By Kenny Varner

SPRING MILLS – Penns Valley welcomed in a young Bellefonte squad in girls basketball action Thursday.

The Lady Rams were celebrating their three seniors on senior night.

Offensively, the veteran Rams squad was in full force throughout the game winning 70-23 in Laurel Highlands action.

Honored on the night were Sarah Fultz, Jadyn Alexander and Audrey Kerstetter.

Penns Valley was led by the 14-point performance of Ellie Dinges. Teammate Ellie Romig followed up with 13 while Paige Johnson chipped in 11.

Defensively, Alexander was persistent on the boards finishing with 10 rebounds.

Despite the loss, the Red Raiders battled throughout and refused to go down without a valiant effort.

“I was proud of them for not giving up and playing hard,” said Marissa Ward. “We tried a couple of different defenses there which was great. Also we were looking inside. We continued to score throughout the game.”

Lexi Fravel finished her night with a team-high eight points while Taylor Brown tallied seven.

In the first, the Lady Raiders opened with the first basket. Riley Santostefano hit a soft jumper, making it a 2-0 lead.

On the following Rams possession, Sydnie Dalton went up a shot and was fouled in the process. She made 1-of-2.

The flood gates started to open for Penns Valley with Sarah Fultz hitting four consecutive points in a 9-0 run.

Brown broke up the run with attempting a strong bucket inside. She was fouled on the shot and hit 1-of-2 from the charity stripe.

When the dust settled on the first quarter, Penns Valley built up an 18-3 lead.

Things continued to roll in Penns Valley’s direction.

The Lady Rams’ transition game was in full view as it continued to pressure the Bellefonte front court.

Starting off the second, Dalton was able to pick pocket and steal the ball and finished it to start things off.

Santostefano scored the second field goal for her team as the Rams held a very secure 20-5.

Steals took center stage as Penns Valley used its aggressive nature to keep the pressure up.

With the tenacious defense, the Lady Rams were able to reel in the points while keeping the Red Raider offense at bay.

When the intermission got underway, the Lady Rams extended their lead to 30 at 41-11.

“We are at that point of the season where we got to get it right, going into districts,” said Penns Valley coach Terrance Green. “That’s what we talked about it today just playing complimentary and also sticking to what we need to do. At the point, we have eight games left. You’re fighting for position within the district.”

It was a good all around victory for all of us.”

Starting out the third period in a mercy rule state, the Rams continued to add up the points.

Bellefonte came out of the intermission by hitting the first two buckets both baskets were by Fravel.

Bellefonte scored 20 points in the abbreviated contest.

However, the Rams continued on another scoring run upping its lead in the third quarter to 56-15.

The deficit would be too great to comeback from and Bellefonte fell 70-23.

Penns Valley  70, Bellefonte 23

BE   3   8   4   8  – 23

PV 18 23 15 14 – 70

Scoring: BE –  Riley Santostefano 2 0-0 4, Talia Carter 1 0-0 2, Lexi Fravel 4 0-0 8, Addie Herr 1 0-0 2, Taylor Brown 3 1-4 7. Totals 11 1-6 23. PV –  Hadley Stover 1 0-0 2, Paige Johnson 4 3-4 11, Audrey Kerstetter 1 1-2 3, Sydnie Dalton 5 0-0 10, Sarah Fultz 1 3-8 6, Ellie Romig 5 2-2 13, Jordan Johnson 2 2-4 7, Ellie Dinges 6 1-2 13, Jadyn Alexander 2 0-0 4. Totals 27 12-22 70.

Played but didn’t score: BE – Hannah Sampsel 0 0-0 0, Ella Herr 0 0-0 0,  Gigi Jasseh 0 0-2 0. PV –  None.

Three-point shots: BE –  None. PV –  Fultz, Romig, Johnson, Dinges.