Lady Rattlers win big on Senior Night, 50-32

Belleview’s Aaliyah Armbrister (5) looks for a way to the hoop as Citrus’ Brooke Sanders (3) gets her hand on the ball during a basketball game at Belleview High School in Belleview, Fla. on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

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Posted January 21, 2022 | By Joel Bronson

joel@ocalagazette.com

The Belleview Lady Rattlers overcame a sluggish start on Friday night to send their seniors out winners against the visiting Citrus Lady Hurricanes.

Senior Laniya Johnson scored a game high 23 points and pocketed six steals for Belleview, while freshman Aaliyah Armbrister scored five points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.

Both teams started slow, with Belleview leading after the first quarter by a score of 9-4.
The trend continued in the second quarter, with both teams unable to get on track. Belleview lead at the half stood at 19-9.

Citrus came out hot in the third quarter, with a big three pointer by junior Jillian Landgraf to cut the margin to six.

Landgraf paced Citrus with 14 points and two blocked shots on the night.

Belleview increased its lead to 35-23 at the end of the third quarter. That’s when Johnson came to life for the Lady Rattlers.

Two quick steals and layups by Johnson put the game out of reach.

Belleview head coach Gary Greer was happy with his team’s recovery from a slow start.

“I thought after a sluggish start we established great tempo and our defense once again created offensive scores,” Greer said.

Greer also expressed approval with his team’s positioning going into district seeding.

“We are set to be a top three seed and regardless of where we land, our defense travels and we are thrilled for an opportunity to keep on playing,” Greer added.

Citrus moves to 3-14 with the loss. The Lady Hurricanes will travel to Nature Coast Tech on Wednesday with tipoff set for 6:30 p.m.

With the win, Belleview improves to 13-5 on the season. The Lady Rattlers will host county rival Dunnellon next Wednesday at 6:00 p.m.