BEAR RIVER HIGH – By Jessica Tanner – Jan. 18, 2020
After wrapping up a busy pre-season, the Bear River girls’ basketball team geared up for the strong competition they would face in Region 11. The Lady Bears had a rough start, gaining two losses before claiming victory over Mountain Crest.
The Lady Bears kicked off region play by hosting a tough Sky View team on Jan. 9, and suffered defeat, 45-28. Leading the way for the Bears was Olivia Taylor with eight points and six rebounds. Ashley Roberts followed with seven points and seven rebounds. Mckenzie Bywater contributed six points and had seven rebounds as well. Makenzi Lorimer led defensively with five steals.
The following week the Bears hosted Ridgeline on Jan. 14. It was a battle, but a slow start by the Bears put them on the losing side once again, 54-44. Scoring only three points in the first quarter was not ideal.
“That has been our problem. We have a slow start then battle back and work hard, but it seems to bury us,” said Coach Tyrell Neal. “We struggle with that, but we are going to keep working at it.”
The Bears headed into the locker room down 23-12.
“We limited them quite a bit on their three point shooting and in the second quarter had a spark off the bench that really turned things our way. Coming out of halftime we made some small adjustment and made things happen,” Neal added.
In the third quarter the Bears came alive and outscored the Riverhawks 18-14. They continued their momentum in the fourth, but it was too little too late as they suffered another loss, this time 54-44.
Bywater led the Bears in scoring with 15 points, while Abbie Fuhriman and Roberts contributed nine and eight points, respectively.
“Bywater got us started offensively with some big shots and really helped on defense. Roberts did an amazing job on the baseline. Fuhriman and Lorimer battled hard, while the Gibbs girls (Kati and Cami) were a breath of fresh air,” Neal said.
The Bears then hit the road on Jan. 16, gaining their first region victory over Mountain Crest, 51-47. This time they got off to a good start. They matched the Mustangs in scoring, ending the quarter tied up at 12. By halftime the Bears had taken the lead 22-18. Their lead was extended in the third, 34-27.
With only two minutes left the ‘Stangs tied it up, but the Bears continued to battle and pulled off the win. Once again Bywater led the Bears in scoring with 14. Roberts was close behind with 13 points on the night. Fuhriman added 10 points, but also led the Bears in rebounds (five) and steals (four). Taylor contributed nine points.
The Lady Bears will now travel to Logan on Thursday, Jan. 23, to take on the Grizzlies.
“Everyone in our region will be a dogfight and we have to come prepared each night for a physical game,” Neal said.
For more photo coverage of those games go to www.brvnews.com and find Andy Marchant Photography’s photo gallery on the HOME page and on the SPORTS page.