WELLSBURG — The Catholic Central girls’ basketball team got off to a fast start against Brooke, and

the Crusaders topped it off with a big finish en route to a 67-27 victory Monday night inside the Brooke Wellness Center.

“We thought we could press tonight to control the pace of the game,” Catholic Central (9-6) head coach Rocky Bragg said. “Brooke has so much size. The Bowman girls are good players from a good family. It is tough to compete against them on the boards. It was a good battle inside tonight. We wanted to put pressure on the ball, and the experience of our guards paid off.

“We tried to mix it up tonight. We pressed, we played man and we played zone. We sat back in the second quarter. We got a little too comfortable, and they were able to score some points. They were able to knock down some shots.

“At halftime, I talked to them about playing with more intensity and keeping our focus. We were able to put pressure on them again, and we were able to take control.

“A lot of girls got opportunities to play tonight. They had the opportunity to come in and try do well. You always want to do well, so you can get more minutes. We played a lot of girls. They came in cold off the bench, but they hit their shots.

“The score got away from me. I didn’t pay enough attention. The girls that came in, they did well. I am happy for them.”

The Blue-and-Gold tallied 25 of the first 29 points to build a big advantage.

After falling behind by 21 points about three minutes into the second quarter, the Bruins (2-10) battled back and closed to within 17 with 2:40 left in the third before the visitors from Jefferson County ripped off their second big run of the night.

“That caught me off guard,” Bragg said about Brooke battling back. “You cannot fall asleep against anyone. Everyone has a good coach. Amy does a great job. She’s building their program. Their numbers are up this season. That is good to see. They’re going to come together. They are going to have a good future. They have some good girls. Once they get her system down, they will do fine.

“We let up in the second quarter, and they made us pay. That is why I had the talk at halftime about turning up the intensity. We wanted to control the pace.”

The Green-and-Gold closed to within 37-20 before the girls in blue righted the ship and scored 30 of the final 37 points to complete their fourth straight victory.

“We got back on track,” Bragg said. “Everyone had the opportunity to come in and try and produce.”

The Crusaders used a balanced attack offensively to defeat the Bruins.

Individually, Mara Delaney delivered a game-high 12 points, Aurie Hoover recorded 10 and Lexi Lathem and Mary Rohde each collected nine points. Lathem hit three of Catholic Central’s nine 3-pointers, while fellow reserves Monica Bolster contributed eight and Lily Krivoniak chipped in with seven off the bench.

Keira Kosut and Rilyn Bowman each netted nine points to lead the way for the girls from Brooke County.

Catholic Central outrebounded Brooke, 38-28. Rodhe led the way for the Crusaders with nine rebounds, Hoover pulled down seven and Kenadie Balabin, Gemma Rigaud and Bolster all finished with four. Rodhe also led the team with seven assists, while Hoover ended up with six.

The girls in blue built a 17-2 lead at the end of the first. The visitors increased their advantage to 25-4 before taking a 30-13 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The girls in white scored the first two points of the third to close to within 30-15. After a pair baskets by the victors, the hosts answered with one of their own to pull back within 17, however, the Crusaders ended the quarter on a 10-2 spurt to take a 47-22 lead into the fourth.

Catholic Central outscored Brooke, 20-5, in the fourth to complete the scoring in the game.

After falling at home to Edison Dec. 29 at home, Catholic Central has now defeated Weir, Oak Glen, Bishop Rosecrans and Brooke in its four game winning streak.

“We are playing with focus,” Bragg said. “We are playing with the best focus I have seen this season. The girls are driven. We took a couple of losses we shouldn’t have. I talked to the girls about what we had to do to not lose those types of games. We talked about focus, intensity and doing the little things. We talked about doing the little things like layups and foul shots. You have to make the easy ones. That is what we have been focused on.”

Catholic Central is scheduled to play Harrison Central Wednesday night at home inside the Mickey Barber Gymnasium.

“We could use a break,” Bragg said. “We have been going at it pretty hard. We have some bumps and bruises. Mary Rhode tweaked an ankle Saturday against Rosecrans. Shya Garcia took a big bump. Aurie and Mara have played a ton of minutes. They could use a break, but there is no rest for the weary. We would like to have some time off, but we have to get ready to play Harrison Central Wednesday.”

Brooke is slated to play Oak Glen Thursday at home.

The Crusaders and Bruins will meet for the second time Monday at Catholic Central.

“It will be our Senior Night,” Bragg said. “I was surprised they wanted to schedule the game so close together, but sometimes you do what you have to do.”

Catholic Central 67, Brooke 27

Catholic Central 17 13 17 20 – 67

Brooke 2 11 9 5 – 27

CATHOLIC CENTRAL (9-6): Lathem 3 0-0 9, Hoover 3 3-6 10, Fink 0 2-4 2, Bressler 0 0-0 0, Krivoniak 2 1-2 7, Delaney 5 0-0 12, Wise 0 0-0 0, Balabin 0 2-4 2, Bolster 3 2-4 8, Rohde 4 1-3 9, Krupp 0 1-2 1, Garcia 2 0-0 5, Brem 0 0-0 0, Rigaud 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 23 12-25 67.

BROOKE (2-10): M. Bowman 0 0-0 0, Kauffman 0 0-2 0, Kosut 3 3-5 9, Provenzano 0 1-2 1, McLaughlin 1 0-0 3, Mitchell 0 0-0 0, Bober 0 0-2 0, R. Bowman 4 0-0 9, Costlow 0 1-2 1, Bolen 0 3-6 3, DiPaolo 0 1-2 1. TOTALS: 8 9-21 27.

3-POINTERS: Catholic Central 9 (Lathem 3, Krivoniak 2, Delaney 2, Hoover, Garcia); Brooke 2 (McLaughlin, R. Bowman)