HUDSON – The Bedford High School girls basketball players lived up to their nickname on Wednesday night at Alvirne’s C.J. Steckevicz Gym.

They were Bulldogs.

The Broncos likely hadn’t had a team play defense against them all season the way Bedford did, and thus they are unbeaten no longer, falling 50-25.

It was an eye-opener, to be sure.

"I don’t think we expected Bedford to give us an easy game," Alvirne coach Scott Szuksta said, his team 8-1 in Divsion I, 10-1 overall. "They’re a tough team. They played really, really well. They shut us down defensively, seemed to have us well scouted. They took away some of our strengths early, and kept them away most of the game."

It was over early. The ‘Dogs raced out to a 9-1 lead, were up 17-5 after one quarter and 27-9 at the half. The Broncos had only two players in the scoring column, Amanda Wetmore and Marissa Sweeney, in the first two quarters. Every shot, every possession was a chore.

Bedford coach Sue Thomas said it was her 10-1 team’s best defensive performance all year. They hadn’t played in a week since losing to Bishop Guertin.

"Yes, they did it as a team," she said. "They hedged on screens, they saw the court, and they got back. And they just played tough. We had been playing soft on people defensively.

"Our goal today was to play up in people’s faces, make them think about it, and they did it the whole game."

Did they ever. The Broncos were never in it in the second half, either, down 34-10 at one point. Alvirne’s offensive highlight of the night was Brenna Paquette’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the third quarter.

"I always worry about games like this at halftime," Thomas said. "But they came out, and they stayed strong."

Offensively, Bedford was led by Alyson Fillion’s 14 points, plus nine from Jenoyce Leniyan and eight by Madline Blake. Wetmore had eight and Sweeney five to lead the Broncos, who had only four players score on the night to the ‘Dogs’ nine.

"They have a lot of talented kids,"Szuksta said. "Fillion, I don’t know if she missed a shot … They’re a really well-rounded team."

Was this a shock to the Broncos’ system?

"It’s a tough game, they’re a physical team," he said. "I don’t think my kids ever gave up. We battled, which was good."