BERLIN — The Berlin Redcoats girls basketball team shut down the Bristol Eastern Lancers at home on Monday by a score of 49-33.
The win raises Berlin’s record to a strong 13-5 on the season, while Bristol Eastern drops to 13-5, matching the Redcoats in the standings.
The first quarter of the game saw just 15 total points, as Bristol Eastern finished the period ahead 8-7. The first points of the game were not scored until Bristol Eastern sophomore Autumn Udoh, the team’s leading scorer, hit an eight-foot shot from the paint.
Udoh, usually an offensive force, was held to just 11 points on the night. Berlin head coach Sheila King used a man-press defense in the backcourt combined with a 2-3 zone to neutralize Udoh. She also assigned senior Jenna Borselle and sophomore Brooke Walker to split coverage on Udoh, a strategy that paid dividends.
“Everything feeds through [Udoh], so we knew we had to shut her down,” King said. “In the zone defense, we made sure she was doubled inside.”
Despite the tough night offensively, Udoh locked down the paint on the defensive end to near perfection, swatting six shots and neutralizing Berlin leading scorer, senior Emma Ellison.
Although she could not do much in the paint, Ellison still dropped an impressive 22 points in the win. While having to contend with Udoh’s presence, Ellison adjusted to score the majority of her 14 second-half points on mid-range jumpers and putbacks from offensive rebounds.
“I give her credit, she’s a very good player,” Ellison said. “She works her defense well, but I adjusted to sneak around her and hit her with a fake before going up.”
Ellison came with a strong supporting cast to help her offense, including 10 points from Brooke Walker, all in the first half. Walker stepped up on the boards in the second half, moving from the wing to an inside role and more-or-less solving Berlin’s first-half rebounding struggles.
Berlin’s defense showed out in the second quarter, posting a dominant 15-2 score in the period. Bristol Eastern’s only bucket of the quarter came on a layup from senior Vanessa Drury. Berlin closed out the quarter on a 13-0 run to go into the half leading 22-10.
Bristol Eastern came out of the break firing on both ends of the floor, jumping out on a 10-2 run to close the gap momentarily.
The Lancers’ momentum was taken as quickly as it came, however, as Brooke Walker took a charge with three minutes to go in the third quarter to shift the direction of the game.
Her sister, Alyssa, hit an immediate three-pointer on the other end, assisted by Brooke, to begin Berlin’s own 10-2 run, as they finished out the quarter with another three, this time by freshman Katie Litwinko, to enter the final quarter leading 34-22.
The Redcoats cruised to the finish line from that point, finishing the game with a 15-11 final quarter win.
Drury led the Lancers in scoring, with 15, but it was not enough for the firepower of Ellison and Walker.
Bristol Eastern head coach Tony Floyd said his team was missing a couple players, which made it hard for them to match up against Berlin.
“We had a hard time matching up today without one of our kids,” Floyd said.
Bristol Eastern will look to bounce back on Thursday as they return home for a bout with 15-3 Middletown, while Berlin will travel to Platt for a tune-up game on Thursday before their showdown with Middletown on Monday, Feb. 12 to finish out the season.