HAZEL GREEN – Belmont senior Kailee Kamps became the first female in school history to surpass the 1,000-point career mark, while the Lady Braves used a balanced scoring attack to top Southwestern, 52-34, in a non-conference girls’ and boys’ basketball twinbill at SHS on Saturday, Dec. 3.
    Kamps was 15 points away from her 1,000th point coming into the game, and she moved within four of the milestone after scoring 11 points in the first half to lead the Braves (1-1 overall) out to a 34-14 halftime lead.
    Kamps, who already is the Lady Braves’ all-time leading scorer, nailed a short jumper just moments into the third quarter, then swished home a 3-pointer at the 5:06 mark of the stanza to eclipse the 1,000-point mark.
    “There aren’t words that describe this. It’s just an amazing feeling,” said Kamps following the game.
    The game started off a back and forth affair early on with the teams trading the lead five times until a Kalyn Kamps’ basket put the Braves ahead to stay at 10-8.
    Belmont still maintained a slim four-point lead early in the second quarter before running off 17 unanswered points to build up a 34-13 advantage.
    “When one girl starts hitting and another girl starts hitting, it becomes contagious and it becomes fun. You want to keep your foot on the pedal and keep going,” said Belmont head coach Kaleen McGettigan, who noted six different players scored for the Braves during the run. “I thought the first half was the best basketball I have seen by a team at Belmont. We stayed within ourselves and did a great job.”
    The Braves lost a bit of focus in the third quarter after the game was stopped to honor Kai. Kamps’ milestone, allowing the Wildcats (1-2) to slice their 41-14 lead down to 16 at one point; but it was too little too late as Belmont coasted in for their first victory of the season.
    Kai. Kamps finished her day with 20 points to go along with three assists and two steals.
    “Kailee’s one of those kids you don’t get the privilege to coach too often. Her hard work has become contagious for the team. She’s a great leader,” McGettigan commented. “She has done those things to get to a 1,000 points. She has done the things in the off-season, in practice and on the court to get there. And, credit her teammates for recognizing that and getting her the ball in the correct spots the last four years.”
    Senior Molly Bockhop added 11 points, nine rebounds and four assists for the Braves, while freshman Keegan Kamps tallied eight points, eight boards and two steals.
    Southwestern’s senior center Katelynn Hoppman, who went over the 1,000-point herself last season, scored 15 of her game-high 24 points in the second half to lead the hosts.
    In the boys’ game to start the day, Southwestern center Aaron Tranel netted a game-high 20 points to lead three players in double-figures as the Wildcats defeated the Braves, 64-49, in a high-energy affair.
    The Wildcats (3-0) opened up a 15-9 lead after one quarter of play, extended the lead to 32-20 by halftime, and spent the entire second half maintaining the lead to finish off the Braves (0-3).
    Senior Avery Willborn sank four 3-pointers in the second half on his way to a team-high 17 points for the Braves, while Justin Nodorft tallied 12 points and Jeremy Richardson added eight on the day.
    The Belmont girls are off until Dec. 16 when they open Six Rivers West play at Potosi.
    The Belmont boys host Shullsburg in the SRW opener on Friday, Dec. 9, and they head to Blanchardville to play Pecatonica in a non-conference game on Tuesday, Dec. 13.

GIRLS’ GAME
Belmont...……… 12  22   9    9 - 52
Southwestern…    8    6   8  12 - 34
Leading Scorers: Kailee Kamps 20, Molly Bockhop 11, Keegan Kamps 8, Cassie McCarthy 5, Kalyn Kamps 4, Amanda Adams 2, Jordyn Kamps 2.

BOYS’ GAME
Belmont...………  9  11 13  16 - 49
Southwestern… 15  17 17  15 - 64
Leading Scorers: Avery Willborn 17, Justin Nodorft 12, Jeremy Richardson 8, Brandon Wedig 6, Isaac Haag 3, Xavier Phillips 3.