Beachwood Girls Overpowered by Gilmour Academy 65-49

The Beachwood Lady Bison lost in the semifinals of the Northeast District Div. III tournament after top-seeded Gilmour Academy knocked them out 65-49 in a tense matchup Thursday night.

Gilmour earned their victory over Beachwood on the court, though a remark made by Beachwood fans seconds into the second quarter drew a threat from the official to forfeit the Bison.

Fortunately, the fans complied with their ejection, but the Lancers overpowered Beachwood with their standout six-footers — senior Brittany Layton and freshman Jessica Janota — combining for 48 points.

“In the end Gilmour was a bigger, stronger more disciplined team,” Beachwood head coach Melvin Burke said. “What happened [with the officiating] didn’t take away from their victory.”

In the first half, Beachwood effectively utilized a full-court press; trapping and frustrating the Lancers into sloppy turnovers and fast break opportunities for the Bison. Beachwood went into the locker room down by five (28-22).

Sophomore Mercedes Hudson cut the Gilmour lead down to 28-27 with five early points in the third quarter. Hudson first scored after being blasted to the ground, yet still managing to convert the field goal and the ensuing foul shots. On the next possession, Hudson was again knocked hard to the floor and even though she didn’t get the call, she converted the bucket.

However, Beachwood would not convert another field goal for the rest of the third quarter. The Lancers outscored the Bison 19-1 and went into the fourth quarter up 47-28. The Bison’s lone point came off a free throw.

“We decided to push the ball a little bit,” Gilmour head coach Bob Beutel said. “I thought we were a little too cautious and giving them a chance to get us in the backcourt. The turning point for us was when we started pushing the ball on them.”

Hudson led Beachwood with 16 points followed by junior Krystal Pearson with 10.

Janota had a huge night for Gilmour, leading the game in points with 31 and rebounds with 18. This was also the first time she started for the Lancers despite being the team’s leading scorer. Layton added 17 points while Abby Deckard provided nine points and seven rebounds off the bench. In total, the three post players combined for all but eight of Gilmour’s points.

“They went inside the whole night,” Burke said. “Their size took its toll on us. [Janota] is really fundamental, you can’t teach 6-2 and they have two of them. They played to their strengths.”

While the loss to Gilmour wasn’t the ending Beachwood had in mind, the Bison end the year with a 19-5 record — the best in school history.

“It was successful for everybody,” Burke said.