Bedford girls basketball comes back in second half to beat Londonderry

BEDFORD - It's possible for every team to get nervous heading into a big game, even one that has won almost 40 games in a row.

Fortunately for the Bedford High School girls basketball team, it was able to overcome a tough first half Wednesday to beat Londonderry 50-36 and win its 36th straight game in Division I action.

Bri Purcell scored 11 of her game-high 15 points in the first half while Rachel Collins (nine points) and Haley Driscoll (six) led the way in the second, as the Bulldogs (15-0) outscored the Lancers (13-3) 28-11 after halftime.

"I told them, basically, defensively, we were OK," Bedford coach Sue Thomas said. "Offensively, we were not clicking. They were very tight, trying to do too much too quickly. We just talked about that in the locker room. Play our game and the shots will fall. You can’t score if you don’t shoot. Then just play relentless defense."

The Bulldogs were certainly that in the second half, forcing Londonderry to turn the ball over on its first seven possessions of the third and 17 total after halftime.

"I said in the early part of the third was important for us to get quality opportunities every time down the floor," Londonderry coach John Fagula said. "You know you're not going to make all of your shots, but you at least, every time down the floor, you want to get a good shot.

"The first two or three times we turned the ball over and a couple of them were silly turnovers. Sometimes you credit the other team and other times it's us being sloppy and making bad decisions. It allowed them to get some extra baskets that allowed them to get on a run."

Londonderry got 12 points from Casey Evans while Kelsey Coffey added nine points and Jacki Lockhardt chipped in six while also running the offense in the absence of senior Aliza Simpson. While she has been cleared to practice, Fagula said Simpson had yet to do so in a contact situation. The Lancers hoped Simpson could return Friday, but that would depend on what happens in Thursday's practice.

"We're planning on trying to use her Friday, but she'll have a full practice Thursday," he said, "and if there are any issues, then she won't play Friday."

Bedford took an early lead in the first quarter, but Londonderry went on a 14-3 run to go ahead 20-12 with 4:53 left in the second. The Bulldogs responded with a 10-5 run to close out the first half down three points, thanks to a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Purcell.

In the second half, the sophomore point guard led the way defensively.

"Bri has been great all season, but the last few games, she has been taking her game to another level," Thomas said. "The game plan for Bri is to find their point guard and don't let her breathe and that's what her thing is. Everybody else was trapping and jumping the ball."

The Bulldogs took the lead for good when Collins stripped the ball from Londonderry's Noelle Lambert under the Bedford basket and made a layup. Collins was fouled on the play and made the free throw to give the Bulldogs a 27-25 lead.

It was a five-point Bedford lead early in the fourth quarter when the Bulldogs put the game away with an 8-0 to go up 46-33 with 2:10 to play.

"(Bedford is) a well-balanced team and they've been there before," Fagula said. That's a big deal. I found out a few things and was relatively pleased considering. The intensity level was up both ways and we didn't back off from that."

Both teams are back in action on Friday, with Bedford heading to Pinkerton and Londonderry going on the road to face Trinity.