WASHINGTON – Bethel Assembly Christian Academy avenged its loss to Eastern Christian Home School (TEACH) quickly.

The Lady Eagles, who fell to the Trailblazers in the finals of the Eric Baggett Memorial Tournament, stormed back to take a 56-55 double overtime win three days later.

Bethel used a 30-point performance from senior Kelsie Conner to knock off the ‘Blazers and earn a victory in the conference opener for both schools.

“Our girls played hard,” veteran Lady Eagles’ mentor Ashley Byrum said. “We made a few changes, both offensively and defensively and made a point of getting the ball in Kelsie’s hands.”

The ladies from TEACH took an early lead, getting ahead 13-8 after one quarter and extended the advantage by one (26-20) by the intermission.

The third quarter saw the Trailblazers continue to pull away as they led by double figures (40-29) heading into the final period.

It was there, however, that Bethel’s varsity team made a difference, turning up the defense and holding the home team to just three points while scoring 14 of their own to tie the game and sent it to overtime.

Each teams scored seven points in the first overtime to send the game into another period where the Eagles held on for the win.

In addition to Conner’s 30 points, she added six rebounds and a pair of steals. Jessica Howerton led the defensive effort with 10 rebounds and seven blocks while adding eight points.

Senior guard Kristen Adams added an even dozen points while Alyssa Fairless had six points and four boards.

Jessica Rowe paced the Trailblazers with 16 points while Whitney Rowe chipped in a baker’s dozen and Caroline Gardner had 12. Taylor Woolard chipped in eight points while Kasey Tooley had four and Olivia Maxey had two.

The win boosted the Lady Eagles to 7-2 overall and 1-0 in the league.

“This was a very important win, especially coming against TEACH,” Byrum said. “They are a team we’ll be battling with for first place in the conference. Winning there made it even more special.”