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After a pressure-packed, hard-fought 54 Classic last week, the Skyline Lady Thunderbirds were in need of a little bit of a breather. They got just that against a badly overmatched Stafford Trojan squad, with the T-Birds posting a dominating 56-21 win.
Head Coach Jimmy Lee had given his girls Monday night off, and was a little concerned they might come out flat against a team they knew they should beat. The Lady T-Birds had just crept into the 2A state rankings on the strength of their 54 Classic performance, and they were going up against a school that is in severe rebuilding mode. The Lady Trojans didn’t even field a girls basketball team last year.
But Skyline did not come out flat. Rather, they scored early and often, racing out to a commanding 22-3 lead at the end of the first period. Relying on their trademark pressure defense, the T-Birds left little doubt that they had come to play and were not going to just be complacent and let the Trojans hang around. Sophomore Kaitlyn Stark was virtually unstoppable, tossing in 15 points in the opening quarter alone.
“We played our usual game in the first quarter,” Skyline head coach Jimmy Lee remarked later. “We pressed for the first quarter, we had to get some work in.”
Lee backed his T-Birds off after the first quarter, however, when the outcome was no longer in doubt. It was an opportunity for Lee to go a little deeper to his bench than normal.
“We had a JV game earlier,” Lee noted, “or we might have used the bench even a little bit more. We were getting a little squeezed for quarters.”
Even so, some of the reserve T-Birds were able to log valuable minutes, notably Brooke Fisher who got the starting nod in place of Morgan Flowers who was absent for a family matter.
The Thunderbirds led 31-8 at the intermission and extended their lead to 52-19 after three periods. Not much happened in the closing frame, with JV players from both sides getting most of the minutes. The Skyliners outscored their opponent 4-2 to account for the final score, 56-21.
Skyline was again led in scoring by Kaitlyn Stark, who poured through 28 points, including six 3-balls. Kadi Richardson contributed 8 points, and Brooke Fisher 7. Tiffany Timm came off the bench to score 5 points. Alyssa Swonger made 4 and Janessa Davis 3. Shannon Neifert chipped in a free throw.
Stark also paced the T-Birds on the glass, snagging 6 rebounds. Mycha Owens off the bench, Janessa Davis, Alyssa Swonger and Anna Petrowski each corralled 4 caroms. Davis dealt out 5 assists, and Brooke Fisher 3. Defensively, Stark had 4 steals and Fisher had 3.
With the victory, Skyline improved their record to 11-3. The Lady T-Birds hope to start a late-season winning streak as they take on Burrton Friday night at the Thunderdome.
Skyline JV 30, Stafford 20
Mycha Owens 12, Shannon Neifert 6, Brooke Fisher 4, Tiffany Timm 3, Taylor DeWeese 3Alyssa Swonger 2
After a pressure-packed, hard-fought 54 Classic last week, the Skyline Lady Thunderbirds were in need of a little bit of a breather. They got just that against a badly overmatched Stafford Trojan squad, with the T-Birds posting a dominating 56-21 win.
Head Coach Jimmy Lee had given his girls Monday night off, and was a little concerned they might come out flat against a team they knew they should beat. The Lady T-Birds had just crept into the 2A state rankings on the strength of their 54 Classic performance, and they were going up against a school that is in severe rebuilding mode. The Lady Trojans didn’t even field a girls basketball team last year.
But Skyline did not come out flat. Rather, they scored early and often, racing out to a commanding 22-3 lead at the end of the first period. Relying on their trademark pressure defense, the T-Birds left little doubt that they had come to play and were not going to just be complacent and let the Trojans hang around. Sophomore Kaitlyn Stark was virtually unstoppable, tossing in 15 points in the opening quarter alone.
“We played our usual game in the first quarter,” Skyline head coach Jimmy Lee remarked later. “We pressed for the first quarter, we had to get some work in.”
Lee backed his T-Birds off after the first quarter, however, when the outcome was no longer in doubt. It was an opportunity for Lee to go a little deeper to his bench than normal.
“We had a JV game earlier,” Lee noted, “or we might have used the bench even a little bit more. We were getting a little squeezed for quarters.”
Even so, some of the reserve T-Birds were able to log valuable minutes, notably Brooke Fisher who got the starting nod in place of Morgan Flowers who was absent for a family matter.
The Thunderbirds led 31-8 at the intermission and extended their lead to 52-19 after three periods. Not much happened in the closing frame, with JV players from both sides getting most of the minutes. The Skyliners outscored their opponent 4-2 to account for the final score, 56-21.
Skyline was again led in scoring by Kaitlyn Stark, who poured through 28 points, including six 3-balls. Kadi Richardson contributed 8 points, and Brooke Fisher 7. Tiffany Timm came off the bench to score 5 points. Alyssa Swonger made 4 and Janessa Davis 3. Shannon Neifert chipped in a free throw.
Stark also paced the T-Birds on the glass, snagging 6 rebounds. Mycha Owens off the bench, Janessa Davis, Alyssa Swonger and Anna Petrowski each corralled 4 caroms. Davis dealt out 5 assists, and Brooke Fisher 3. Defensively, Stark had 4 steals and Fisher had 3.
With the victory, Skyline improved their record to 11-3. The Lady T-Birds hope to start a late-season winning streak as they take on Burrton Friday night at the Thunderdome.
Skyline JV 30, Stafford 20
Mycha Owens 12, Shannon Neifert 6, Brooke Fisher 4, Tiffany Timm 3, Taylor DeWeese 3Alyssa Swonger 2
