Berry’s 41-point night leads Delta rout of Oak Ridge

The Delta Bobcats started scoring early and often on the way to a 126-32 win over the Oak Ridge Blue Jays on Monday.

The suffocating pressure of the Bobcat defense overwhelmed the Blue Jays as Delta raced out to a 44-10 lead after the first quarter.

“Yesterday they were flying around at practice,” Bobcats coach David Heeb said. “I just hoped they would play like that tonight so these people could see what I get to see everyday.”

Even with the big lead, the Bobcats kept the same tenacity as if it was a two-point game.

“They’re just an exceptional group of kids,” Heeb said. “Just whatever they’re doing, they want to be the best at. I would like to take credit for that, but I can’t. That’s credit to their families and their parents because they were raised that way and they were coached that way in youth league before I ever got here.”

The Bobcats took a 85-15 lead into the locker room at halftime, where Heeb was pleased with the effort his team displayed defensively.

“Our press is so much different this year,” Heeb said. “We’ve tinkered with it all summer and I think it’s our best press (ever). The last couple of years our press has been devastating and it was really good for different reasons. This group is just so smart about playing the angles and getting into position to tip passes and things like that.”

Delta’s charge was led by junior guard Jade Berry who finished with 41 points in the win.

Perhaps the most impressive part of Berry’s game is her ability to slow the game down as a playmaker and make decisions.

“I call her a basketball genius,” Heeb said. “She is a genius decision maker. She just makes the simplest play over and over again, she’s never fancy.”

Heeb feels the way his team defends is an overwhelming task mentally for teams.

“Basketball is a game where if you know you don’t have time, it speeds up your decisions,” Heeb said. “Sometimes you’re not going to make great decisions.”

Defensively the Bobcats laid off the press in the second half but Heeb made sure his team still focused on solid fundamentals.

“We just kept preaching to stay in front of the ball,” Heeb said. “In the halfcourt I thought the kids inside did a really nice job.”

Following up Berry’s big night was Addison Nichols with 33 points, Presley Holweg with 20 points and Grace Ancell with 14 points.

“We just stress moving the ball,” Heeb said. “There were a couple times tonight where I thought a kid could have chased some stats but they just don’t play that way. Very few teams have a player as good as Jade or as good as Addison or as good as Presley and sometimes when you have more than one of those players it’s hard to get them to share. But, they’ve always been (unselfish) and they want to play the game the right way.”

Next up for Delta (2-0) is a battle with East Prairie at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 30 at Delta High School.

“We’re looking at between right now and Christmas how much better can we get,” Heeb said. “I’m just excited about how hard they’re working and they practice like that everyday.”