By Bill Templeton
Sports Writer

Defensive intensity turned into offensive efficiency by the Bell County girls basketball team in a 70-48 victory over visiting Clay County on Thursday night on Log Mountain.
Following a slow start that featured turnovers on each of their first two offensive possessions, the Lady Bobcats employed full-court pressure during the second quarter and built a lead that they would not relinquish.
Senior Lauren McGeorge scored a team-high 22 points in the season-opening win by Bell, while junior Kairi Lamb and sophomore Gracie Barton chipped in with 18 and 11 points, respectively.
Clay County seventh-grader Maci White put on quite a show for the Lady Tigers during the first quarter, scoring her team’s first 17 points, including five 3-point baskets.
Barton helped keep her team within striking distance of Clay with a pair of 3-point baskets, while McGeorge and junior Nevaeh Allen each added a long-distance basket, and Bell trailed, 19-16 after eight minutes.
Barton’s third triple of the contest tied the score at 19-19 during the first minute of the second quarter, but a sixth 3-point conversion by White staked her team to a short-lived, 23-19 lead.
Following the long-range bomb by White, Bell stepped up its defensive pressure and proceeded to score 12 consecutive points, seven of which were scored by Lamb from short range, and the Lady Bobcats held a 31-25 lead by halftime.
After scoring just five points during the first half, McGeorge scored 11 points during the third quarter to push Bell’s lead to 48-34 entering the final stanza.
An offensive rebound-turned-layup by Lamb staked the Lady Bobcats to their largest lead at 61-39 midway through the fourth quarter, and allowed Bell coach David Teague to empty his bench during the waning minutes of the contest.
White was relatively quiet for the middle two quarters, but still finished with a game-high 28 points for Clay (1-1).
Bell is back on the Maci Morris Court again Friday when it hosts Tri-Cities Christian Academy. The tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.

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Bell County (70) — Gracie Barton 11, Kairi Lamb 18, Nevaeh Allen 9, Lauren McGeorge 22, Lyla Scearse 2, Kaitlyn Middleton 2, Aubree Miracle 6.
Clay County (48) — Maci White 28, Harper Rice 7, Emma Jones 3, Carly Fultz 2, Daisy Samples 0, Anna Samples 4, Madison Pendland 3, Holly Hacker 1.

Clay County 19 6 9 14 — 48
Bell County 16 15 17 22 — 70