St. Marys’ Anna Bennett, left, catches a pass in the paint as Ritchie County’s Jordin Bailey (30) defends during Saturday’s game in Ellenboro. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

ST. MARYS — When the going got tough, St. Marys won the battle in the trenches.

SMHS head coach Fred King used a football analogy to describe how his team was able to come out on top against Ritchie County, 57-39, Saturday night.

“Most people at a football game watch the quarterbacks, wide receivers and running backs,” King said. “They never watch what those grunts do on the line of scrimmage. We did some grunt work that you have to have if you’re going to win a big game on the road. We were offensive linemen tonight. Doing the stuff nobody sees — setting the screens, physicality, the intangibles. My girls aren’t afraid to get after it. That’s what I was very proud of.”

Brynnley Bulluck led the offensive charge with a game-high 26 points for the Blue Devils, who improved to 6-2. Anna Bennett got the top defensive assignment, which meant guarding Ritchie standout Elsa Law, who dropped a school record 43 points earlier this week. Bennett, with some help from her teammates, held the junior to 16 points on 4-of-16 shooting.

“They did a good job defending Elsa,” said Ritchie head coach Dave McCullough, whose squad dropped to 4-2. “She’s a great player and everybody knows they’ve got to do that. We’ve got to be able to run more offense. We’re still learning about ourselves right now.”

St. Marys’ Brynnley Bulluck (32) handles the ball as Ritchie County’s Elsa Law (3) defends during Saturday’s game in Ellenboro. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

Early on, it appeared that the story of the game was going to be the Blue Devils’ 18-3 lead with two minutes left in the first quarter. St. Marys’ full-court pressure forced RCHS into 12 opening-period turnovers as the Blue Devils led 21-6 after one.

Ritchie began chipping away in the second and got within nine by halftime after Cassy Hardbarger’s assist on a Kesslee Wass made it 30-21 to close the half.

St. Marys struggled offensively early in the third, allowing the Rebels to get within five, 30-25, on baskets by Jordin Bailey and Emily Bush.

St. Marys, though, was able to punch back with a 10-0 run to go up by 15 late in the third. Laney Watkins had back-to-back baskets to cap off the hot stretch, and SMHS maintained a double-digit lead from there.

“I knew we wouldn’t quit, and we got ourselves back in it,” McCullough said. “They went on that 10-0 run and we never recovered from there. They’re a good team. We’re a good team, too, we just didn’t play well the first four minutes.”

Ritchie County’s Elsa Law (3) handles the ball as St. Marys’ Anna Bennett (2) defends during Saturday’s game in Ellenboro. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

Law finished with seven rebounds and five assists, both team-highs, while Bush added six boards. Bailey chipped in 12 points and five rebounds for Ritchie, which shot 30.4% (14 for 46) from the floor. The Rebels were without Abbigayl Cox, the team’s leading rebounder and second-leading scorer, due to concussion protocol.

Ritchie got the turnovers in check somewhat in the second half, committing a total of 21 after having 17 at halftime. The early miscues, however, were a bit too much to overcome.

“We tried to go too fast,” McCullough said. “We worked a lot on our press-break in practice, but it didn’t look like it. St. Marys has a good team. In the LKC right now, you’ve got to be ready to play every game. If you’re not, you’re probably coming out with a loss.”

Watkins added 10 points for the Devils while Bennett finished with eight points and six rebounds in addition to playing stellar defense.

“Anna Bennett scored 20 in my eyes,” King said. “She only had eight points, but look how she defended Elsa. We did a good job. I’m kind of ticked off she got 16. I was hoping for six or seven. She got away from us a couple times, but she’s a great player. That girl can beat you.”

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@newsandsentinel.com.