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Eagles', Bell cruise past Lakeville North

By Justin Magill, Sport Ngin, 02/28/14, 1:30PM CST

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Kenisha Bell's 19 points leads Bloomington Kennedy past Lakeville North


Bloomington Kennedy guard Tyrah Spencer looks for an opening past Lakeville North guard Erika Rozell in an Eagle 70-47 win at Lakeville North. Photo by Rick Orndorf

There are two noticeable traits differentiating No. 6-ranked Bloomington Kennedy from its opponents.

An intense defense that has players flying around the court, disrupting its opposition's offensive flow, bringing it to a near standstill.

The other is a fast-paced offense that pushes the ball up the court with furious quickness. It slows for no team.

Eagles' senior Kenisha Bell leads her team on both ends, but her speed and quickness on the offensive end separates her from the rest.

"There's nobody better in transition than Kenisha Bell," Eagles' coach Quintin Johnson said.

When Bell is on the court her teammates look to her immediately to run the show on offense. She is the one who will handle it from the inbound, or she will take a pass on transition and make her way to the basket.

"I don't always look to score," Bell said. "If I am on a one-on-two or three, I look behind for someone coming and pass to them."

It didn't matter who or how many were guarding Bell on Friday night. One, two or three players guarding her, she just happened to score 19 points in the Eagles' 70-47 victory against No. 8 Lakeville North at Lakeville North High School.

"I felt pretty good," Bell said. "If I saw that I had a chance, I was going to score or go for the foul."

Bloomington Kennedy relied heavily on Bell and fellow senior Tonoia Wade, who scored 16 points against the Panthers, to carry the load offensively for most of the season.

Injuries early on led to Johnson call on his reserves often, and that might have been a blessing as players who normally would not see as much playing time got valuable minutes and are now chipping in as polished secondary scorers to Bell and Wade.

Isieoma Odor and Lashayla Wright-Ponder each scored 11 points, which gave the Eagles four players in double figures.

"We had some players in foul trouble and others stepped up," Johnson said. "That is huge for us, because right now everyone is playing their best basketball, and it's the best time of the year to be doing it."

"You see the difference when everyone is scoring," Bell said. "They face-guarded Tonoia (Wade) and I all night, so we need to have others step up and they did."

The Eagles defense was dominant in the second half holding Lakeville North to only 18 points.

Active hands disrupted passing lanes and was much more aggressive by the basket, limiting second-chance opportunities.

"Coach said after the first half that he knew our defense was better than that," Bell said. "He said that he sees it in practice and other games. We needed to hear that and we came out and player a better game in the second."

"Last year, we ran a similar system and it worked, so we are doing it again and it's working," Johnson said. "Sometimes they are going to get their points, but we are going to make them work. They held the ball for 30 seconds at times and scored, but they had to work for it."

Bloomington Kennedy finished the regular season on a five-game winning streak and finished with a 20-6 record.

Needless to say, the Eagles are ready to get the section playoffs started.

"We are just ready to go," Bell said. "Time to get this going."

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