BELPRE, Ohio — The Lady Eagles have been hard to beat lately.

The tall task of slowing Belpre is one that the Southern girls basketball team was unable to complete Thursday night. BHS took its fourth consecutive win with a 74-56 Tri-Valley Conference Hocking Division triumph in Washington County.

Belpre (5-2, 3-2 TVC Hocking) stormed out to an early lead after out scoring Southern (2-4, 1-4) 20-to-7 in the opening stanza. The Lady Tornado offense was sparked by freshman Jansen Wolfe who scored nine of the teams 15 points in the second quarter. BHS tallied 21 points in the second frame and led 41-22 at the break.

The pace picked up after the half as Belpre out scored SHS 27-14 in the third. The Lady Tornadoes bounced back with a 20-6 run over the final eight minutes of the game but the Lady Eagles held on for a 74-56 victory.

The Lady Tornadoes were led by Wolfe with a double-double performance of 24 points and 16 rebounds. Celestia Hendrix recorded her second consecutive double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, while Maggie Cummins scored nine points including a pair of three-pointers. Jordan Huddleston finished with six points, Hannah Hill had three, while Alison Deem, Haley Hill and Darien Diddle each tallied one point for SHS. Cummins and Wolfe each had three steals to pace the Lady Tornadoes, while Deem had a team-high three assists.

BHS was led by the duo of Katelyn Huges, who had 19 points and eight rebounds, and Sierra Barker, who finished with 18 points and six assists. Lexis Cunningham finished with 10 points, Emily Huges had eight, Jackie Cunningham had seven, Andrea Linton notched four and Cheynne Henderson marked three points. Rachel Packard and Ashley Jenkins each finished with two points, while Hannah Lawrentz rounded out the Lady Eagles with one point.

The Lady Tornadoes held a 45-to-36 advantage on the glass but committed twice as many turnovers as Belpre (34-to-17). Belpre was whistled for 25 fouls on the night while Southern was charged with just 18. Southern scored all but 16 of it’s points from inside the painted area.

SHS shot 19-of-56 (33.9 percent) from the field including 4-of-9 (44.4 percent) from beyond the arc. The Lady Tornadoes were 14-of-28 (50 percent) from the charity stripe. Belpre was 25-of-74 (33.8 percent) from the field, 5-of-19 (26.3 percent) from three-point range and a remarkable 19-of-24 (79.2 percent) from the free throw line.

These teams will meet once more this season, on January 7th in Racine.