SHADYSIDE — Playing in big games with large crowds and tournament-like atmospheres are a special part of high school athletics.

How a team reacts to and handles those things often times go a long way in determining the outcome.

The Shadyside Lady Tigers fed off the boisterous, near capacity crowd inside the Tiger Den by making their first five shots from behind the 3-point line to set the tone against Bellaire Monday evening.

The Lady Tigers (17-3) jumped out to a 19-5 lead in the game’s opening minutes and eventually fought off numerous Lady Reds’ runs and spurts t pull out a 65-57 victory and wrap up the top seed in next week’s OVAC Class 2A Tournament.

“You’re not going to find a much better atmosphere than what we had here,” Shadyside head coach Serge Gentile said. “It was awesome and we needed against Bellaire, which is a really good team. We’re peaking at the right time, which is good to see.”

Shadyside, which had hit 31 bonus goals its last two outings, knocked down seven in the first half and 10 in the game.

“The last couple of games we’ve really been shooting the ball well,” Gentile said. “We’re going to shoot them regardless, but it’s good to see so many going in, too. The atmosphere gave us a little bit extra emotion to start (the game) and making shots is contagious When someone makes one or someone sees their teammate make one and then you feed off the crowd, it can really get you going.”

That was especially true for talented sophomore Baylee Wach, who hit three of her five treys in the first quarter, and senior Syd Destifanes, who had one of her biggest offensive outputs of the season, hit twice from downtown. The Tigers eventually led 19-8 after one.

“I was disappointed because we knew how well they’ve been shooting the ball,” Bellaire head coach John Farrier said. “They got five decent looks and made them all. They were too easy of looks. I was disappointed because we allowed them to get excited and get into a rhythm. We were in catch-up mode the whole game.”

Bellaire, which is now 15-2 and despite the loss will be the top seed in next week’s 3A tournament, fought back to within seven at the half and that remained the margin at the final stop.

In the fourth, the Big Reds used a 7-0 run, which was fueled by a Natalie Stoner bonus goal along with two points each from Katrina Davis and Michaela Flaherty, to get within two at 51-49.

“We played our butts off to get back in it, got close, but we had like three turnovers in a row, which against a good team is going to hurt you,” Farrier said. “When we had some chances, they didn’t happen for us. Shadyside made the plays when they needed them to keep us at bay.”

Seemingly unfazed, Shadyside proceeded to reel off five straight of its own. Destifanes hit another three off a kick out from Wach after an offensive rebound.

The Big Reds, who obviously had to exert a lot of energy to fight back in the game, simply seemed to run out of gas down the stretch. They got within four twice the rest of the way, but Wach, who scored a game-high 26, salted the game away with a sharp five-of-six effort from the line.

“Basketball is a game of runs and obviously Bellaire is talented and wasn’t going to lay down because of our start,” Gentile said. “We were able to absorb some of what they were giving us and when we needed one, we were able to find a way to get a basket. We gutted it out.”

Wach’s scoring production was complemented by Destifanes, who scored 22. Freshman Paige Gorby provided a nice lift off the bench, scoring all eight of her points in the second quarter.

Bellaire was once again quite balanced in the scoring column. Stoner led the way with 18, while Davis finished with 14 and seven rebounds. Maci Crozier and Flaherty went for 15 and 10, respectively. The latter also had a team-high nine rebounds.

Shadyside, which was significantly outrebounded in the prior meeting with the Big Reds, held a 27-26 edge on the boards. Wach completed the double-double with 11 boards.