Waterford’s Kendall Sury (10) makes a move with the ball as Belpre’s Chey Parsons defends during Thursday’s game. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

BELPRE — Waterford could not have picked a better time to play free-and-easy, an approach Wildcat coach Jerry Close had not seen until Thursday night in a 56-34 win at Belpre High School.

Waterford took nearly a quarter-and-a-half to get its feet settled. When the Wildcats displayed their brand of basketball the Golden Eagles fell out of sorts and let a two-point lead midway in the second quarter fall by the wayside.

“We have been waiting on this,” Waterford coach Jerry Close said. “We haven’t played real well all year — just like we did there in the first quarter-and-a-half. I don’t know if the kids were afraid of making mistakes or what was going on, but we finally played loose. We found each other.

“The biggest problem I saw tonight was unforced turnovers. We got in a hurry and turned the ball over. But I’m happy with the way they are coming together.”

Despite sitting for all but seven seconds of the second quarter due to foul trouble, Waterford’s Kendall Sury paced the Wildcats with a team-high six points over the first two quarters then provided the wrecking ball with the transition game in the second half and finished with a game-high 17 points.

Waterford’s Avery Smithberger, left, attacks the basket as Belpre’s Maddie Garber defends during Thursday’s game. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“Kendall and others have gotten into foul trouble this year, but other kids have done a nice job stepping up and filling in,” Close said. “That’s what we have been looking for, that total team effort.”

A total of three Waterford players scored in double figures, including Elsie Malec and Avery Wagner with 11 points apiece. Wagner’s 6-foot-4 frame gave Belpre’s inside game fits and benefited from teammates providing help-side defense.

“We’ve struggled a lot with help-side defense,” Close said. “We have been getting the first rotation, but not the second and third. Tonight it started coming together a little bit.”

Belpre had the edge in the Tri-Valley Conference standings prior to Thursday’s game and appeared to strengthen its chances in the league by limiting Waterford to 14 points at the three-minute mark of the second quarter.

Offensively, Belpre’s 1-2 punch in the post with Gracie Bills and Haley Alloway, along with Julia Way at point guard, provided just enough scoring punch to put the Golden Eagles in front 16-14. The Wildcats, though, went on a 9-0 run just before intermission to create the impetus for what was to come in the second half.

Belpre’s Gracie Bills, left, drives as Waterford’s Avery Wagner defends during Thursday’s game. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

In the first three minutes of the third quarter, Alloway scored four of her team-high 12 points to keep the deficit at four (25-21). Belpre managed just one bucket the rest of the quarter as the Wildcats wrapped up the period on an 18-4 run thanks to 7-of-11 shooting in the first eight minutes out of halftime break.

“In the first half, we looked pretty solid,” Belpre coach Regina Leftwich said. “Overall, I thought we played good team ball. In the second half, we reverted back to old habits and started not playing the Belpre basketball we have worked on since summer.”

The advantage grew to as many as 24 points at 56-32 when Malec knocked down a 3-pointer then added a free throw one minute later as part of a 10-3 run.

With rival Fort Frye waiting in the wings on Saturday at home, Waterford caused the league standings to revert back to square one.

Also providing offensive production for Belpre (8-3) were Bills with 10 points and Way with eight points. The Golden Eagles started one freshman, three sophomores and one junior. The three who came off the bench included a freshman, sophomore and the team’s lone senior.

“Our overall record is very good and a big improvement from the last couple years and what we are trying to do,” Leftwich said. “So I don’t want to negate that. There is a lot of growth and a lot of success. I’m a true competitor in trying to recognize these games are winnable.

“For me, the frustration is to see us come out that second half and not play that Belpre basketball that we should. More games and more experience should fix that over time. I am trying to stay patient with that.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com