Thursday Basketball: Tallman’s excellent 1st half helps set up GV/Belfast early, ward off And/Whi to secure close 50-44 home win; C-R girls skyrocket past Hinsdale behind Farwell

BELMONT — It was a close, wire-to-wire engagement straight down to the very end on Thursday. With Andover/Whitesville closing in right behind them each step of the way, host Genesee Valley/Belfast managed to fend them off behind a fierce first half from Bayleigh Tallman to put towards an advantage across the first three quarters of play, securing what ultimately shaped into a 50-44 home win in Belmont.

Tallman battled alongside Andover/Whitesville’s Graci Lewis-Ellison for a bulk of the time across the first half, as she helped set the tone for the hosts in the Jungle with 14 of her team-leading 18 points — seven in each quarter, to help set up what was an early 25-19 lead at the break. For Lewis-Ellison on the other hand for Andover/Whitesville, she was red hot early on from downtown by landing three of her four triples from within the allotted time.

Lewis-Ellison finished as the night’s leading scorer, bucketing a game-high 23 points.

When the time came for the second half, both teams assembled their most powerful stands of offense in the contest, with Genesee Valley/Belfast (10-7) coming away with another narrow advantage over Andover/Whitesville off a three-point game of their own, sinking four of them in all — two from the hand of Whitney Young, and one each from Sophie Zillgitt and Jenna Hill to set up shop for their 16-point outing.

Andover/Whitesville (11-4) was awarded one more chance to put the pressure on late behind a stellar presence down low, along with a perfect 4-for-4 tenure at the charity stripe, to put Genesee Valley/Belfast on their feet. But it ultimately became too much of a deficit to overcome in the end, as the hosts managed to hang on for dear life and secure the big victory.

Following behind Tallman was Hill for Genesee Valley/Belfast, who had 10 points of her own. Whitney Young had nine points.

As for Andover/Whitesville, Olivia Waters chipped in with 10 points. Stella Bledsoe had eight points. The team will return to action on Wednesday, visiting Cuba-Rushford in a 7:30 p.m. contest.

Genesee Valley/Belfast will have the first crack at the Lady Rebels themselves beginning tonight, as they hit the road for an appearance in the Wighthouse beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Andover/Whitesville 10 9 15 10 — 44

Genesee Valley/Belfast 11 14 16 9 — 50

ANDOVER/WHITESVILLE: Makenna Vance 0 1-2 1, Stella Bledsoe 4 0-0 8, Graci Lewis-Ellison 8 3-3 23, Lilly Harrington 0 1-2 1, Olivia Waters 3 4-4 10, Reece Winters 0 1-2 1. Totals: 15 10-13 44.

GV/BELFAST: Bayleigh Tallman 7 4-7 18, Sophie Zillgitt 3 0-2 7, Whitney Young 3 0-0 9, Addisyn Ely 1 0-0 2, Ava Aronson 2 0-2 4, Jenna Hill 3 3-4 10. Totals: 19 7-15 50.

3-point goals: A/W 4 (Lewis-Ellison), GVB 5 (Young 3, Zillgitt, Hill).
Total Fouls: A/W 11, GVB 12. Fouled out: None.

Cuba-Rushford 66, Hinsdale 21

HINSDALE — There was a tremendous balance across the board for the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford on Thursday, as they used a piping hot start from Lilly Farwell down low to set up shop for a massive opening eight minute sequence that they never looked back from, coasting their way towards victory by a 66-21 count in Hinsdale.

Farwell unleashed her fury right away to aid in setting up Cuba-Rushford (11-7) for great success. From within what was an 18-2 run of the Lady Bobcats out of the gate, the Lady Rebels freshman found her rhythm with nine of those points to help award an advantage they ultimately never lost going forward.

To ensure their 29-13 lead remained intact, the Lady Rebels cemented the victory permanently with a 27-point opening stand in the second half to pull away.

Farwell wound up serving as the evening’s leading scorer, posting a game-high 18 points for the visitors. Right behind her was Brynn Lavery, who had 13 points of her own. Lily Tompkins chipped in with 11 points — six of them coming off a pair of threes to help ignite the team’s monstrous third quarter on the attack from outside.

As for Hinsdale (0-14), Lily Bushnell paved the way with a team-high seven points. The Lady Bobcats are now off until Wednesday night with a visit to the Paul Vienna Memorial Gym in Belfast, commencing at 7:30 p.m. against host Genesee Valley/Belfast.

The Lady Rebels turn right around and hop back into action tonight, as they return home to welcome in Genesee Valley/Belfast first for a 7:30 p.m. contest of their own.

Cuba-Rushford 18 11 27 10 — 66

Hinsdale 2 11 2 8 — 21

CUBA-RUSHFORD: Aubrey Williams 3 0-0 6, Lily Tompkins 4 0-0 11, Brynn Lavery 5 2-2 13, Mireya Rutkowski 2 0-0 4, Arlah Shaffer 2 0-1 4, Lilly Farwell 8 2-3 18, Hailey Brooks 2 0-0 4, Shaelynn Eddy 2 0-0 5. Totals: 28 4-6 66.

HINSDALE: Charlee Briggs 3 0-0 6, Kaylie Foskit 1 0-0 2, Sarah Easterly 2 1-5 6, Lily Bushnell 3 0-0 7. Totals: 9 1-5 21.

3-point goals: C-R 5 (Tompkins 3, Lavery, Eddy), Hinsdale 2 (Easterly, Bushnell).
Total Fouls: C-R 5, Hinsdale 8. Fouled out: None.