By Eric Lusk
Sports Editor
elusk@elkintribune.com

EAST BEND — With a former player as their inspiration, Starmount’s girls basketball team won an important conference game at Forbush on Thursday night.

Kelli Bonner scored 28 points, while Maygan Baldwin added 13 points in the Rams’ 62-55 triumph.

The contest was dubbed “Pink Night” and served to raise money and awareness for the fight against cancer. Both schools dedicated the game to 2009 Starmount graduate Meme Brown, who is fighting ovarian cancer.

Brown was on hand for the Starmount victory — and the boys triumph as well later in the evening — smiling at the end of both games as her alma mater secured a varsity sweep in a rival gym where she played many times.

“It was good to have this cause,” Starmount coach Kyle Hutchens said of the Pink Night contest. “And this was big for the conference because we were only up by a game (on Forbush) going in.”

The Rams improved to 7-6 in the conference standings, extending their hold on the No. 3 spot among the 2A schools in the MVAC. Forbush dropped to 5-8. The top three 2A teams from the league make the state playoffs.

After a 9-9 first quarter, Starmount began taking command of the game. Bonner played a big role during the Rams’ second-quarter surge, scoring seven points and assisting on other buckets.

Baldwin swished a big 3-pointer, while Courtney Barnes dropped in a turn-around shot for a 27-15 Starmount advantage.

Forbush clawed back to within six points by halftime, but Starmount scored the first two buckets coming out of the break and managed to stay in front the entire way home. It was a different scenario than a loss to Elkin last week where the Rams let an 11-point lead slip away late.

“We were up by 10 with about four minutes to go and we played that situation much better than we did against Elkin last week,” Hutchens said. “Elkin, they really took it to us.”

The Falcons tried full-court pressure on Bonner, and while she did commit some turnovers, she also hurt them with an array of three-point swishes and strong drives to the basket.

Starmount 62, Forbush 55
Thursday • at East Bend

Starmount 9 18 20 15 — 62
Forbush 9 12 19 15 — 55

STARMOUNT — Maygan Baldwin 13, Kelli Bonner 28, Heaven Walters 6, Becca Aplin 3, Ashton Gregory 4, Courtney Barnes 8.

FORBUSH — Lindsey Williams 5, Hannah Lineberry 5, Jensen Pendry 3, Kaitlyn Thompson 2, Meghan Luffman 4, Savannah Hill 7, Brandy Stanley 20, Leslie Long 9.