BELMONT – The standings in the Six Rivers West tighten up considerably after second-place Potosi knocked off league-leading Belmont in a wild double overtime game at BHS on Thursday, Jan 26.
    Potosi guard Ashley Flesch scored eight of her game-high 31 points in the second overtime period to help the visiting Chieftains outlast the Lady Braves, 76-66, in Six Rivers West girls’ basketball action.
    “The whole game was a very intense game and it could have went either way. Credit to both teams for battling and giving it everything they got,” said Belmont head coach Kaleen McGettigan. “It was a tough loss, but we were able to learn from that loss and now we are moving on with what we have learned. The girls bounced back nicely, but the physical play led to some tired legs and bodies.”
    The Braves (13-3 overall, 4-1 in SRW) are currently tied for first-place with Potosi (9-4, 4-1), while River Ridge (6-7, 3-2) and Highland (10-3, 2-2) sit a game back in the loss column. 
    “We need to worry about ourselves and not where the other teams are in the conference right now.  Each game we play in this conference, that team wants that top spot. We will have to play some very solid basketball to stay where we are. It will be a battle each night, and it’s a battle that this team wants to compete in,” McGettigan stated.
    Belmont came out firing on Thursday night behind the shooting of senior guard Molly Bockhop, who scored 10 of her 17 points in the first quarter to lift the Braves out to an early 18-10 lead.
    The Braves continued to hold the lead through the entire first half, but the Chieftains kept chipping away until they grabbed their first lead of the night with six minutes to play in the third quarter.
    Potosi went up by as many as six early in the fourth quarter only to have the Braves fight back to take a four-point lead on a pair of free throws by senior Kailee Kamps with 58 seconds to play in regulation.
    That lead wasn’t enough as Potosi’s Maleah Mumm knocked down a basket with 1.7 seconds remaining to knot the score at 54-54.
    The teams continued to fight back and forth with one another in the first overtime session with Kamps hitting the clutch shot for the Braves with nine seconds to play to force a second OT.
    Flesch provided the daggers for Potosi in the second OT session, scoring eight of the Chieftains’ 14 points in the period to snap Belmont’s 12-game winning streak and hand the Lady Braves their first loss since the season opener against Fennimore.
    Kamps finished with 19 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three assists, and Bockhop poured in a season-high 17 points with four steals and four assists for the Braves.
    Cassie McCarthy added 12 points and Jordyn Kamps tallied eight, while Keegan Kamps recorded 12 rebounds, five points and three assists for Belmont.
    Mumm and Bridget Curtis added nine points each for the Chieftains.
    Belmont was quite busy on the hardwood over the last week playing three non-conference games along with their thriller with Potosi over a stretch of seven days.
    The #10-ranked Lady Braves opened their week by pasting the host Bulldogs, 54-35, in Boscobel on Tuesday, Jan. 24.
    The Orange-and-Black added a victory over the Pecatonica Vikings, 51-25, at home on Saturday, Jan. 28, and then wrapped up their week by dropping a heartbreaking 38-37 decision at Mineral Point on Monday, Jan. 30.
    Kai. Kamps and Bockhop shared scoring honors against the Bulldogs with 14 points apiece, while Bockhop led the team with 17 points against Pecatonica and Kamps paced the team with 15 points versus the Pointers.
    McCarthy netted 12 points against Boscobel, while Amanda Adams tallied seven points against Pec and six points against Boscobel. Ke. Kamps added six each against the ‘Dawgs and the Pointers.
    Belmont hosts Cassville in a SRW game on Friday, Feb. 3, and they have a non-conference game in Wauzeka on Monday, Feb. 6.

Potosi…… 10  16  13  15  8  14 - 76
Belmont… 18  10    9  17  8    4 - 66
Leading Scorers: Kailee Kamps 19, Molly Bockhop 17, Cassie McCarthy 12, Jordyn Kamps 8, Amanda Adams 5, Keegan Kamps 5.

Belmont….. 11  15  13  15 - 54
Boscobel… 11  13    8    3 - 35
Leading Scorers: Molly Bockhop 14, Kailee Kamps 14, Cassie McCarthy 12, Amanda Adams 6, Keegan Kamps 6, Allie Linneman 2.

Pecatonica…   8    3    0  14 - 25
Belmont……. 12  10  13  16 - 51
Leading Scorers: Molly Bockhop 17, Kailee Kamps 9, Amanda Adams 7, Cassie McCarthy 4, Allie Linneman 4, Kalyn Kamps 4, Keegan Kamps 3, Jordyn Kamps 3.

Mineral Point… 5    6  11  15 - 37
Belmont………. 3  11    8  16 - 38
Leading Scorers: Kailee Kamps 15, Molly Bockhop 6, Keegan Kamps 6, Amanda Adams 4, Jordyn Kamps 3, Allie Linneman 3.