Yesterday afternoon, the reigning PSAA East Division Champions opened the season with a 42-19 non-league victory over Hampton Bays.

Despite it being their first quarter of game action this season, the Bears unleashed a suffocating defensive effort. With Sarah Wong at the tip of the spear and Niamh Scanlon and Nadia Hall waiting in the wings to jump passing lanes, the Brook shut out the visiting Baymen for the first 10:38 of the game, building a 13-0 lead in the process. Scanlon opened the Bears’ scoring with a jumper, Bekah Detwiler followed with a putback layup, and Wura Obasanjo connected on a pair of free throws to open a 6-0 lead. Scanlon emphatically closed the first quarter scoring when she converted a 3-point play after a Wong steal.

Obasanjo opened the second frame with a layup and jumper as the lead swelled to 13-0. However, Hampton Bays finally found the bottom of the net at the 5:22 mark to spur an improbable 8-0 run that brought them within 13-8 at the half.

The Baymen hit a free throw to begin the second half, moving within four points of the Blue & White, but that was as close as they would get as the Bears followed with a 10-1 run to regain a cushion. The game-breaking run was ignited by an Obasanjo layup before Hall followed with three consecutive steals, finishing the last one herself with a layup. Jumpers from Wong and Scanlon followed before a Scanlon layup pushed the lead to 23-10. A Hampton Bays jumper in the final minute brought their deficit back to eight, but Obasanjo beat the buzzer on a layup to push the advantage to 26-16. The lead would not fall below double-digits the rest of the way.

In the fourth, Scanlon connected on a 3-pointer and a jumper while Obasanjo finished three layups as she continued to hustle up the floor and battle for rebounds. Obasanjo led all scorers with a career-high 17, while Scanlon formed the other half of the dynamic duo with 15. Hall (4), Detwiler (2), Wong (2), and Tochi Chukwuemeka (2) rounded out the scoring.

The Bears return to the court on Saturday in a home league opener vs. Avenues.

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