Tuesday Roundup: Bledsoe’s big night for And/Whi girls ignites 51-13 season-opening win over B-R; Wellsville boys stymied at last second in 55-54 road defeat at Geneseo

ANDOVER — In their very first piece of action on the hardwood this winter season, everything was clicking on all angles for Andover/Whitesville on Tuesday, as they commenced the contest by formulating a ferocious start they never looked back on against Bolivar-Richburg, ultimately rolling towards what concluded as a 51-13 home win over the Lady Wolverines in Andover.

From within what was a 17-point first eight-minute session for Andover/Whitesville (1-0), the hosts roared out of the gates red hot with 10 of those points coming in consecutive fashion. The frame would also see Stella Bledsoe kick the tires on her brilliant night on the floor, posting eight of her game-high 20 points for the hosts in white.

The tone was set the remainder of the way, as Andover/Whitesville carried a 22-7 halftime lead into the locker room, later building upon it with another 17-point frame to start the second half to cement their advantage permanently.

Following behind Bledsoe on the scoresheet was Olivia Waters, who recorded nine points. Lilly Harrington chipped in with eight points, while Graci Lewis-Ellison had seven.

The Lady Wolverines (0-1) were paced by seven team-leading points from Raegan Giardini. Nadia Baldwin sank two triples for six points. Up next, Bolivar-Richburg will travel to visit Cuba-Rushford next Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Andover/Whitesville will now hit the road for a visit to Genesee Valley to partake in the Belmont Rotary Club Tip-Off beginning on Friday, where they will face the Honeoye Lady Bulldogs in a 6 p.m. opening round battle.

Bolivar-Richburg 5 2 4 2 – 13

Andover/Whitesville 17 5 17 12 – 51

BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Nadia Baldwin 2 0-0 6, Emma Sisson 0 0-2 0, Raegan Giardini 3 1-2 7. Totals: 5 1-4 13.

ANDOVER/WHITESVILLE: Makenna Vance 1 0-0 3, Stella Bledsoe 9 0-0 20, Graci Lewis-Ellison 3 1-2 7, Lilly Harrington 3 0-2 8, Olivia Waters 2 5-5 9, Katrina Lewis 2 0-0 4. Totals: 20 6-9 51.

3-point goals: B-R 2 (Baldwin), A/W 5 (Bledsoe 2, Harrington 2, Vance)
Total Fouls: B-R 7, A/W 7. Fouled out: None.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Geneseo 55, Wellsville 54

GENESEO — After enduring a monstrous end to the first half from host Geneseo, the Lions of Wellsville found themselves behind the eight-ball. Although their deficit climbed to a height that eclipsed as high as 15 points during one instance in the second half, the Lions were never out of it.

Instead, they flipped the script on the Blue Devils with a boisterous fourth quarter jaunt to flip the game on its head right down to the wire, Tuesday night. Through it all, it came down to a game of free throws in the waning minutes.

Despite their advantage being relinquished for the first time in the evening, Geneseo responded with the biggest answer of them all — Avery Hepler.

Behind an absolute field day from long range for the hosts in white and blue, Hepler took to the line and delivered an absolutely clutch shot, following a technical foul, with under a second remaining on the clock to officially put the finishing touches on his massive 28-point night and propel the Blue Devils back on top of Wellsville one final time to secure a thrilling 55-54 victory.

“We didn’t deserve to win this one tonight,” Lions coach Tom Muska said. “We played incredibly hard in the fourth quarter, but that doesn’t win you games alone. I think it won us the second half, but it didn’t win us the game. Hepler killed us tonight. Nine threes is the most I’ve ever seen in our scorebook before. This was a big learning experience. It takes a team to really keep a kid like that from getting those shots off, but we have time to get there. We have a lot of talent this year, but we’re not completely in sync yet.”

Wellsville (0-1) and Geneseo traded blows throughout the first quarter before the Blue Devils began to find a rhythm across the second quarter, as they erupted for a 22-point frame led by the hand of Hepler, who launched four of his nine three-pointers to help set the tone for a 37-24 halftime lead — an advantage stemming off a quarter-ending 14-4 run of the Lions.

Geneseo continued to keep all momentum in their favor going into the second half, extending their advantage to as much as 15 points against Wellsville off another three-point barrage from Hepler — this time, netting three more triples in the third quarter.

But in the last eight minutes, the Lions tilted the balance dramatically with 6:40 remaining, as they went on to shut down the Blue Devils with a mastodonic 14-0 run that ultimately propelled them into the driver’s seat for the first time off a clutch inside bucket from Trent Green.

But despite the massive lead change, the Blue Devils remained at ease following a technical foul against Wellsville with less than a minute remaining, with Caleb Rice knocking down the game-tying shot. With Geneseo getting possession back once again, they were granted another free pass to the charity stripe after a colossal foul was drawn right at the outer perimeter, allowing Hepler and the Blue Devils to knock down what was deemed the game-winning shot out of three chances with less than a tick remaining on the clock to secure the victory once and for all.

Wellsville wound up finishing the fourth quarter on a 17-7 run of Geneseo — the largest jaunt from either team during the contest.

Leading the way for the Lions, amidst a balanced offensive effort, was Aiden Cowburn, who finished with 12 team-high points. Right behind him was JJ Howard, who recorded 11 points, including a second half two-handed jam. Trent Green tallied 10 points, while Ty Vogel had eight.

Coming up Friday night, Wellsville will look to try it again over the road once more to open their campaign, this time with a 7:30 p.m. visit to Midlakes.

Wellsville 11 13 13 17 – 54

Geneseo 15 22 11 7 – 55

WELLSVILLE: Aiden Cowburn 5 0-2 12, Karson Grover 1 0-2 2, Kai Burke 1 0-0 2, JJ Howard 4 3-8 11, Ty Vogel 3 1-2 8, Nick Germain-Tardieu 2 0-0 6, Trent Green 5 0-2 10, Derek Coleman 1 1-5 3. Totals: 22 5-21 54.

GENESEO: Caleb Rice 2 1-2 6, Luke Davis 1 2-2 4, Bryce Patterson 2 0-0 4, Oren Ray 1 0-1 2, Avery Hepler 9 1-6 28, Jackson Willis 4 0-0 11. Totals: 19 4-11 55.

3-point goals: Wellsville 5 (Cowburn 2, Germain-Tardieu 2, Vogel), Geneseo 13 (Hepler 9, Willis 3, Rice).
Total Fouls: Wellsville , Geneseo 23. Fouled out: Willis (GEN).