ASKEWVILLE – It’s a double-edged sword.

If a team can find a way to stop the outside shooting of Bethel Christian Academy, there is still the inside game.

Liberty could find a way to stop neither here Friday night as Mindy Miller lit up the Lady Knights for 23 points while teammate Kayla Overton added 14 and Kelli Hoggard chipped in 12 points.

Bethel’s Lady Eagles got off to a quick start, hitting the first three shots of the contest. Overton, Hoggard and Miller were the three to get on the board, giving Bethel a 6-0 lead.

Liberty got back-to-back buckets from Sara Gonzales to get within 6-4, but never got closer.

Hoggard hit on the inside before Overton drilled a triple to make it 11-4. Gonzales answered again, but Hoggard and Miller combined for five points to extend the lead to 10 (16-6) near the end of the first quarter.

With the lead still at 10, Miller and Overton grabbed steals on back-to-back plays and converted them to easy layups to make it 24-10.

Gonzales tried to keep her team close, hitting a three-pointer which, when combined with a triple by teammate Charlotte Sullivan, got the Lady Knights within nine (25-16).

The rest of the quarter was all Bethel, however, with Hoggard getting a bucket before Miller hit consecutive field goals and both ends of a one-plus-one. Miller added another bucket as the quarter closed, giving the Lady Eagles a 35-16 advantage at the intermission.

Gonzales, who led all scorers with 31, tried to keep her team in the game, hitting a free throw and a field goal as the second half started, but an Overton triple and Miller hoop more than made up for the points.

Bethel led 40-21 after another Gonzales basket and proceeded to roll off the next four scores, getting two hoops from Miller, one from Hoggard and a bucket by Jamee Mizelle to extend the lead to 48-21. They led 52-23 by the end of the quarter.

With first-year coach Buddy Denton emptying his bench, Liberty outscored BCA 13-2 in the final quarter, but never made a serious threat. The Eagles’ only bucket came off the hands of Julia Cullipher.

The Eagles will host Ocracoke on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Lady Eagles (54): Mindy Miller – 23, Kayla Overton – 14, Kelli Hoggard – 12, J. Mizelle – 2, J. Cullipher – 2, M. Hill – 1

Lady Knights (36): Sara Gonzales – 31, C. Sullivan – 3, C. Duztz – 2