Delgado and Harrison lead BVNW to a 54-29 victory over Pittsburg
A season-high 17 points for senior guard Becky Delgado along with five 3-pointers from senior guard Bridget Harrison helped the Huskies claim fifth in the 2018 Border Classic.
January 20, 2018
PITTSBURG, Kan. – Entering the second quarter, the varsity girls basketball team had a 9-8 lead over Pittsburg, but needed a spark offensively. In a fifth-place game against the Pittsburg Purple Dragons, a BVNW senior guard coming off the bench, Becky Delgado, would be the answer for the Huskies.
Delgado entered the game for the first time at the start of the second quarter. In nearly no time, Delgado would make her presence felt.
In less than a minute into the second quarter, Delgado hit a jumper which gave BVNW a 14-8 lead. Later on in the quarter, Delgado looked composed offensively after converting on a pair of layups. In the second quarter alone, Delgado had 7 points. Head coach Brian Bubalo said Delgado was successful when attacking the hoop.
“Becky played one of her better games,” Bubalo said. “She got some drives to the basket. She made some nice baskets on the fast break. She played really well.”
Led by Delgado, the Huskies had a comfortable 24-13 lead over the Purple Dragons going into the half. Coming out of the half, senior guard Bridget Harrison and the Huskies showed no signs of slowing down.
Though Harrison was held to one 3-pointer in the half, she kept firing from beyond the arc in the third quarter. Only seconds after the start of the second half, Harrison pulled up for a 3-pointer near the Huskies’ bench which ended up falling. This would be one of four 3-pointers Harrison would go on to make in the third quarter. Bubalo said Harrison’s success is largely due to the team looking to pass to her.
“Bridget did have a great third quarter. The girls are starting to look for her when she’s open,” Bubalo said. “She’s knocking them in.”
After Harrison’s electric third quarter, the Huskies had a 40-16 lead over the Purple Dragons. At this point, a Blue Valley Northwest victory was becoming more apparent.
In the fourth quarter, Delgado was able to pick up 6 more points off of layups to give her a season-high 17 points. Harrison was scoreless in the last eight minutes of the game, but she would finish with 15 points. With 17 points from Delgado and 15 points from Harrison, BVNW would claim fifth in the Border Classic after defeating Pittsburg, 54-29. After picking up two wins, Harrison said the tournament has helped the team.
“We all just played a lot better, and I feel like going into the season and the EKL that this tournament really helped us,” Harrison said.
While the offense of Delgado and Harrison was exceptional, the entirety of the girls basketball team contributed to a stellar defensive performance. Ball pressure by the BVNW guards led to countless turnovers by Pittsburg. Harrison said the defense created a lot of offense for BVNW.
“I feel like our defense is really strong, and honestly our defense carried into our offense,” Harrison said.
The first quarter of the game appeared to look much more competitive than the rest of the game. The Huskies offense had no fear of taking 3-pointers, but were unable to convert on most of them. With seconds remaining in the first quarter, the Huskies were trailing the Purple dragons, 8-6, but senior forward Sarah Martin knocked down a 3-pointer. This gave BVNW a 9-8 lead over Pittsburg, and the Huskies would not surrender it for the rest of the game.
After winning the consolation bracket of the 2018 Border Classic, BVNW improves to 5-7 on the season. The girls basketball team will face Shawnee Mission West on Tuesday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m.
