Rhyne Howard dominant again as Bradley Central girls rout Warren County

Bradley Central girls' basketball coach Jason Reuter, shown with his players during a game against Cleveland in early January, and the Bearettes cruised to a Region 3-AAA quarterfinal victory against Warren County on Friday.
Bradley Central girls' basketball coach Jason Reuter, shown with his players during a game against Cleveland in early January, and the Bearettes cruised to a Region 3-AAA quarterfinal victory against Warren County on Friday.

CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Bradley Central's girls basketball coach Jason Reuter knows the time is coming soon when his team won't be able to simply roll over its opponent.

Friday night's Region 3-AAA quarterfinal, however, was not that time.

The Bearettes coasted past Warren County, 87-22, behind yet another dominant performance by Tennessee Miss Basketball finalist Rhyne Howard. She had 32 points on 14-of-17 shooting with six steals, five assists, four rebounds and two blocks while playing only 22 minutes.

"That was fun tonight, but that will be the last game like that this year," Reuter said. "The teams left don't have guards that we can just turn over every time. But we'll enjoy this one; I'm proud of my girls."

Warren County (12-18) - the No. 4 seed from District 6-AAA - didn't seem completely overmatched to start the game. The Lady Pioneers trailed just 16-10 after five minutes of play.

That quickly changed, however, as Bradley Central (29-0) scored the final seven points of the first quarter, then outscored the Lady Pioneers 27-3 in the second to take a 50-13 lead into halftime.

Bradley Central continued to pile it on in the third quarter, outscoring Warren County 25-4 in the period to lead 75-17 heading into the final quarter as the starters were pulled from the game. Through three quarters, the Bearettes shot 67 percent from the field, including 56 percent from behind the 3-point line.

While Bearettes fans have grown accustomed to watching Howard dominate other teams, freshman guard Jamaryn Blair has been a pleasant surprise as of late. Blair followed up her 14 points in the district championship game with 18 points Friday, including four 3s and buzzer-beating baskets at the end of each of the first three quarters.

"I felt a little pressure early in the season," Blair said. "As the season is ending I think the pressure is building, like I have to make the right shots and the right passes."

Said Reuter: "She can take the ball and relieve pressure wherever she is. I don't think anyone has been able to trap her all year long. That's a freshman. She's going to be one heck of a player. She already is a heck of a player."

It's hard to say a team that is undefeated has been on a tear recently, but Bradley Central has been even more dominant since the calendar turned from 2017 to 2018 than they were at the beginning of the season.

In the new year, the Bearettes have enjoyed an average margin of victory of 43.4 points per game, and their eight-point win over Walker Valley on Jan. 12 was the only win by fewer than 26 points.

The Bearettes will travel to Rhea County on Monday night for the region semifinals.

Contact Kevin Llewallyn at sports@timesfreepress.com.

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