16 10 – 61

Big Red 8 20 8 10 – 46

BELLAIRE (2-1): Edgar 1 3-5 5, Harveth 6 11-11 23, Mason 7 3-6 17, Morgan 5 0-0 10, O’Grady 3 0-0 6, Hines 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 22 17-22 61.

BIG RED (1-2): Casinelli 0 0-0 0, Saccoccia 2 0-0 6, G. Scurry 0 0-2 0, Fleming 3 0-0 6, Vein 1 0-0 3, A. Scurry 0 0-0, 0, McShan 6 5-5 18, Beall 4 1-3 13, Bickerstaff 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 16 6-10 46.

3-POINTERS: Bellaire (none); Big Red 8 (Beall 4, Saccoccia 2, Vein, McShan)