Complete control

Friday, February 3, 2012

Joe Marchilena photo Bedford's Ashley Abad is fouled by Goffstown's Maddie Lynch during Tuesday's game. Bedford cruised to a 64-14 win.

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Joe Marchilena photo Bedford's Haley Driscoll is fouled by Goffstown's Meghan Callanan on her way to the basket.

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Joe Marchilena photo Bedford's Ali Glennon, left, and Caroline Conrad battle for a rebound with Goffstown's Natalie VanScoyoc.

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Joe Marchilena photo Bedford's Ashley Abad is fouled by Goffstown's Maddie Lynch during Tuesday's game. Bedford cruised to a 64-14 win.

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The Bedford High School girls basketball team probably could have played better defense in Tuesday night’s win over Goffstown.

The Bulldogs did give up 14 points, but with the way they were playing, a scoreless finish wouldn’t have been a surprise.

Bedford forced Goffstown to make 31 turnovers, 18 of which were steaks, and the Bulldogs cruised to a 64-14 win in Division II action. The lead was 18-0 for Bedford at the end of the first quarter, and the Bulldogs were up by 22 before the Grizzlies could get on the board.

Haley Driscoll scored 11 of her game-high 16 points in the first half, while Ali Glennon added 12 points and Maggie McGown chipped in with eight, as nine of 10 players scored for the Bulldogs.

“We went in there very defensive-minded,” Driscoll said. “We gave it our all and did very well. Offensively, we moved the ball well, better than we have in the past, I think. That really opened up a lot of shots.”

The Bulldogs (9-3) passed 60 points for the fourth time this season, and did so despite making just two 3-pointers and going 8 for 16 from the free throw line. The high number of steals led to several fast breaks for Bedford and when the Bulldogs weren’t converting those into points, they were pulling back and running their offense.

“Everyone has a position on the floor and it’s a very important position,” Driscoll said. “Everyone is able to contribute points, contribute passes. We get a lot of assists because we’re a good passing team. We get finishes because people are willing to pass and willing to shoot.”

Both teams got off to a bit of a slow start, but Bedford still had a 6-0 lead with three minutes left in the first quarter. After Goffstown’s seventh turnover of the quarter, the Bulldogs finally got the offense clicking, closing the first with a 12-0 run.

The Bulldogs pushed the lead to 22-0 before Goffstown coach Deanna Goodwin had seen enough and took out all five players on the floor. The Grizzlies (6-5) found a little success, outscoring Bedford 9-6 over the next four minutes, but the Bulldogs closed the half with a 6-0 run to lead 34-9 at the break.

It was more Bedford in the third quarter, as the Bulldogs out scored Goffstown 13-3. The Grizzlies only basket came on a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

With a big game against Portsmouth (9-2) at home on Friday, Bedford needed a bit of a confidence boost. The Bulldogs have won four in a row and during that stretch, they’ve outscored their opponents by an average of 31.8 points.

“We have a big game coming up (against Portsmouth) and if we played well here, we’d get some confidence for that game,” Driscoll said.