Comet posts Grace Farnsworth and Savannah Moeller were two of three BCLUW cagers in double figures as the Comets breezed by Clarksville, 60-34, in Conrad on Monday for the season opener.

Farnsworth led the way with 16 points, 12 of which came in the second half. Sydney Anderson added 14 points and the 6-foot-1 Moeller had 10 points.

“I challenged our bigs to get 30 points a game this season and we got 33 tonight with all of them combined,” BCLUW head coach Joel Johnson said. “In our class, we’re extremely tall, and we can really go deep and not lose too much.”

Monday’s game answered the depth question for Johnson, as the Comets’ bench checked in early when Farnsworth and Moeller, among others, got in early foul trouble.

T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER - BCLUW junior center Savannah Moeller (45) shoots over the heart of the Clarksville defense during Monday’s basketball game in Conrad.

Senior leader Sydney Anderson steered the Comets on track with four 3-pointers in the first half to help get BCLUW to a 31-13 halftime advantage.

“She’s our go-to,” Johnson said. “She was that for us last year too and she’s playing at a different level now. Once she starts hitting from the outside, it just opens things up for everybody else.”

The more playing time Moeller and Farnsworth got in the second half, the more the tide shifted to the Comets.

BCLUW started the third quarter on a 14-4 run, including eight points from Farnsworth, providing plenty of cushion as the Comets worked out first-game jitters against Clarksville’s pressure defense.

“We really just had to attack the boards as much as we can,” Farnsworth said. “Coach wants me to get a double-double every game, and I’ll try my best, I just have to crash the boards and be as aggressive as I can.”

Johnson can sense a confidence boost from the girls compared to this time last year as many of them were part of BCLUW’s state semifinal volleyball team earlier this fall.

“The girls are hungry,” Johnson said. “They’ve come in here with a different level of confidence from our first practice on day one, and I know that experience extremely helped the girls.”

BCLUW turns around for its first road game today at AGWSR.

“My challenge for our bigs is they still missed too many layups,” Johnson said. “If we make our layups we score 70, 72, 74. And we had some turnovers and stuff, but it’s the first game, … we were very unselfish tonight and that blessed my heart as a coach more than anything.”

BCLUW 60, Clarksville 34

CLARKSVILLE (0-1) — Claire Lodge 2 1-2 7, Paige Kampman 6 3-4 16, Capri Clark 0 0-0 0, Maya Backer 0 2-2 2, Katie Kampman 0 1-2 1, Hannah Wangsness 1 2-2 4, Marlee Kelm 0 0-0 0, Emmalie Manwarren 1 2-4 4. TOTALS 10 11-16 34.

BCLUW (1-0) — Sydney Anderson 5 0-0 14, Klayre Gallentine 3 1-2 8, Callie Swanson 2 0-0 5, Grace Farnsworth 8 0-1 16, Savannah Moeller 4 2-6 10, Izzy Morris 0 0-0 0, Abby Kemp 0 0-0 0, Miranda Jones 0 0-0 0, Lindsay Beeghly 2 0-0 4, Morgan Bergman 1 1-1 3. TOTALS 25 4-10 60.

CLARKSVILLE 5 8 9 12 — 34

BCLUW 16 15 16 13 — 60

3-Point Goals–Clarksville 3 (Lodge 2, Kampman), BCLUW 6 (Anderson 4, Gallentine, Swanson). Total Fouls–Clarksville 12, BCLUW 22. Fouled Out–none.