Bellefonte girls’ basketball drops opener in District 6-8-9 tourney

The Bellefonte girls’ basketball team was never far behind DuBois on Monday night, but the lead always seemed just out of reach for the Lady Red Raiders in a 45-40 road loss in the opening round of the Class 5A District 6-8-9 tournament.

With the loss, No. 5-seed Bellefonte (9-14) watched its season come to an end. No. 4-seed DuBois will advance to take on top-seed Hollidaysburg in the district semifinals at 7 p.m. Thursday.

“The difference was probably offensive rebounds,” Bellefonte coach Adam Gearhart said. “DuBois really attacked the boards, and they got a lot of put-backs, a lot of second-chance opportunities.”

In the first half alone, DuBois had 13 offensive rebounds to Bellefonte’s five. But the Lady Raiders — who were without an injured Maddie Tice — weren’t far behind at halftime, trailing by just two points.

DuBois kept Bellefonte at arm’s length in the final quarter, however. Bellefonte was able to tie up the game at several points in the fourth but just couldn’t seize the lead. It never trailed by more than five.

Mallorie Smith paced Bellefonte with 14 points, while Sara DeHaas recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Maddie Steiner also added seven points.

The team may have been disappointed to watch its season end but — with every regular varsity starter returning next season — the future still looks bright. Bellefonte was close at just about every turn this season, dropping seven games by six points or less.

“I’m hoping it’s really bright,” Gearhart said about the future. “I said to the girls after the game that, just because you’re a year older, you’re not a year better. They got to come to the gym in the offseason and work.

“So I’m very optimistic about our future. I’m very optimistic about next year — but we also have to work for it.”

This story was originally published February 18, 2019 at 9:57 PM.