BY MIKE ROSE
The Bloomfield Bombers lead that was once 20 had been cut to five with 2:24 to play in the fourth quarter until tournament MVP Annie Dodge stepped up and drilled a three-pointer to put the game out of reach and clinch the first title for Bloomfield since 2007. The No. 2 Bombers ultimately knocked off No. 4 East Rochester 49-39.
“First we had to run the clock, we had the lead and we didn’t want to just force up shots,” Dodge said. “But also if we had the opportunity to score we wanted to score right? And I was feeling confident so what the heck, I threw it up and glad I could help my team get the win.”
“We’re like we don’t need to score, we don’t need to score take your time and just wait for the perfect shot,” Bloomfield head coach Julie Kimball said. “She’s a fantastic shooter for us and we know when the ball is in her hands she has any range and she has the green light at any time. Thank god she took it, she had confidence and it went in and my whole body just went ‘phew, we’re good, it’s ours.'”
In the battle of the Bombers, Bloomfield came out of the gates running early. Dodge scored off the opening tip-off and Bloomfield never relinquished the lead the rest of the night. The score would sit at 6-5 before Bloomfield closed the opening quarter on a 15-0 run with Calla McCombs posting five of her 13 points in the run. In the second quarter, East Rochester settled in a bit but the pace of Bloomfield continued to dictate the game as they took a 32-17 lead into the half.
In the third East Rochester began to chip away a bit as Zarriah Eldridge connected on a pair of three-pointers in the frame but the lead lead still stood at 13 entering the fourth quarter. At long last East Rochester got loose in the final eight minutes. They opened the quarter on an 8-0 run including threes from Aniyah Eldridge and Madalynn Fioravanti to cut the deficit to five, but Dodge would not be denied. She stemmed the tide with a bucket before Aaliyah Carmichael answered to cut the lead to five once more. Dodge made the biggest shot of the night from distance before Bloomfield iced the game at the line.
“We just said composure,” Kimball said. “That’s been our big thing this whole season. We just had to settle down take a deep breath and compose ourselves and we knew we beat them once before and we could do it. It was our time to bring home this brick.”
Lily Baughman finished with a game-high 17 points and was named to the All-Tournament team. McCombs also made the All-Tournament team for Bloomfield. Dodge, the MVP, ended the night with 11 points. Zarriah Eldridge led E-R with nine points, all from behind the arc. Eldridge along with Emma Romach represented East Rochester on the All-Tournament team.
Bloomfield advances to the Class C Far West Reginal Qualifier against Class C2 champion Dundee/Bradford. The two teams have met twice this season with the BraveScots winning on Dec. 21 63-50 and the Bombers taking the most recent meeting on Feb. 1, 55-47 to hand Dundee/Bradford its lone loss of the season to date. Dodge and Baughman are hoping to ride the confidence of Friday’s win.
“We just got to keep our energy up and keep wanting it because that’s really what has gotten us through,” Dodge said.
“We just played with heart, we just came off a win against Dundee and I think we’re feeling hot and we want to continue to play,” Baughman said.
The Class C showdown will take place Tuesday night at a site and time to be determined.
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