Paintsville pulls away to beat Belfry 50-22

STAFF REPORT

BSN

PIKEVILLE — Paintsville pulled away to beat Belfry 50-22 in the opening round of the 15th Region Girls’ Basketball Tournament at the Appalachian Wireless Arena on Tuesday, March 1.

After notching the win, Paintsville advanced to the semifinals of the 15th Region Girls’ Basketball Tournament.

The loss eliminated Belfry from the girls’ high school basketball postseason.

Paintsville moved ahead early, outscoring Belfry 15-7 in the first quarter.

Remaining out in front midway throughout the region tournament game, Paintsville led 25-9 at halftime.

On its way to winning convincingly, Paintsville outscored Belfry 13-5 in the fourth quarter.

Paintsville shot 38.9 percent from beyond the arc, draining seven of 18 three-point field goal attempts.

Emilea Preece scored 17 points and pulled down seven rebounds to lead Paintsville to the win.

Along with Preece reaching double figures for the Lady Tigers, Camryn Helton scored 15 points and Kylie Kinner netted 12 points.

Ava Hyden paced Paintsville inside, pulling down 11 rebounds.

Cushi Fletcher scored 14 points to lead Belfry in the region tournament matchup. Fletcher was the only Belfry player to reach double figures in scoring.

Jenna Sparks pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds for Belfry in the season-ending loss.

Paintsville and Belfry met for the first time in the 2021-22 girls’ high school basketball season.