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DALLAS &#8212; Around Dallas, Bella Hill is quickly gaining a reputation for being a pesky player who never quits at either end of the court.To Berwick, she was a recurring pest.Hill struck the first blow of overtime Saturday by swishing a 3-point shot to put Dallas ahead to stay, then sealed a nail-biting 50-43 victory over Berwick with two foul shots as the Mountaineers gained sole possession of first place in a battle of Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 unbeatens.&#8220;It was totally unplanned,&#8221; Hill said of her game-changing 3-pointer. &#8220;Coach said when you&#8217;re around the perimeter, just shoot your shot. It really did give us a lead and opened up opportunities for other players.&#8221;Hill&#8217;s pivotal trey, her second of the game, came 35 seconds into the four-minute overtime and allowed Dallas to stall the ball the rest of the way.That led to five more Mountaineers points from the foul line, with three free throws from Deanna Wallace and two more by Emily Weiland.Berwick closed within 44-43 with 1:09 remaining in the extra session on Renny Murphy&#8217;s 3-pointer.But those were the only points Dallas allowed in overtime and Hill polished off Dallas&#8217; second win at the wire in as many nights with two free throws that set the final score with 7.5 seconds to play.&#8220;Bella is an excellent shooter,&#8221; Dallas coach Kelly Johnson said. &#8220;She got an open look at the basket. She had a great look and they&#8217;ve got the green light to take those shots. I&#8217;m just proud of her because she had the confidence to step in there and put a shot up in that situation.&#8221;It wasn&#8217;t the first time Hill shot down Berwick.The Bulldogs charged to a five-point lead in the first quarter and held a 12-9 advantage entering the second.But Hill hit a 3-pointer and scored four points in Dallas&#8217; 11-point surge that lifted the Mountaineers into an 18-12 lead early in the second quarter. From there, Berwick spent most of its time until the final seconds of regulation trying to catch up.&#8220;She&#8217;s pesky all the time,&#8221; Johnson said of Hill. &#8220;She practices with that level of intensity. Of course, that translates into game situations. She always gives us a spark. And people feed off that.&#8221;Berwick, which trailed 24-17 at halftime, tried to generate some energy in the second half.The Bulldogs closed within three points by the end of the third quarter and twice cut their deficit to two in the fourth, but didn&#8217;t even things up until Morgan Nevel drove down the lane for a layup with 10.8 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score at 40-40 and force overtime.&#8220;We just kept our composure,&#8221; said Hill, who led Dallas with 15 points. &#8220;I know I was getting a little tired. I did play more than usual.&#8221;It was the second straight nail-biter for the Mountaineers, who used Lauren Charlton&#8217;s layup with 10 seconds to play to beat Wilkes-Barre Area, 51-49 on Friday night.&#8220;Oh, they&#8217;re my favorite,&#8221; Hill said of the last-minute battles for victory. &#8220;I love those games. I&#8217;d rather be close in a game with a good team than blowing a team out.&#8221;The two straight wins over quality WVC opponents left the Mountaineers whipping to the top of Division 1.They&#8217;re now 4-0 in league play, while Berwick dropped to 3-1 and into a second-place tie with Hazleton Area. Dallas will play at Hazleton Area on Monday in a third straight battle for first place in the division.&#8220;We knew coming into this game this was going to be a pretty close game for both teams,&#8221; Johnson said. &#8220;They&#8217;ve got similar balance in terms of team setup. The win (against Wilkes-Barre) motivated us for today. I really think that may have given us some momentum. The kids played with confidence &#8212; in themselves and each other.&#8221;Dallas 50, Berwick 43 (OT)BERWICK (43) &#8212; Katie Starr 6 5-7 18, Renny Murphy 4 1-2 11, Sarah Steeber 3 2-4 8, Morgan Nevel 2 0-0 4, Abby Burt 0 2-2 2, Rachel Whitenight 0 0-0 0, Jackie Nevel 0 0-0 0, Emily Ouimet 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 10-15 43.DALLAS (50) &#8212; Bella Hill 5 3-4 15, Haley Habrack 2 4-4 8, Deanna Wallace 2 3-4 7, Lauren Charlton 3 0-0 6, Morgan MacNeely 2 0-0 5, Nadia Evanosky 1 2-2 5, Emily Weiland 1 2-2 4. Totals 16 14-16 50.Berwick`12`5`12`11`3 &#8212; 43Dallas`9`15`8`8`10 &#8212; 50Three-point goals &#8212; BER 3 (Murphy 2, Starr); DAL 4 (Hill 2, MacNeely, Evanosky).<style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Paul Sokoloskipsokoloski@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div>

Bella Hill lifts Dallas to overtime girls basketball win over Berwick