Bellringers Shake Off Sluggish First Half

Three-time All-Shoreline performer Kelsey Booth had been held to two points, and East Hampton trailed by one at halftime against an inferior Valley Regional team on Monday.

Then the Bellringers flipped a switch and coasted to their seventh straight win.

Booth finished with 14 points and East Hampton held the Warriors to four points in the third quarter en route to a 50-33 victory in a Shoreline Conference contest in Deep River.

Sarah Denihan added 10 points for the Bellringers (9-2), who turned a one-point deficit into an 11-point lead. The difference was a renewed effort on the defensive end.

“We just talked in the locker room about how the defensive intensity had to increase,” East Hampton coach Shaun Russell said.  “We didn’t do too much [different] schematically.”

They didn’t have to.  The Bellringers were able to bully the Warriors (1-10), who don’t have a single senior in their starting five.

“They are a senior-laden team who imposed themselves upon us,” Valley Regional coach Jim Warren said. “That’s something we are working on. When we give up that steal, or give up an easy hoop we tend to shrink back instead of charge ahead.”

After a sluggish first half, it was the Bellringers who charged out of the locker room with a sense of urgency. They forced turnovers on each of the Warriors' first three possessions and held Valley Regional without a field goal for nearly six minutes.

“We got them out of their rhythm," Russell said. "[We] forced some turnovers and created some easy baskets, which I thought helped us relax offensively."

That was evident early on.  Booth hit two free throws that gave East Hampton a 20-19 lead, then stole the inbound pass and scored to make it 24-19. The Bellringers never trailed again.

Booth, who was limited due to a minor knee injury sustained in the first half, scored 10 points during a 16-2 run that gave East Hampton a 34-21 lead with 1:49 left in the quarter. Vanessa Freeman’s free throws capped the decisive spurt.

The Bellringers were deadly accurate at the free-throw line (19 of 20), which helped keep the Warriors at bay late.

“We had the right kids going [to the line],” Russell said.  “The start of the third quarter really helped everyone settle down and relax. 

“People were able to step up to the free-throw line confidently and make the shots. The first kid goes she makes two, you go and make a couple, now the third kid goes up there feeling pretty good.”

Nicole Hines had 10 points before fouling out for Valley Regional, which cut the lead to 42-33 with 2:32 to play. That was as close as it got, however. 

Denihan and Booth each hit two free throws and the latter added a layup that made it 48-33 with 51 seconds left.

Warren acknowledged his team didn't have much hope of rallying with the way the Bellringers converted their free throws.

“If you’re going to hit 19 out of 20 [free throws], it’s going to be hard to come back,” Warren said. “We were relying on them to make mistakes and they didn’t.”

In the first half, Russell was counting on the young Warriors to make mistakes. They never did.  Valley Regional carefully navigated the Bellringers’ 2-2-1 press and led 19-18 at the half.

“I was surprised that we weren’t able to create some opportunities for ourselves early,” Russell said.

The second half was a different story.